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How They Outwitted Father
(1913) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by C. Jay Williams (C.J. Williams)
Cast: Herbert Prior [Jay Forsythe, Annette’s father], Gertrude McCoy [Annette Forsythe], Augustus Phillips [George Deal, Jay Forsythe’s secretary], William Wadsworth [Peter Fossil, Forsythe’s choice for Annette], Mrs. C. Jay Williams (Ida Williams) [the maid], Julian Reed [the wigmaker]
Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated, production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / From a screen story by Milton Goldsmith. / Released 5 February 1913. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Annette, the daughter of Jay Forsythe, a wealthy but eccentric old banker, is secretly in love with her father’s secretary, George Deal, who is a good-looking chap, but not yet blessed with the world’s goods. Old Forsythe has other views for his daughter, and insists on her marrying Peter Fossil, a rich and short-sighted old gentleman. Annette confides her father’s wishes to George, who hatches up a plot to defeat the father’s scheme; he proposes to disguise himself as the father, receive the unwelcome suitor, inquire into his past and finally eject him. That evening George goes to a wig-maker and has himself fixed up in an exact imitation of old Forsythe. He also sends a message calling the banker away from home. When George presents himself before Annette the deception is so perfect she mistakes him for her father until he reveals his identity. Peter Fossil, the despised suitor, arrives promptly on time and proposes to Annette. She listens demurely and refers him to her father. George, disguised, puts old Fossil through the third degree until he is thoroughly discomfited then he peremptorily forbids him the house. Old Fossil is about to depart, never to call again, when suddenly Mr. Forsythe himself appears, indignant at having been called away on a fool’s errand. To his surprise he sees his double standing before him; both men engage in comical gestures, as if trying to discover the identity of the other. Annette nestles up to George, claiming him as her father, while Forsythe sinks into a chair, a prey to doubt. He finally calls up the police department, describing George as a dangerous lunatic at large. Meanwhile George, with the aid of a toy pistol, forces Peter Fossil into another room and compels him to don the disguise and thus Fossil is transformed into Forsythe’s double. George then brings Fossil before Forsythe, holding him until the police arrive and drag him off to prison. After this display of heroism George finds little difficulty in winning the heart and hand of Annette with her father’s consent and best wishes.
Survival status: Print exists in the Museum of Modern Art film archive (Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated, collection).
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 6 January 2025.
References: Website-IMDb; Website-NFPF.
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