Summary
In the gilded cage of early 20th-century New York, the dissolute Eddie Gillian, a scion of inherited comfort, drifts through life, his every whim indulged by the seemingly bottomless pockets of his cantankerous Uncle Bryson. His affections, though ostensibly pledged to the virtuous Margaret Hayden, Bryson's ward, are more frequently squandered on the ephemeral charms of Lotta Lauriere, a burlesque queen whose allure is as superficial as his own inherited wealth. The sudden demise of Uncle Bryson shatters Eddie's complacent existence, revealing a will that, with a stroke of ironic genius, bequeaths him a mere thousand dollars. This paltry sum is accompanied by a cryptic directive: to spend it with judicious prudence and profound unselfishness. The revelation acts as a crucible; Lotta, her mercenary nature exposed, promptly abandons him. It is in this crucible that Eddie’s character begins to forge anew. He bestows the thousand dollars upon Margaret, whose own inheritance amounts to a pittance, convinced that the meager sum is her rightful due. This act of genuine altruism, unforeseen by Eddie, triggers the true intent of Bryson’s will. Bryson’s sagacious lawyer then unveils the ultimate test: a half-million-dollar fortune awaits Eddie, conditional upon his generous expenditure of the initial thousand. Even as Eddie, now utterly transformed, attempts to cede this grand prize to Margaret, her wisdom prevails, and she agrees to share the magnanimity with him, not as a recipient of charity, but as his future wife, completing a narrative arc from gilded hedonism to enlightened partnership.
Synopsis
Eddie Gillian, a wild young New Yorker, lives well on a generous allowance given to him by Old Bryson, his crabby uncle. Eddie loves Bryson's ward, Margaret Hayden, but spends most of his time with Lotta Lauriere, a burlesque queen. After Bryson's death, Eddie is shocked to learn that he has been left only $1,000, which the will advises him to spend prudently and unselfishly. When Lotta discovers this and deserts him, Eddie gives the money to Margaret, who has inherited only $10, telling her that it is rightfully hers. Bryson's lawyer then informs Eddie that he will inherit half a million provided that he spend the $1,000 generously, and although Eddie attempts to turn that, too, over to Margaret, she agrees to share it with him as his wife.
