''The Millionaire Paupers'' is a 1915 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

, written by

Ida May Park Ida May Park (December 28, 1879 – June 13, 1954) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era, in the early 20th century. She wrote for more than 50 films between 1914 and 1930, and directed 14 films between 1917 and 192 ...

and featuring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and Grace Thompson. The film's working title was ''Fate's a Fiddler''. Actress Olive Carey was advertised in an early promo piece, but apparently did not appear in the finished film. Only a fragment of the film survives in a private collection, having been discovered in the early 1990s.

Plot

Mabel Burne-Smith hopes to marry her daughter Enid to wealthy Allen Winthrop as a way to extricate herself from her debts. She and Allen's mother agree to the marriage, even though Allen and Enid have never met. Enid wants nothing to do with it and escapes to a tenement house where she rents a room. Meanwhile, Allen has received an anonymous letter stating that Albert Martin (Lon Chaney), the landlord he hired to run one of his tenements, is a crook. Allen disguises himself and rents a room in his own tenement, which coincidentally is the same house where Enid is staying. Enid meets Allen for the first time, and the two are mutually attracted. Enid has befriended a woman named Mabel and her sweetheart George. George is unhappy with all the attention that Martin, the landlord, has been paying to Mabel. Mabel confides to Enid that she is only being nice to Martin because she persuaded him to let her slide for awhile on her rent so that she could buy some new dresses. Enid pawns her last piece of jewelry to get the money Mabel needs to pay back Martin. Martin comes to Mabel's room, demanding the rent money, and they begin to argue. Allen and George come to the room and Mabel has Martin hide in the closet. When the men enter, Martin appears and says he bought new dresses for Mabel. Enid, trying to save her friend's romance, says that it's not true and that the dresses are really hers. George and Mabel are reunited, but Allen leaves Enid, disappointed by her having accepted gifts from Martin. Allen fires Martin, and hires George to run the tenement, while Enid leaves the tenement and returns home to her mother. Allen later regrets snubbing Enid and tries in vain to find some trace of her, but to no avail. Allen and his mother are later invited to the Burne-Smith's home for dinner, where he is supposed to meet the woman he is to marry. When he sees the woman is Enid, he realizes that they were fated to be together, and he and Enid are happily reunited.

Cast

Grace Thompson Grace Thompson was an early American silent film actress, starring in 10 films between 1914 and 1917. Filmography *''The Final Impulse'' (1914) *''The Scarlet Sin'' (aka ''The Shepherd of the Mines'') (1915) .... Edith Jackson *'' Mountain Jus ...

as Enid Burne-Smith *

Arthur Shirley Arthur Shirley (31 August 1886 – 24 November 1967) was an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director of theatre and film. He experienced some success as a film actor in Hollywood between 1914 and 1920. Biography Early life Born Hen ...

as Allan Winthrop *

Gretchen Lederer Gretchen Lederer (née. Schwallenback, 23 May 1891 – 20 December 1955) was a German actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1918. Personal life Gretchen Lederer was born in Cologne, Germany. She was marr ...

as Mrs. Burne-Smith (Enid's mother) * Miss Wilmer as Mrs. Winthrop (Allen's mother) *

as Albert Martin, the landlord * Marcia Moore as Mabel *

Millard K. Wilson Millard K. Wilson (May 5, 1890 – October 5, 1933) was an American actor of the silent film era. He appeared in 94 films between 1914 and 1930, co-starring with Lon Chaney Sr. in some of them. Chaney and Wilson were life-long friends.Blake, ...

as George *

Olive Carey Olive Carey (born Olive Fuller Golden; January 31, 1896 – March 13, 1988) was an American film and television actress, and the mother of actor Harry Carey Jr. Life and career Carey was born Olive Fuller Golden in New York City, the daughter o ...

(credited as Olive Fuller Golden) *Note - her appearance in the finished film is disputed by some sources

Reception

"For the most part, this is a delightful picture. The story by Ida May Park has received excellent interpretation and realistic atmosphere. Each member of the cast deserves praise." --- Motion Picture News

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Millionaire Paupers, The 1915 films 1915 short films American silent short films American black-and-white films 1915 drama films Lost American drama films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Universal Pictures short films Silent American drama films 1915 lost films American drama short films 1910s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links