The Finer Metal - Production & Contact Info

The Finer Metal (1916)
Short | Short, Drama

The Finer Metal (1916)

Short | Short, Drama

Hester Hartley still feels the call of youth and enjoys society and dancing. Her husband is devoted to his business interests, and often refuses to escort Hester to evening functions. Stephen Carlton, Hartley's assistant at the bank, calls...See moreHester Hartley still feels the call of youth and enjoys society and dancing. Her husband is devoted to his business interests, and often refuses to escort Hester to evening functions. Stephen Carlton, Hartley's assistant at the bank, calls often at Hartley's home and becomes infatuated with Hester, and finally succeeds in getting her to elope with him by telling him that he husband has been receiving secret calls from a beautiful woman. She elopes, misses the train by two minutes, and as the next one does not leave for two hours, Stephen suggests to Hester that they stop at a hotel. Hester is nervous and wants to go home, but Stephen dissuades her. Just as Stephen is registering, a boy from Hartley's bank enters the hotel to deliver a letter and spies Stephen. After Stephen has gone, the boy notes that the bank clerk has signed the register as "Mr. Morton Glover and wife, Pittsburgh." Meanwhile, a bookkeeper hands Hartley a ledger, showing him certain figures. Hartley asks for Stephen. The bank boy is dispatched to find Stephen, and he tells Hartley he saw him go into the hotel and mentions the name that Stephen used on the register. Hartley goes to the hotel, asks for Stephen, and is conducted to the room where Stephen is. Stephen answers the knock at the door, and Hester sees who it is just in time to hide behind the curtains. She cringes with fear, believing that Hartley has been home and found the note she wrote him telling of her elopement. Stephen also thinks Hartley has come to prevent their elopement. Hartley tells Stephen he knows all and has come to save him. Hester shrinks in fear behind the curtains. Hartley goes on to tell Stephen that he knows of his embezzlement of bank funds; that he has come to save him before the directors find out and imprison him. When Hester hears this, she realizes her husband's nobility of character. Stephen asks Hartley how he found out about the embezzlement, and the banker tells him that Marcia, Stephen's former mistress, gave him away out of revenge. Marcia was the mysterious beautiful woman who had visited Hartley in his private office. Stephen recently quarreled with Marcia, and she told Hartley that Stephen was taking bank funds. Hartley doubted the truth of this accusation until Grimes, the bookkeeper, showed him the ledger. Hartley assures the bank clerk that he will pay back the missing funds and give him another chance. Stephen is overcome with his employer's magnanimity, while Hester, realizing her mistake, sobs softly behind the curtains. It is imperative that Hester rush home to get the note she left there before her husband reaches the house. How can she get out of the hotel room? Hartley hears her crying, and accuses Stephen of having secreted a woman in the room. Stephen pleads guilty, and begs that Hartley let the lady get out of the room without being seen. Hartley agrees to this, and Stephen switches off the light. Hester makes her way out of the room in the darkness, and rushes for home. There she destroys the note, powders her red eyes, and changes her gown. When Hartley returns home for dinner, he finds Hester waiting for him with open arms. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
5 cast members

Name	Known for
Ben F. Wilson Jerome Hartley (as Ben Wilson) Jerome Hartley (as Ben Wilson) See fewer	The Power God (1925)
Dorothy Phillips Hester Hartley Hester Hartley See fewer	Broadway Love (1918)
William Welsh Stephen Carleton (as William Welch) Stephen Carleton (as William Welch) See fewer	The Bull's Eye (1917)
Charles Ogle Grimes Grimes See fewer	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
Leonora von Ottinger Marcia Marcia See fewer	The Narrow Path (1916)