|
A Pair of Schemers; or, My Wife and My Uncle
(1910) United States of America
B&W : Split-reel / 743 feet
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: Maurice Costello [the husband], Florence Turner [the wife], Edwin R. Phillips [the uncle]
The Vitagraph Company of America production; distributed by The Vitagraph Company of America. / Released 22 January 1910; in a split-reel with Five Minutes to Twelve (1910). / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? A young married couple, the honeymoon not yet over, are comfortably settled in a neatly furnished apartment. The young wife is clearing away the table while her hubby is writing a letter as well as he can between the interruptions of lovemaking. He shows her the letter: “Dear Jack: I am married to the dearest little woman in the world and happy except for the fact that if my rich Uncle John knew that I had married without his consent he would cut me off with a nickel. However. I hope for the best. Yours, Will.” They have hardly finished reading the letter before the bell rings and a letter is handed in which causes consternation: “Dear Will: I am coming to visit you in New York. Think I can arrange a splendid marriage for yon. Your affectionate Uncle John.” Will is in a quandary. He tells his wife that she must not be seen there, that she must hide somewhere until his uncle departs. She pouts and refuses, while he looks at his watch and becomes more and more agitated. At last an idea strikes him and he rushes into the next room and comes out with a maid’s can and apron, which he tells her to don and pass off as the maid. She is indignant at first, hut finally sees the humor of the situation and assumes her duties just as the rich uncle is ushered in. There is an affectionate greeting between Will and his Uncle John, and after a smoke and a chat the uncle finally pulls out of his pocket the photograph of the woman he has selected for his nephew’s wife. Will declines the choice and Uncle John is furious: he places the photo on the mantel and intimates that Will must accept his choice. Here Will’s wife enters in maid’s dress and begins to tidy up the room. Uncle John eyes her suspiciously and Will lightly explains that she is the hired girl from upstairs. Uncle John slyly pokes Will in the ribs and winks, but Will is justly indignant. Uncle John then makes an excuse and goes out, and Will’s wife enters, and seeing the photograph of Uncle’s choice, she tears it up and throws the pieces on the floor. Meanwhile, Uncle John, who is not without an eye to beauty, returns with a bouquet of flowers. Under pretext of sending Will out to mail a letter he takes the opportunity of presenting the bouquet to the pretty maid, and trying to flirt with her. She boxes his ears, and will returns to find them both storming up and down the apartment. Explanations of course follow, and Uncle John flies into a rage and is about to take himself away, fortune and all, when Will’s wife, with a winning smile, pats him on the cheek and says some pretty things, and the old chap melts and takes them both to his heart as he calls them “a pair of schemers.”
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 8 October 2023.
References: Lahue-World p. 5 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
|
