(Chaney not in picture)

THE OLD COBBLER

Released 6/27/14 by Universal/101 Bison; Director: Murdock MacQuarrie; Screenplay: Seymour Hastings; 2 reels

CAST: Murdock MacQuarrie (Nathan), Richard Rosson (Dick), Agnes Vernon (Jess), Lon Chaney (Wild Bill)

SYNOPSIS: An old cobbler, Nathan, catches his son Dick stealing money from his purse. He turns the boy out, hoping that the world will remedy his bad nature. He goes upstairs to commiserate with his alcoholic wife, but he finds her dead. Nathan heads West and settles in a mining camp where he brings charity and kindness to all. One day, Wild Bill, a gunslinger, comes to Nathan to have a boot repaired and treats him rudely. Nathan throws the man out of his shop, and Bill comes to respect the old man's courage. Bill's sweetheart, Jess, is a dance hall girl and when she has a slipper repaired by Nathan, he returns it with a note inside. The note touches her so deeply that she gives up her dance hall life. One day Bill captures a highway man who robbed a stage and recognizes him as Nathan's son Dick from a picture he had seen. He returns the boy to his father and returns the stolen money, reporting that the robbers got away.

"Mr. MacQuarrie shines greatest in a character role, and here is one that could not have been improved upon if it had been written especially for him. The supporting cast, with Lon Chaney and Mr. Rosson at the head, gives a telling account of itself. The settings, for the most part, are Western, picturesque and beautifully photographed." ---Moving Picture World


© 1996,2008 Jon C. Mirsalis


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