The Pursuit of the Phantom (1914)

Plot Summary

Accompanied by his dog Skookum, artist Richard Alden goes to work painting the beauty of Laguna Beach. There he courts a city woman, much to the delight of a whimsical waif who weaves fantasies about the lovers. The idyll is interrupted, though, when Wyant Van Zandt, an ambitious millionaire, steals the artist's sweetheart. Alden marries the waif, who later bears him six children. Years pass, and Van Zandt's son falls in love with Helen, the artist's daughter. Indignant at the unsuitability of the match, the millionaire forces his son to break with Helen. Thinking that his daughter's honor has been compromised, Alden attacks and chokes the youth, but at young Van Zandt's bedside, all are reconciled. An allegorical epilogue contrasts the lots of Van Zandt and Alden. To the left, the millionaire embraces a skeleton in black, while, to the right, the artist holds his wife. -From TCM.com Database, powered by the AFI.

Full Cast & Characters

Hobart Bosworth

Richard Alden

Rhea Haines

Alden's Sweetheart

Helen Wolcott

Helen Alden

Courtenay Foote

Wyant Van Zandt

Myrtle Stedman

Helen Alden

Emmett J. Flynn

Van Zandt's Son

Nigel De Brulier

The Poet

Director & Crew

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