Summary
A tapestry woven with threads of inherited delusion and capitalist chicanery, "Betty to the Rescue" unfolds a saga of profound financial deception and the eventual, if circuitous, triumph of genuine affection over avarice. We witness the precipitous decline of the Sherwin fortune, secretly plundered by the duplicitous mine expert, James Fleming, who conceals a veritable gold mine beneath a facade of worthlessness. Orphaned Betty, shielded from her family's penury by the benevolent, albeit financially strained, Kenwood siblings, navigates a world of assumed luxury. Her return from boarding school, marked by an unsettling confrontation with her guardians' newfound toil, prompts her to unwittingly exacerbate their plight by hiring staff. The narrative intensifies with the tragic ruin of their last agricultural hope, an orange crop, coinciding with Fleming's opportunistic, yet rejected, proposal. Betty's offer of her phantom wealth to the quietly suffering John Kenwood, a gesture met with his bittersweet amusement, highlights the poignant irony of her situation. The revelation of the mine's true barrenness, delivered by Fleming during another failed matrimonial overture, propels Betty into a desperate, dream-fueled quest for gold. Her subsequent encounter with Big Jim and the ensuing "salting" prank in the mine underscore her naiveté. A reckless gamble in a den of chance leads to her ruin, only for Fleming to re-emerge, staking a claim on her hand just as John arrives. Yet, fate, or perhaps narrative contrivance, intervenes: a peculiar "nugget" ignites a genuine discovery, unmasking Fleming's elaborate fraud and revealing a million-dollar vein. The ensuing emotional maelstrom sees John finally confessing his enduring love, initially daunted by Betty's sudden affluence, only for Betty to bridge the perceived chasm with a heartfelt declaration and a proposal that seals their destiny in a joyous embrace.
Synopsis
Henry Sherwin has every cent invested in a mine which is apparently valueless. James Fleming, a mine expert, discovers a rich vein of gold in the mine but keeps it secret. Mr. Sherwin dies and leaves Betty, his daughter, in the care of John Kenwood and his sister, Constance who, finding the estate worthless, allows Betty to believe she has an income. She goes to boarding school, lives luxuriously, and when she returns home is shocked to find John and Constance working, so she hires two servants. A frost wipes out the orange crop, their last hope. Fleming proposes to Betty and is refused. Betty tells John he may have all her money, and although heartbroken and discouraged, he is greatly amused. Fleming finally tells Betty her mine is worthless, again asks her to marry him and is again refused. Betty dreams she sees gold pouring from her mine and runs away. Going to the mine she finds Big Jim, and together they search for gold. The boys "salt" the mine and Betty is delighted at her supposed find of gold. She learns of the joke and decides to try her luck at gambling. She stakes her nuggets in a roulette game and loses. Fleming finds her here and takes her in his arms, announcing, just as Kenwood enters, she is to become his wife. As Jim and the proprietor of the gambling house are looking over the nuggets Jim notices a strange one and asks Betty where she found it. She leads him to the mine and he discovers a rich vein, worth a million. Fleming's conspiracy is discovered. John takes Betty in his arms and tells her he has always loved her, and is informed of the discovery of the gold. Her sudden wealth seems in his mind to create a great gulf between them, but she wriggles back into his embrace. She tells him she loves him and asks him to be her husband. He takes her closer in his arms and their happiness is complete.
Review Excerpt
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Stepping back into the nascent years of cinematic storytelling, we encounter a shimmering relic from 1917, a silent drama titled Betty to the Rescue. This isn't just a film; it's a window into the narrative sensibilities and audience expectations of over a century ago. Directed by an uncredited hand, and penned by Beatrice DeMille and Leighton Osmun, it delivers a potent blend of melodrama, financial intrigue, and blossoming romance, all wrapped in the visual poetry of the silent era. For c..."
