A Wife by Proxy (1917)

Plot Summary

The film opens in Ireland, as a dying Patrick McNairne tells his daughter Jerry to go to New York and look up Norton Burbeck, a wealthy young man whose life Patrick had saved some time earlier (the surviving print, largely complete, lacks the second page insert of a letter explaining the full background). The affable Burbeck is due to inherit his uncle’s fortune provided he’s married by November; if not, the inheritance will go to his cousin Howard Curtis. An adventuress, Beatrice Gaden, and her husband Dick are in cahoots with Curtis: Beatrice pretends to be single in order to string Norton along up to the November date, at which time Curtis will come into the money and give a share to his unscrupulous partners.

Full Cast & Characters

Mabel Taliaferro

Jerry McNairne

Bob Walker

Norton Burbeck

Sally Crute

Beatrice Gaden

Fred Jones

Frederick Gaden

Yale Benner

Howard Curtis

George D. Melville

Timothy McNairn

Ricca Allen

Scraggs (housekeeper)

Jerome N. Wilson

Guyler (Burbeck's lawyer)

Edward Mack

Flynn (the butler)

Director & Crew

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