Author Archive: Retro

A young woman’s peaceful existence is shattered when she is abducted by the crew of a boat of smugglers, who then also turn against their captain.

The young village minister was not quite as discreet as he might have been in fulfilling the strange trust left by the dying mother, but it certainly worked for the common good. By the bequest the mother desired that her daughter possess some of the finery previously denied her. As a result the minister and Mary were linked in a scandal, with the church board in judgment. Gossip received the laugh, however, as it generally does, while the minister assumed a trust quite unexpected.

Two young couples, upon their wedding, vow to follow the straight path. One is in ordinary circumstances, the other a little better off. Later on the poor young man is thrown out of work and he and his wife are in sore straits, but the other being a power in politics, is in a decidedly improved condition. We see him offered a bribe of $1,000 to vote for the passage of a franchise in favor of the Street Railway, with a promise of more if it passes. This he hides from his wife for although he considers it a business transaction, he is loath to let her know, for fear she will not understand. She makes the discovery, however when the poor man, driven to despair by poverty tries to steal this money. Her eyes are opened when she reads the letter accompanying the money and instead of allowing her husband to call the police, [...]

A wagon train heading west across the great desert runs out of water, and is attacked by Indians. One man — their last hope — is sent out to find water.

An upper class drawing room. A gentleman breaks the curtain pole and goes in search of a replacement, but he stops into a pub first. He buys a very long pole, and causes havoc everywhere he passes, accumulating an ever-growing entourage chasing him, until he escapes them through a bit of movie magic, only to discover that the pole has already been replaced.

An anonymous donor drops a gold coin in the shoe of a homeless girl as she sleeps. A gambler with a ‘sure thing’ borrows the coin and wins a fortune, but he can’t find her again to repay he

The central figure is an old miser, who in parsimonionsness is a Harpahon. And, like Fosene, boarded his money in a secret cellar, where he met his death. We first find him begging on the. street, a young girl passes and drops her purse, which the miser picks up. When she returns to regain it he knocks her insensible and makes off. Finding a generous roll of notes in the purse, he goes to the bank to have them exchanged for gold coin. A couple of thugs witness the transaction and are at once infected by the money fever. They follow the miser to his home, the cellar, and while he sleeps they break in and are securing the money when he awakes. They pounce upon him and he is made to pay the penalty of his greed with his life. The thugs go to their own squalid hovel, which is presided over by an [...]

A noted judge is one of the most violent patients in the sanatorium until it is discovered that music has the power to quiet him. One day he escapes and going to the house of a former nurse, now the wife of a physician, he finds her alone. In his capacity as judge, he sentences her to die in five minutes. It is then by mere accident that the terror-stricken woman learns the power of music.

A son leaves to seek his fortune in the city. Many years later he returns and checks into his parents’ inn. They don’t recognize him, but noticing his fat wallet, plan to rob him.