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His White Lie
(1916) United States of America
B&W : Short film
Directed by Walter V. Coyle
Cast: Charles H. Mailes (Charles Hill Mailes) [Peter Rawlings], Claire McDowell [Linda Ford, Peter’s ward], Gretchen Hartman [Grace Martin], Charles Perley [John Barton], Jack Nelson [Barton’s secretary]
Biograph Company production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Released 15 February 1916. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Peter Rawlings, the guardian of Linda Ford, pretends love for her, but his feelings are actuated by her money which he holds in trust. Rawlings is a man of questionable character, he having had an affair with Grace Phelps some time before, whom he cruelly deserted. John Harton, a young lawyer, is Linda Ford’s sweetheart and has, at the opening of the story, decided to ask Rawlings for Linda’s hand in marriage. With this intention Barton starts for Rawlings’ house. About this time, Rawlings returns home in an intoxicated condition and forces his unwelcome advances upon Linda, who in her struggle with him faints to the floor. This struggle is seen through the window by Grace Phelps, who has come to demand satisfaction from Rawlings. The scene infuriates her to almost insanity, and as she rushes in at Rawlings he attempts to drive her out, but she, grabbing up the poker, strikes him across the head, causing his death. Feeling that there has been no witness to the act, Linda being in a dead faint, Grace leaves the house. When Linda recovers and finds Rawlings dead and the poker lying at her side she believes that in her fury she did the deed, and she stands self-accused when Barton arrives. That she has committed the murder is conclusive to herself and Barton. Barton forces her out of the room, intending to take the blame himself, and does so on the arrival of the housekeeper, who had been out for the evening. In her excitement the housekeeper rushes off to inform the sheriff. This gives Barton a chance to escape, which he does, and rushing to the river side, writes a note, pinning it to his discarded coat, giving the impression that he has jumped into the river and been carried away by the current. Instead he makes his way to a distant town, where he assumes the name of “John Fleming,” to which he later brings Linda to make her his wife. Several years later we find Fleming a successful lawyer and politician running for the office of Mayor against the Boss Ring. Through a disloyal secretary the leader of the Boss Ring learns that John Fleming is none other than John Barton, the unpunished murderer, and proceeds to get the details of the case. During this while Grace Phelps has lived with a tormenting thought that an innocent man had suffered for her crime, although it was in the form of a sacrifice, for she with the others believed that Barton had committed suicide to escape apprehension. Judge of her surprise to learn of Barton’s whereabouts and the danger that threatened him, so she leaves for the town in which Barton is residing and there makes a confession that she was the real slayer of Rawlings, giving the details of how it came about, thus clearing the name of John Barton, alias Fleming.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 6 January 2025.
References: Spehr-American p. 2 : Website-IMDb.
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