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The Wonderful Wager
(1916) United States of America
B&W : Three reels
Directed by René Plaissetty
Cast: Raymond Hitchcock [Evermore Betts], Jack Henderson [Franklyn Fitzmorris], Marion Sunshine [By-Dar-Zee], Florence Preston [Julia Woodrow], Bernard Seigel (Bernard Siegel) [the boss of the circus], [?] Wallie Helston or Wallie Heston? [Hugo, the clown]
Lubin Manufacturing Company production; distributed by V-L-S-E, Incorporated [Big Four Feature Play]. / Produced by Siegmund Lubin. Scenario by Mark Swan and Daniel Mills, from the short story “The Ford Flivver” by George V. Hobart. Cinematography by Alfred Ortlieb. / Released 3 January 1916. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was announced in 1915 as a five-reel feature; the film may have been edited from three reels to two reels in early 1916. Sunshine’s final film.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Evermore Betts, a born gambler, is madly in love with Julia Woodrow, the amateur champion heartbreaker of North Chester County. Julia is ambitious for millions and a “title,” and although she has smiled at Betts, she hasn’t whispered the proverbial, “This is so sudden.” Franklyn Fitzmorris is the “hated rival” of Betts, with a more than even change of capturing the “fair Julia.” After a game of golf for a small “stipend” which (as usual, when money is concerned) Betts has romped away with, Fitzmorris issues another challenge and the “suitors” agree to play the match on the Palm Beach links, since the “fair Julia” has heard the call of society from that direction. With this match “sewed up,” the two men make a wager of $10,000 and “the girl’s hand” that one can beat the other in an automobile ride to Florida. A condition of the contest is that a car must be purchased by each one, but in no case must it cost more than $500. If anything happens to the car of either, the driver agrees to make the trip and enter the state of Florida in a vehicle on four wheels, not on rails, not propelled by steam, and not drawn by horses. After making the wager, Betts’ broker calls on him to put up his last cent to protect his margins and with the dawn of the morn for the beginning of the race, Betts appears in his wonderful “Ford Flivver,” which he has borrowed the money to purchase. Fitzmorris with his fine second hand car gets away to a “beautiful” start and soon leaves Betts far behind. Betts experiences everything from a puncture to “general auto debility” right from the start and after growing gray nearly trying to make it work he accidentally sinks the “flivver” in a lake and is forced to grab himself a job with a traveling circus in order to eat with any degree of regularity. In this new and eventful life his rise is rapid, from feeder of lions, caretaker of elephants, etc., he is promoted to the ranks of a clown as the proper place for him to while away his comical ideas of life. All the while, unable to advance, he pictures the $10,000 he owes to Fitz for the wager and the loss of the lady’s hand. One day by chance By-dar-Zee, a pretty circus girl, with whom he has spent much time learning to forget the “fair Julia,” gives to the famished Betts a sandwich wrapped in the inevitable newspaper. By chance Betts reads in the paper that Fitzmorris has been held up in Georgia and that if he can but get to Florida he has a golden chance to win. He breathes his dark secret to By-dar-Zee and with her makes his escape from the ferocious circus boss and his outfit. Hugo, a discharged clown, learns of their whereabouts and informs the boss. The fugitives are traced to a small country town, where the boss of the circus orders the whole town burned down to get his “clown” back. During the excitement of the blaze, Betts and By-dar-Zee again make a getaway and manage to eventually get to the state line of Florida, which Betts crosses in a baby carriage with By-dar-Zee as his engineer. He collects the bet from “rival Fitz” and then, gazing fondly at By-dar-Zee, chooses her instead of the title hunting “fair Julia,” whom he wishes on Fitz as a “booby prize.”
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 28 April 2023.
References: Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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