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The Red Star Inn
(1909) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Gaston Méliès
Cast: [?] Francis Ford?
Méliès Star-Film [American] production; distributed by Gaston Méliès through Enterprise Optical Company. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. Scenario by Evangeline Sicotte. / © 17 November 1909 by Gaston Méliès [J133579]. Released 24 November 1909. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? A sailor who has returned from the war, receives a letter from his sick mother asking that he come home at once. On his way he meets his sweetheart and he tells her he is going to see his mother. As it takes more than a day to arrive at his destination he stops at an inn, called the Red Star Inn, where he asks for lodging for the night. The innkeeper informs him that all the rooms are taken but that he may sleep in the main room. It being a dreary night and very hard to travel, other wayfarers ask for lodging overnight. Among them is a pay warrant broker and another who appears to be a questionable character. They are told by the hostess of the inn that there are no rooms unoccupied but that if they would sleep in the main room on the chairs they would be welcome. The sailor noting that the claim agent is rather weak, offers him the use of the couch for the night. The sailor passes a sleepless night and goes out for a little while to have a smoke and to pass the time away. When he goes out the other man who was apparently asleep, gets up and steals from the pay warrant broker a belt in which he carries money. The broker awakes as the money is extracted, and seizing a gun is about to shoot. Lo and behold! He drops dead at the feet of his assailant. Being a sufferer from heart disease, the shock was so great that it killed him. The thief places the broker on the couch and covers him carefully to make it appear that he is still asleep. He also replaces the revolver near the dead man. The thief then rests his head on the table in the same position as he was before. The sailor returns and goes to sleep again. Early in the morning he gets up and makes his departure. A little later the other lodgers awake and all are assembled in the main hall. The claim agent is still lying as if he were asleep. The efforts of the hostess to awake him are in vain. They, for the first time, do all realize that he is dead. The next thought immediately is, who is responsible for his death? Of course it is the sailor, is the verdict of all those present. Who else could it be if not him? The hostess had seen him going out during the middle of the night and he departed before anybody else. Immediately an alarm is sent out for his arrest. Imagine his surprise when a policeman hails him and places him under arrest. He is brought back to the inn and identified. He swears by the American flag that he is innocent, but in spite of his assertions he is taken to jail. His sweetheart comes to visit him in the prison, and when she arrives he tells her all. She believes in his honesty and integrity. His mother writes him that she believes that he is innocent and asks him to place his faith in God and to pray to Him. His sweetheart is determined to trace the man who is responsible for the death of the broker and goes in pursuit of evidence. She arrives at the inn and finds a simpleton there who tells her that he saw the thief hide the money and that he had taken it out of the thief’s hiding place and concealed it elsewhere. He leads her to his place and returns to her the money and the gag. She then rushes with the boy to the court room and when all hope is lost for the sailor and the judge is about to deliver the verdict, which is quite evident would be against him, the girl rushes in and places before the judge and the jury the new facts. The real thief, who was in the court room as a witness, is seen by the boy when the tries to escape. He points to him as being the one who hid the money. The man is placed under arrest and the innocent sailor acquitted.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 24 May 2024.
References: Thompson-Star pp. 11, 228 : ClasIm-226 p. 54 : Website-IMDb.
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