The Secret of the Borgias - Cast

The Secret of the Borgias (1917)
Short | Mystery, Short

Primary photo for The Secret of the Borgias

The Secret of the Borgias (1917)

Short | Mystery, Short

Ralph Channing, a rather dissolute young man, plans to marry Doris, the daughter of Marsden Saltwell, a wealthy collector of antiques. He fails to convince Doris' father that he is worthy or that his financial affairs are in good shape and...See moreRalph Channing, a rather dissolute young man, plans to marry Doris, the daughter of Marsden Saltwell, a wealthy collector of antiques. He fails to convince Doris' father that he is worthy or that his financial affairs are in good shape and in this frame of mind he calls upon Elwell, an unscrupulous attorney, for advice. Elwell is in league with the "Spider," a master criminal who, from his invalid chair, directs the machinations of a notorious gang of rascals. Knowing nothing of his attorney's plan, but willing to leave everything in his hands provided he can get the girl's money, Channing consents. Doris' father gets a polite note from an antique shop which calls attention to a rare vase just received and believed to have come down from the period when Lucretia Borgia held men's lives in the palm of her hand. Saltwell buys the vase. That evening, in the presence of his daughter, he examines his purchase. As he inserts his hand to feel the finish of the inside he falls dead. Grant, police reporter on the Chronicle, accompanies the detective sent to investigate. On the back of the dead man's hand he discovers three tiny punctures that have traces of a greenish substance spreading out underneath the skin. Picking up the vase that Doris says was in her father's hand when he fell, he approaches the lawyer who has arrived as he says to discuss a business matter with the unfortunate master of the house. Elwell registers a horror of the vase that arouses all of Grant's suspicions. The next day he does some sleuthing on his own account. Denied admittance to the lawyer's office, he climbs across an "I" beam and so gains admittance through a rear window. Among the lawyer's papers he finds the address of the antique dealer. She is arrested and confesses that poisoned needless were concealed within the vase sold to Marsden Saltwell. Elwell, trapped, admits that it was the "Spider's" idea to get Saltwell out of the way before he could change his will and thereby insure the money falling to whoever married Doris. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
5 cast members

Name	Known for
George Larkin Tom Grant - Police Reporter Tom Grant - Police Reporter See fewer	The Lurking Peril (1919)
Ollie Kirby Doris Saltwell (as Ollie Kirkby) Doris Saltwell (as Ollie Kirkby) See fewer	Midnight Secrets (1924)
Robert Ellis The Spider The Spider See fewer	The Tiger's Trail (1919)
Cyril Courtney Marsden Saltwell Marsden Saltwell See fewer	Grant, Police Reporter (1916)
Harry Gordon Julius Elwell Julius Elwell See fewer	Grant, Police Reporter (1916)