The Bottle Imp (1917)

• 74%
• 1917
• Drama
• Fantasy
• Marshall Neilan
• Sessue Hayakawa
• Lehua Waipahu
• H. Komshi

Lopaka, a poor Hawaiian fisherman, falls in love with Kokua, a young girl of royal blood. Her father refuses to let him marry her, though, unless Lopaka can bring him two feather cloaks from a rare bird. While searching the mountains for the bird, Lopaka encounters a dying priest of Pele who sells him a wishing bottle in which Kono, the god of the volcanos, is confined. The priest warns him of the dangers of the bottle: if he dies still owning it, he will be damned, and the only way to get rid of it is to sell it for a price smaller than was paid for it. Lopaka agrees and wishes to be rich, then marries Kokua and sells the bottle. All is well until Lopaka contracts leprosy. To get rid of it, he must acquire the bottle again, and he is forced to buy it for the smallest coin of the realm! To save her husband's soul, Kokua is ready to sacrifice herself by buying the bottle for a smaller French coin. Fortunately, a wicked sailor appears with a still smaller Chinese coin and becomes its final owner when the bottle is lost at sea. Lopaka's wealth vanishes, but he is happy to be with Kokua.