The Criminal’s Thumb (1916)

movie

Country: USA
Genres: Drama, Short
Release: 1916-06-22
Director: Edwin Middleton
Writers: Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954) , Wright Huntington
Language: None | English
Stars: Alexander Gaden , Lucile Taft , John Reinhardt , Iva Shepard , Charles W. Travis , Henry W. Pemberton , Louise Byrd , Mathilde Baring , James Levering
Runtime: min
Awards: N/A
AKA: The Criminal's Thumb , The Spatulate Thumb (United States of America) , The Criminal's Thumb (United States of America)
Plot: Seeing that her employer is falling in love with her, Claire Kenwood, a stenographer in the law office of John Denham, resigns. She is in love with Robert Royce, a rather weak young man who works for David Reed. Unfortunately for Claire, Royce is under the influence of Kara Dalton, an adventuress who is a cabaret singer. Kara finds it profitable to stand in with Tom Carroll, a gambler who wields some power in the underworld. Carroll has a spatulate thumb on one hand, differing from that on the other. This is recognized by criminologists as the "murderer's thumb." Medical authorities estimate that only one person in one hundred thousand has such a thumb. The bearer is a marked man. Things go from bad to worse with Royce. Kara is getting all his money and continually demanding more. While with her one day, he drops a letter announcing that a wealthy customer, John Brewster, is coming to meet Mr. Reed. Kara turns the letter over to Carroll. As it says Brewster has never met Reed, Carroll decides that he will impersonate the customer in the hope that he can profit by the deception. Just before Carroll appears at Reed's office, Royce robs the safe. The door of the safe happens to be open when Carroll calls after office hours. Reed catches him at it, and is astonished that his customer, Mr. Brewster, should be going through his strong box. Seeing that he has been detected, the gambler grapples with the aged merchant. The shock is too much for Mr. Reed. He succumbs to heart disease. Carroll takes what little money is left in the safe and gets safely away. Royce is suspected. Despite the fact that Denham believes Royce had a hand in what the police believe to be a murder, the lawyer looks after the case for him because of his love for Claire. He even gets the money Royce had taken, and places it where there can be no suspicion of Royce's theft. The clerk, however, is arrested. Denham is able to show that the thumb marks on the lawyer's collar are not those of his client. It is then that suspicion points toward the owner of the spatulate thumb. Through Denham's efforts Royce is acquitted at the trial, and Carroll is brought to justice. During all the trouble which the weak youth had brought upon himself, Claire has been drawing closer and closer to Denham. At last she must choose between the two. Her first love has been weak, yet she feels that his experience and her love has now given him strength. She sorrowfully refuses the lawyer, to marry the man she can help.
IMDB:tt0924215