The Battler (1919)
Directed by Frank Reicher
Run Time - 55 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
Share on
Synopsis by Janiss Garza
Handsome 1910s star Earl Metcalfe has a dual role in this World melodrama. Although he works in a tough business, fighter Jim Fortune (Metcalfe) has managed to stay honest. One night he helps Angelica Hart (Virginia Hammond), the wife of abusive society fighter Duncan Hart (Harry C. Brown), when her ring is stolen. On the evening that Fortune and Hart are pitted against each other, Hart brutally beats his wife. Angelica begs Fortune to give her husband a good beating, and he does. This is particularly humiliating to Hart, since he has brought the notorious Hortense Dale (Florence Malone) to watch the fight. Hart is shot and killed, and both Fortune and Angelica are suspected of the crime. Hortense and Hart's former trainer, a drug fiend named Toad Jennings (Irving Brooks), both testify against them. Hart's father, Hagan (also played by Metcalfe) is determined to discover the truth about the murder. During his investigation, he discovers that Fortune is his son from a previous marriage. Hortense and Jennings finally confess that they were behind Hart's killing, and Fortune and Angelica are set free.