The Checkmate (1917)

Run Time - 75 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

Jackie Saunders has a dual role in this rather trite comedy-drama. Twin sisters Claire and Ida Marley (Saunders) grow up on a ranch. Ida is an innocent, hoydenish tomboy and loves her life in the country; Claire, on the other hand, longs for civilized life and heads for the big city, where she goes to work in a department store. Claire is courted by the wealthy Roy Vandegrift (Frank Mayo), but he betrays her. Brokenhearted, she returns home. A short time later, Vandegrift shows up near the Marley ranch on a fishing trip. He meets Ida and starts romancing her. Claire finds out, but she doesn't reveal herself to him. Instead, she lets the relationship take its course until he has convinced Ida to elope with him. Then Claire, taking advantage of her resemblance to her sister, takes Ida's place. Only after the wedding ceremony does Vandegrift find out that he has married Claire -- but it doesn't matter since he loves her anyway.