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The Opal Ring
(1914) United States of America
B&W : Two reels
Directed by Frank Crane (Frank Hall Crane)
Cast: Ethel Grandin [Alice], Alexander Gaden [Fred], Hobart Henley [Will], Charles Prince [Smith]
Independent Moving Pictures Company, Incorporated [IMP] production; distributed by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated. / Released [?] 3 or 5? March 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? The opal ring belongs to the kind old aunt. Her grand-niece desired it, but the aunt refused it, vaguely believing in the old superstition that surrounded it. Perhaps it was a whim that caused the girl to place the securing of the opal ring as a test for her affection. Or perhaps she wished to prove conclusively the falsity of the superstition. Certainly she little dreamed of the tragic results that were to follow when she told the two young men, both in love with her, that the one who secured it from the old aunt could claim her. Alice in her heart believed the one she favored would secure it, for she knew that the old aunt favored him. The play starts out almost as a comedy. Then comes the forest shaft, in the shape of a letter from the aunt. The letter states that the opal ring was almost stolen. “I recognized the would-be robber, a worthless tenant of mine, and frightened him away!” says the aunt. The two suitors, Fred and Will, decide to act at once before anything happens to the ring. That afternoon both visit the aunt and both are refused. Later, she writes a note to Fred, telling him to return that evening and that she will give him the ring. This note is seen by Will and he decides that there is only one way to get the ring and secure the heiress, whose money he particularly desires. That night Fred secures the ring. After his departure when the lights have been switched off, a real robber, his identity hidden in the darkness, enters and secures the jewel case. The aunt tries to interfere; there is a struggle and the aunt is killed. Before dying she whispers to the servant that “he came back again.” Fred takes the ring to Alice. There, soon afterward, he is arrested as the thief. Will has an alibi to the fact that he was confined in his house at the time. Alice is overcome when told that the aunt is dead and imagines Fred guilty. Alice’s father suspects Will, in spite of his alibi, and hires a detective. Then Alice enters the cause and tries to straighten out the mystery. She recalls the words of her aunt, “he came back again.” Situation and complication pile up one on the other. Fred is tried and found guilty on circumstantial evidence, but through a clever bit of work by the girl the real thief is run down. It was the tenant, hired to do the work by Will. At the end Fred and Alice throw the ring into the flames. In his pocket Fred has something to take the place of it, a diamond ring which will bring love, happiness and good luck in its golden circlet.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 14 March 1914, page ?] This two reel subject is based on the popular superstition of the opal. It is good melodrama. Frank Crane is the producer. The leads are played by Alexander Gaden and Ethel Grandin. The story is well directed and care has been given to the settings.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 16 April 2024.
References: Slide-Aspects p. 32 : Website-IMDb.
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