Summary
A stolen frock and three dollars mark Mary Murphy's desperate flight from institutional drudgery, her escape coinciding catastrophically with superintendent Grosset's brazen theft of ten thousand dollars. Branded a thief, the resourceful waif reinvents herself as plain-faced assistant to misanthropic entomologist William Saxton, only to have her past resurrected when Grosset arrives to blackmail her. As predatory fingers point toward the vulnerable orphan, a clandestine witness observes Grosset's true nature during a moonlit safe-cracking. Justice emerges from the shadows when Saxton reveals himself, culminating in the villain's arrest and Mary's union with the nephew who saw past her manufactured dowdiness to the resilient spirit beneath.
Synopsis
Mary Murphy, the eldest waif in an orphanage, steals a dress and $3, then escapes to the city. Grosset, the superintendent of the institution, steals $10,000 on the same night, and Mary is suspected of the theft. Mary manages to get a job as assistant to entomologist William Saxton, after she changes her appearance because the Professor dislikes pretty and fashionably dressed young ladies, but his nephew David sees her true beauty and falls in love with her. Grosset arrives at the Professor's house and threatens to expose Mary. Mary discovers Grosset robbing the safe, but he places the blame on her. Saxton was actually hiding behind the curtain the whole time and heard the truth. Grosset is arrested, and Mary weds David.
Director
Cast
