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The Ace of Death
(1915) United States of America
B&W : Three reels
Directed by William F. Haddock
Cast: Stella Hammerstein [Paula Castellar], Henry W. Pemberton [Ricardo Castellar], Leonard Craske [Felix Castellar], Kathleen Butler [Doris], Flavia Arcaro [Theresa], John Reinhard (John Reinhardt) [Belton], James Levering [Mali], Sydney Mason (Sidney Mason) [Steve], Jimmie Davis (J. Gunnis Davis) [the messenger]
Gaumont Company production; distributed by Mutual Film Corporation [Rialto Star Features]. / [?] From a screen story by O.H. Nelson? / Released 15 December 1915. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Paula Castellar owns two gambling places, one a disreputable den on a back street of an American city, with an underground passage to a more fashionable resort. Finding that her fading beauty is causing her to lose patrons in her fashionable gambling hall, she secures Doris Fenwick to preside at the gaming table. Doris is rescued from a suicide’s death by Paula just after she has pawned a diamond necklace, received at her room in the hotel by mistake, and lost the money at cards. Paula redeems the necklace, which she recognizes as once having belonged to her. Putting the necklace back in its original package, she seeks the woman to whom it belongs. At sight of her Paula recognizes the woman is Theresa Castellar, now a woman of fifty and a morphine fiend. She doesn’t reveal herself to Theresa, but in her own mind goes over the events which led to the loss of the necklace years ago. Theresa had fallen in love with Paula’s husband. Upon being repulsed her love had turned to hate and she had caused the Ace of Death to be given him at a meeting of patriots, sworn to sacrifice their lives for their country. Having taken the forced card, Paula’s husband had gone out to his death. The card had been given by a gambler named Belton, who was under Theresa’s influence. After the death of Paula’s husband the two had fled from Central America, where she and her husband then lived. First Theresa had set Paula’s child adrift at sea and robbed her of the precious diamond necklace. After recovering from the shock of these several misfortunes Paula had gone to the United States and haunted its gambling houses in the hope that she might find Theresa and Belton. She now determines to use Doris to revenge herself on Theresa. Belton, who is still with Theresa, becomes a frequenter of the gambling house and falls madly in love with Doris. Paula plays upon Theresa’s jealousy, and by a message which seems accidentally to fall into her hands Paula lures Theresa to the gambling house just after Belton has been dealt the Ace of Death. At last the two are in Paula’s power. Just as Paula has declared that either Theresa or Belton must die, leaving the choice to them, Doris enters, wearing a locket which had been about her neck when she had been set adrift at sea. Paula recognizes that the girl is her own daughter. Overjoyed at finding life yet has happiness in store for her, she allows Theresa and Belton to escape the doom she had planned. However their freedom was brief, as Theresa, a few hours later, while crazed because she cannot secure the drug to which she had become addicted, kills Belton and then herself. Paula closes her gambling houses and determines to live the rest of her life for her daughter.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 25 November 2022.
References: Braff-Short n. 65 : Website-IMDb.
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