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Their Best Friend
(1914) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 308 metres
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: Marguerite Snow [May, an heiress], Morris Foster (J. Morris Foster) [Jack, May’s sweetheart], Joseph Sparks (Joe Sparks) [Gray, May’s guardian], Justus D. Barnes [Jack’s father]
Thanhouser Film Corporation production; distributed by Mutual Film Corporation. / Scenario by H.F. Maltby. / Released 27 February 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? A young heiress was wooed and won by a man whom she believed would make her happy. She told of her engagement to her uncle, who was also her guardian, and was pleased and surprised when he interposed no objection. The uncle was a crafty man, however. His accounts of the estate were in a very bad way and he feared that if his niece married and his books were examined he might land in the penitentiary. Consequently he was not anxious to see her a happy bride, but being crafty to know what the worst thing for him to do would be to object to the man she selected, so he pretended to be very fond of the suitor and praised him on all occasions. A night or two after the engagement was announced the girl came downstairs and was about to enter the reception room when her uncle begged her to go away. Despite his insistence she would see somebody in the room and was convinced it was her sweetheart. She insisted upon her right to enter and finally did so, only to discover that the man she loved was apparently hopelessly drunk. The uncle tried to excuse him by saying, “Boys will be boys,” but she brushed him aside and determinedly broke off the engagement. The young man’s father was also incensed and disowned the son, totally believing his story that he had only taken one drink with the guardian, who had proposed a toast in honor of the engagement. The suitor wrote many letters to the girl, but none of them were delivered, for the old uncle tore them all up, so the girl believed that the man had forgotten her and nursed her sorrow in secret. Fortunately for her, she overheard a conversation one night between her uncle and the butler, in which the whole plot was revealed. The uncle with the assistance of the butler had drugged the drink given the young man and had artfully arranged things so he appeared hopelessly intoxicated. The uncle had also destroyed all the letters the suitor had sent, so search for the missing one was a difficult proposition. The boy’s father knew he was somewhere in Chicago, but Chicago is a large place. The girl and the father, however, went there and hunted about through the city, finally being led to the side of the young man by his faithful dog, whom for months he had regarded as his best and only friend.
Survival status: Print exists.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 3 July 2025.
References: Website-IMDb.
Home video: DVD.
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