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Who Knows?
Director:
Jack Pratt
(Dir)
Release Date:
1917
Duration (in reels):
6
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Display Movie Summary
Cast:
Betty Brice
(Jerry Weaver)
Jay Morley
(Surgeon Thomas Rawn)
Charles Arling
(Hank Weaver/Dr. Raymond Pratt)
Sam Wood
(Shed Applegate)
Stella Wilson
(Mrs. Weaver)
Edna May Wilson
(Dusk Weaver)
Dorothy Love Clark
(Dawn Weaver)
Summary:
When county treasurer Dr. Raymond Pratt loses the money in his care to political robbers, he disappears after leaving a note for his friend Tom Hammond saying that he will not return until he has replaced all of the money. Hammond replenishes the treasury out of his own pocket and dies in the poorhouse, without Pratt knowing that his disgrace was never made public. Years later, Hammond's nephew, Dr. Thomas Rawn, is sent West to investigate a mysterious disease called the Blue Death on the Quien Sabe ranch, owned by Pratt, who now poses as Hank Weaver. Thomas falls in love with Weaver's daughter Jenny but she resists his affection, thinking that he is a spy for a rival ranch, until he saves her from the Blue Death. In the end, Weaver discovers that he is not in disgrace and accepts an important post in Washington where Jenny and Thomas realize their love for each other.
Production Company:
Bernstein Film Productions
Distribution Company:
State Rights
Director:
Jack Pratt
(Dir)
Producer:
Isadore Bernstein
(Prod)
Writer:
Beatrice Morse
(Adpt)
Rosalie Ashton
(Adpt)
Photography:
Arthur Powelson
(Cam)
Country:
United States
Source Text:
Based on the short story "Who Knows?" by Ethel Dorrance, James Dorrance in
All-Story Weekly
(5 Aug-26 Aug 1916).
Authors:
James Dorrance
Ethel Dorrance
Physical Properties:
b&w:
Si:
Genre:
Western
Subjects (Major):
Disease
Nephews
Physicians
Ranchers
Ranches
Theft
United States--West
Subjects (Minor):
Friendship
Poorhouses
Self-sacrifice
Spies
Washington (D.C.)
Note:
This was the first film made by Bernstein Film Productions. Some sources list its length as seven reels. The film was listed in release charts in Dec 1917 as a state rights release of Oro Pictures Corp.
Bibliographic Sources:
Date
Page
ETR
9 Jun 17
p. 55.
Variety
29 Nov 18
p. 41.
Wid's
6 Dec 17
pp. 781-82.
3 Mar 17
p. 1370, 1411
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