Summary
A sprawling canvas of intergenerational animosity and fated romance, "A Million a Minute" unfurls from the acrid rivalry between the Quaintance brothers, Philip and Miles, vying for the heart of Ellen Sheridan. Philip's fleeting triumph and subsequent demise leave Ellen a grieving widow, only for Miles, consumed by an unyielding, unrequited desire, to initiate a relentless campaign of psychological torment. Her flight southward with infant Stephen merely postpones the inevitable, as the boy matures, steeped in his mother's harrowing account of Miles's cruelties, fostering a deep-seated bitterness that propels him to the distant shores of South Africa. Concurrently, Miles, now a formidable magnate, experiences a belated pang of conscience, meticulously crafting a bizarre testamentary decree: his colossal $10 million fortune is bequeathed to Stephen and his refined ward, Dagmar Lorraine, contingent upon their marriage before a specific midnight deadline. Dagmar, herself reeling from a devastating Parisian romantic entanglement with the dissolute Duke de Reves, flees back to America, unwittingly crossing paths with a disguised Stephen who, oblivious to her true identity, chivalrously defends her against the Duke's blackmailing valet. A maelstrom of mistaken identities, the opportunistic machinations of an imposter (Mark Seager) attempting to usurp Stephen's legacy, and a breathless transatlantic chase ensues. As all principal characters converge in a climactic Parisian confrontation, Dagmar finds herself ensnared by Seager for a coerced union, the villainous Duke meets his violent end, and Stephen, arriving dramatically in the eleventh hour, liberates Dagmar. In the shadow of the rapidly ticking clock, they discover a profound, authentic love, ultimately choosing devotion over the tainted millions, exchanging vows mere moments after the deadline, thereby rejecting the manipulative legacy and forging a destiny entirely their own.
Synopsis
Philip and Miles Quaintance quarrel over the love of Ellen Sheridan; Miles is rejected, while Philip is successful. Philip dies soon after his son is born, and Miles proposes to the widow. When she refuses him, he uses every means to make her unhappy. She leaves the Southland where they live, taking her infant son Stephen. When Stephen has grown to manhood, his mother dies, first telling him the story of Miles' persecution. He is so embittered against his uncle that he avoids meeting him, and he leaves for South Africa. Miles Quaintance amasses a fortune, and in his declining years he hopes to meet Stephen to make restitution for the wrongs he had done his parents. Miles has a ward, Dagmar Lorraine, whom he sends to Paris to study singing. There she meets Etienne, the Duke de Reves, who has an unsavory reputation. He makes violent love to Dagmar and obtains her consent to marry him. After the ceremony a woman enters the church carrying a baby whom she claims is the Duke's son. Horrified, Dagmar flees from the church and returns to America. In a whimsical mood, and partly to atone for the wrongs he had done in his past, Miles makes a will leaving his $10 million fortune to Dagmar and Stephen, provided that they marry and that the wedding takes place before midnight of the following May 31. Miles does not know of Dagmar's wedding and dies before she arrives in America. Stephen is notified of the contents of the strange will at a trading station in Africa. He decides he will take no assistance from his uncle, and with Timothy O'Farrell, a companion, he plans a way out of it. They find the body of a white man floating in the river, and Stephen puts all his papers and trinkets in the pockets of the dead man. Mark Seager, a gunrunner, finds the body and conceives the idea of impersonating the dead man, marrying Dagmar, and claiming the legacy. He sets off for America immediately. Stephen and O'Farrell also leave for America. They are in a restaurant, where they see a man abusing a young girl and using threatening language. It is the valet of the Duke, who has met Dagmar and is trying to blackmail her for his silence. Stephen drives the valet out of the place, and is charmed by the appearance and manner of the girl. She leaves before he can question her. While driving her automobile home that night, Dagmar has trouble with the engine. When she stops to fix it Seager, who does not know her, observes her predicament and attempts to take advantage of it. She frightens him away with a revolver. The next day, Stephen sees an automobile offered for sale, and noticing that it corresponds with the one driven by the girl he met the day before, he answers the advertisement. Dagmar sells the car to him as she is low in funds. That night the valet and the Duke come to her home and she flees, taking passage the next morning on a steamship bound for Paris, where she has left some money in a bank. Seager learns that she has gone, and he follows. Likewise do the Duke and Stephen and O'Farrell. Stephen, taking the name of A. Newman. Seagar finds Dagmar in Paris and tells her he has come to marry her. One look at him and she leaves. The Duke finds her and persuades her to come to him, saying he will lead a better life, and introduce her to his own society. On the night of the reception she is kidnapped by Seager, who takes her to a deserted house where he has arranged for a rascally advocate to come and marry them. The Duke follows to the house and is killed in a fight with Seager. Stephen and O'Farrell have followed the Duke's valet and arrive there just as Seager is forcing Dagmar into a marriage. It is just 10 minutes to midnight, the time assigned for the $10 million wedding. Seager is driven from the place and Stephen and Dagmar tell each other of their love. Both agree not to touch a penny of Miles' fortune, and after the clock strikes twelve they are married.
