A Wife by Proxy (1917)
50 minNot rated yet
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.
- Release date
- January 6, 1917
- Country of origin
- United States
Cast
- Mabel Taliaferro as 'Jerry' McNairn
- Robert Walker as Norton Burbeck
- Sally Crute as Beatrice Gaden
- Fred Jones as Frederick Gaden
- Yale Benner as Howard Curtis
- George D. Melville as Timothy McNairn
- Ricca Allen as Scraggs (housekeeper)
- Jerome N. Wilson as Guyler (Burbeck's lawyer)
- Edward Mack as Flynn (the butler)
Crew
- John H. Collins · Director
- John B. Clymer · Writer
- Charles Logue · Writer
- Arthur A. Cadwell · Cinematographer