A Wife by Proxy (1917)

A Wife by Proxy

1917

Drama

Synopsis

The film opens in Ireland, as a dying Patrick McNairne tells his daughter Jerry to go to New York and look up Norton Burbeck, a wealthy young man whose life Patrick had saved some time earlier (the surviving print, largely complete, lacks the second page insert of a letter explaining the full background). The affable Burbeck is due to inherit his uncle’s fortune provided he’s married by November; if not, the inheritance will go to his cousin Howard Curtis. An adventuress, Beatrice Gaden, and her husband Dick are in cahoots with Curtis: Beatrice pretends to be single in order to string Norton along up to the November date, at which time Curtis will come into the money and give a share to his unscrupulous partners.

Credits

Director

John H. Collins

Cast

Bob Walker as Norton Burbeck

Edward Mack as Flynn (the butler)

Fred Jones as Frederick Gaden

George D. Melville as Timothy McNairn

Jerome N. Wilson as Guyler (Burbeck's lawyer)

Mabel Taliaferro as Jerry McNairne

Ricca Allen as Scraggs (housekeeper)

Sally Crute as Beatrice Gaden