The Ruse
About The Ruse
Bat Peters, a gunfighter turned prospector, is invited to Chicago to sell his mine and bring ore samples. At the office of John Folsom he meets the stenographer May Dawson and rents a room in her mother's house. Folsom's men plan to cheat him out of the mine. May overhears them and is locked in an attic under an old woman. That night a confederate shows Peters the town, then a poker game in the same house. Peters spots the extra card, draws his guns, locks the players in, and hears May scream. He sets a barrel of straw alight and shouts fire. Folsom comes out of her room. Peters locks himself in with her until the police take the gang. He knocks Folsom down and walks May home.
Cast & crew
More about The Ruse
William S. Hart directed and plays Bat Peters. Thomas H. Ince produced. Writing credits list J. G. Hawks, Ince, C. Gardner Sullivan, and A. R. Johnson. Clara Williams plays May Dawson. John Davidson is John Folsom. Fanny Midgley is Mrs. Dawson. Gertrude Claire is the woman who holds May. A listed running time is 23 minutes.
Themes
Background
Ince was producing Hart's two-reel Westerns and city melodramas in 1915, just before the five-reel Hart features.
Making
Hart made the short for Ince as a city picture rather than a range story: the prospector carries his guns into a Chicago office and a rigged card game.
Preservation
A print is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- The crooked game is a six-card draw, which Peters names out loud before he pulls his guns.
- The fire is a barrel of straw on the landing, lit so Folsom will open the attic door.
- May had gone back to the office for a forgotten handbag when she heard the plan.
- Peters rents a room from May's mother before he knows she works for Folsom.
- A copy is on the Internet Archive under silent-the-ruse.
Scenes
- May is caught listening and shut in the attic.
- Peters refuses the six-card draw and locks the players in.
- He lights the straw and yells fire to draw Folsom out of May's room.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-ruse)
