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» » The Pawns of Destiny (1914)

Short summary

Tom Hansell, a struggling young lawyer, occupies the attic room in Mrs. Jones' tenement rooming house. He has as a partner John Stone, once a successful lawyer, but now a relic of the past, due to over indulgence in drink. Their practice is limited to little or no clients and only through Tom's hard and studious work are they kept from starving. The house is practically cared for by Flo, a slavey, whom Mrs. Jones adopted when but an orphan child, and who has been raised without the advantage of education except that which she managed to scrape up through a natural desire for the better things in life. She notices the plight of Tom and the great privations he endures and at various times while he is absent from the room, she brings bits of delicacies and places them on his table. Tom is so disheartened by ill luck he never thinks to inquire who his strange benefactor is. Even when she is cleaning his room he never stops his studies to look up and answer any questions she may ask him. ...

The publicity surrounding this film, which involved a fire, had actress Florence Lawrence rescuing actor Matt Moore from a fire that got out of control on the set. She supposedly carried the 200 pound Moore from the fire. This was untrue. However, after the end of that film, Florence Lawrence retired from show business for five years. By the time she reappeared, her fame and career were essentially over.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Cordabor
    It is a convincingly told tale of those in humble circumstances, of struggle on the part of a man, of love which she dared not reveal on the part of a little slavey, of her bravery in rescuing from death this man, of her self-sacrifice and self-abnegation in supporting a blind man. and of his self-renunciation in turn when she refuses to permit an officious landlady to force a marriage of a man incapable of supporting even himself on to a woman in spite of her willingness. There is deep human appeal throughout; in the second reel especially there is a pull on the heartstrings that to some may be at times uncomfortable. It is all a pretty story and an absorbing one. It is well staged. One of the most effective settings is the operating room and the showing of the surgeons at work in the single shaft of light that pierces the absolute darkness. The elaborate kitchen will interest the feminine side of any house. It is a detail, but not a minor one. The fire in the big tenement house, with the fleeing tenants and the entering firemen, is vividly portrayed. Charles Craig, who plays Gordon, is excellent in his characterization. It will be noticed that in Miss Lawrence's interpretation of the slavey there is an absence of the lightness of foot which is one of her characteristics; in its stead there is the stiff-jointed gait of the drudge. - The Moving Picture World, May 2, 1914
  • Cast overview:
    Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence - Flo
    Matt Moore Matt Moore - Tom Hansell
    Charles Craig Charles Craig - John Stone
    Laura Oakley Laura Oakley - Mrs. Jones - the Landlady
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