An American Citizen (1914)

• 73%
• 1914
• Comedy
• Romance
• J. Searle Dawley
• John Barrymore
• Evelyn Moore
• Peter Lang

Berresford Cruger, junior partner of the New York brokerage firm of Barbury, Brown and Cruger, is left a fortune of 60,000 pounds, by an English uncle, Carew, on the condition that he renounce his American citizenship, become a British subject, and marry an Englishwoman, the money otherwise being assigned to the Archaeological Society of England. Cruger patriotically refuses the fortune on these conditions, when his pretty English cousin, Beatrice Carew, who has been disinherited in favor of Cruger, because of a past romance with an American, suggests to him that they marry, and so keep the money in the family. Cruger's American chivalry, and a strong interest in his attractive cousin are aroused. At this critical moment the disappearance of Brown, with $80,000 which he had had in trust for a Miss Georgia Chapin, is discovered. Cruger and Barbury feel responsible for their partner's defalcation, which adds another incentive to Cruger's consent to a hasty marriage with Beatrice, who immediately returns to England, after both have agreed to leave each other absolutely free. With his newly acquired money Cruger secretly replaces the missing funds, and invests in the Opera House block of a Wyoming "boom" town, proceeding to forget all about it. Later, he and Barbury go to Nice, where Cruger again meets his cousin-wife. Here they fall seriously in love with each other, and many complications, pathetic and comic, ensue. The situation is further confused by the sudden reappearance of Brown, who, it transpires, is the missing ex-fiancé of Beatrice, believed by her to have been accidentally killed. Beatrice is now fully recovered from her love affair with Brown, but his former affection for her is revived when he learns that her fortune, after all, has not been lost. Brown's utter lack of character and manliness is evidenced by his efforts to part Cruger and Beatrice. Cruger realizes that Brown's design is to secure Beatrice's fortune by marrying her himself, and, in a dramatic scene, tells Brown that he had induced himself to marry Beatrice in order to restore Miss Chapin's stolen funds, and that he would consent to a divorce from Beatrice, if Brown would agree to return her portion of the estate in the event that be married her. Brown's ardor cools at this proposal, and he verifies Cruger's scant opinion of him by again disappearing. Beatrice misunderstands Cruger's motive, and condemns him as mercenary. Cruger can offer no defense and secretly bears the pang of Beatrice's innocent misjudgment. Beatrice leaves Cruger in anger and resentment. With a comic irony, the Archaeological Society at this juncture, which has sued to recover the money on the grounds that Cruger was not to share the behest with Beatrice, Carew's disinherited daughter, wins the action, and Cruger and Beatrice are forced to surrender their fortune and are left without funds or resources. With noble devotion, Cruger stints himself to send Beatrice money without her knowledge of the sacrifice, and is himself on the verge of starvation, when joyful word arrives that his Wyoming Opera House lot has really "boomed," and made him $50,000. Meanwhile, Georgia Chapin has learned of his unselfish replacement of her stolen funds, and his sacrifices for Beatrice, with which she loses no time in acquainting her. Awakened to a new realization of Cruger's real worth. Beatrice hastens to him to ask forgiveness, and is received with open arms by her hero, who has managed, through all his difficulties, to regain his American citizenship without losing wife or fortune.