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The night before she is to announce her engagement to Robert Darzac (Edmund Elton), Mathilde Stangerson (Ethel Gray Terry) is attacked and some documents are taken from her father's safe. Master detective Frederick Larsan (George Cowl) is called in on the case, but no one seems to be able to solve the crime. When the Stangerson's gamekeeper (Ivan Doubble) is murdered, the plot thickens. All the evidence finally points to Darzac and he is put on trial. But a newspaper reporter, Rouletabille (Lorin Raker), has been keeping tabs on the case and he is finally able to pin the crimes on Larsan. This melodramatic mystery -- based on the novel by French author Gaston Leroux -- was so well structured that those who hadn't read the book could never have guessed the end.