A Kiss for Susie
Summary
In an era often preoccupied with material ascent, "A Kiss for Susie" presents a charmingly anachronistic narrative, a poignant meditation on intrinsic worth over extrinsic wealth. Susie, the unassuming scion of a diligent bricklayer, finds herself at the nexus of burgeoning affection and societal artifice. Her suitor, a young man of considerable means, paradoxically sheds his gilded trappings, adopting the humble guise of a hod-carrier to genuinely woo her, a testament to his authentic desire untainted by class distinctions. This earnest deception, however, irks his socially ambitious mother, whose aspirations for a Newport-centric union clash with her son's profound devotion to the bricklayer's daughter. The film then pivots with a serendipitous inheritance, catapulting Susie's family into the echelons of opulence. Yet, this newfound affluence proves a gilded cage, rendering Susie profoundly disquieted. Recognizing the corrosive power of unearned riches, she orchestrates a remarkably audacious scheme: a simulated financial ruin for her father, convincing him of a catastrophic stock market loss. This calculated ruse ultimately dismantles the barriers of their newfound, joyless prosperity, paving the way for a return to simpler, more meaningful existence and, ultimately, her union with the steadfast suitor who saw beyond her station.
Synopsis
Susie is the daughter of a very good bricklayer. The lad who loves her is a very rich lad, as all lads should be, but, alas are not. To win her, he poses as a hod-carrier, certainly an unromantic disguise for a wooer. His mother has social aspirations for him, with Newport as a base of action, but what cares he? He loves the bricklayer's daughter. Is it not simple? It is. Simple, but sweet. Later Susie gets rich by means of a legacy, and the bricklayer's family moves into opulent quarters. Then sweet Susie is elegantly-gowned, but no happier. What are mere dollars to sweet Susie? The main situation in which Susie figures is one of finance. Seeing that dollars mean unhappiness, she plans to induce her father to invest in the stock market and to let him believe that he has lost all. This scheme succeeds in bringing the picture to its ideal end, and Susie marries the lad who posed as the hod-carrier. - Picture Play Magazine 1917.
