A Serpent in the House - Production & Contact Info

A Serpent in the House (1916)
Short | Comedy, Short

Primary photo for A Serpent in the House

A Serpent in the House (1916)

Short | Comedy, Short

Eddie and Martha Davis have taken up their married life in their bungalow. Their faithful slavey continues to minister to their culinary needs at the same time that she persists in her romantic dreams. Still absorbed in her "detectuf" ...See moreEddie and Martha Davis have taken up their married life in their bungalow. Their faithful slavey continues to minister to their culinary needs at the same time that she persists in her romantic dreams. Still absorbed in her "detectuf" literature, she and her lover the ice man seek further for adventure, and find it in the mysterious doings of the mistress of the house. Martha receives an invitation from a club friend to spend the day with her at the beach. She sends this invitation by her husband, with instructions that Martha accompany him in his automobile to their home and from there they will go to the beach where the picnic is to be held. Martha accepts. When the slavey sees her mistress leave home with the stranger she believes that she is eloping. When Eddie returns the slavey tells him that his wife has gone away with a man. He seizes a gun and starts in pursuit. Left to herself the slavey prepares to entertain the ice man upon his regular rounds. She "borrows" one of her mistress' dresses, dons it, fixes herself up as a grand lady and dazzles her lover when he calls. He is so pleased with the effect that he insists on taking her to the beach for an outing. He is ashamed of his own clothes and the slavey lends him a suit of the master's. In full regalia they leave for the beach where the jolly and innocent little picnic party is already in full swing. The husband reaches the bench in search of his wife and her supposed lover and is unable to locate her until in the distance he sees a dress that he recognizes as his wife's. He chases the wearer through the mazes of the amusement pier, up and down wild rides, across lagoons, on the merry-go-round and upon the backs of camels. In the meantime, Martha, from a different angle has seen a man in the distance, clad as only her husband is wont to dress, disporting himself with a female lady, and horrified, she sets forth in pursuit. The ice man sees her coming, and jilts his companion. Martha chases him while Eddie is equally horrified at seeing his "wife" with another man. Both of them go for help, one for the police and the other for her friends of the picnic party. The slavey and the ice man know that it is their clothing which has placed them in their predicament, and while they have no others to wear they are forced to choose between sacrificing their apparel or losing their jobs, so they hastily tear off the offending garments and place them on dummies hastily constructed from life-belts and planks, and throw them into the water. Eddie, dashing back with the police, sees his wife's dress floating on the surface of the water and promptly dives in to save her. At another spot Martha sees her husband's suit sprawling in the water and effects his rescue on the opposite side of the pier. Both discover their mistake and believe that the other has played a mean joke on them. They become violently embittered. They climb up the ladders on the pier and face each other on opposite sides, recognize each other and are convinced that each has been guilty of a trick on the other. In the meantime, the real culprits have been forced out of the bath-house by the police, and are chased down the pier. They dash in between the combatants just as they rush together, and are seized, recognized and promptly thrown to the fishes, while a tearful reunion takes place between husband and wife. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
5 cast members

Name	Known for
Albert MacQuarrie Eddie Davis - The Husband Eddie Davis - The Husband See fewer	The Viking (1928)
Fritzi Brunette Martha Davis - The Wife Martha Davis - The Wife See fewer	The Green Flame (1920)
Jane Bernoudy The Slavey The Slavey See fewer	The Mysterious Outlaw (1917)
Tom Walsh The Ice Man The Ice Man See fewer	From Now On (1920)
Val Paul Actor Actor See fewer	Suspense (1913)