By the Flip of a Coin - Production & Contact Info

By the Flip of a Coin (1915)
Short | Drama, Short

By the Flip of a Coin (1915)

Short | Drama, Short

Colonel Owen Coll, of the British Army in India, is greatly perturbed when he receives word that Lieutenant Gerald Netter is to be stationed at his post. Years ago Gerald and Coll were rivals for the hand of Marian Denby. Marian favored ...See moreColonel Owen Coll, of the British Army in India, is greatly perturbed when he receives word that Lieutenant Gerald Netter is to be stationed at his post. Years ago Gerald and Coll were rivals for the hand of Marian Denby. Marian favored Gerald. Then the Boer War started, and both men left for the front. In a charge one day, Coll surreptitiously shot Gerald from behind, and the doctors said there was little chance for his recovery. Coll put Gerald's name on the casualty list as dead. Gerald wrote a note to Marian, and gave it to Coll to deliver. Coll destroyed it, and told Marian that Gerald was dead. He courted her ardently with her father's consent. Finally Marian wrote to him, addressing him as her dear friend, but relating how she could never marry him, as she did not love him. Coll put the letter in another envelope, and sent it to Gerald. Coll refused to take Marian at her word, and urged by her father, Marian finally consented to marry him. Gerald meets Marian at a ball given by the British officers. She is greatly agitated, but Coll calmly introduces her as his wife. Gerald treats her coldly, and she slips him her dance card, on which is written to meet her in the grove without. Gerald does so, and explanations are made. The old love surges back, and Gerald seizes her in his arms. And thus Coll finds them. He tells Gerald they will avoid scandal, and that he will give him cause to act at the club the next night. At home, Coll sends Marian to her room. He reads in a book of army regulations that dueling is forbidden. Then he conceives another plan. The next day he has some business with a native goldsmith, and that night at the club, he seemingly starts an argument with Gerald. It ends with Gerald's flinging his glove in Coil's face. Since dueling is forbidden, Coll tells of his plan to obtain satisfaction. They will flip a coin. If heads turn up Gerald must suicide by ten o'clock the following night and if tails turn Coll must. The coin is flipped, and turns up heads. Without a word Gerald leaves the room. It is eight o'clock the next night. The officers at the club sit in tense groups. Coll has been drinking and goes home intoxicated. Marian meets him and begs him to tell her what was agreed upon the night before. Coll relates how her lover will be dead within an hour, and drunkenly explains how he flipped the coin. He lets the coin fall, and Marian picks it up. It is heads on both sides. She sees through her husband's villainy and rushes to the door to inform on him. He catches her, locks her in her room. Marian descends from the balcony by a rope of sheets and rushes to the officers' club. There she explains matters, and begs the men to save Gerald. They look at the clock, 9:55. There is but one chance, by telephone. And luckily they catch Gerald in the nick of time. With the whole affair explained, the officers decide to get an explanation from Coll. Meanwhile Coll realizes that he is in grave danger. He takes up a revolver, and says meaningfully, "This won't be the first time a revolver has been accidentally discharged." He cautiously enters Marian's room and discovers her escape. All is lost. He sees the officers coming up the road. Terrified, he locks himself into the library. The officers pound at the door, and he decides upon the one way left for him. He unlocks the door and hastily retreats to a little alcove. The officers see a puff of smoke, and rush up to find the man dead. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

Contacts

+ Add

Become a member to see contact information for By the Flip of a Coin.

Cast	+ Add Cast
6 cast members

Name	Known for
Lee Shumway Col. Owen Coll (as Leon C. Shumway) Col. Owen Coll (as Leon C. Shumway) See fewer	Go-Get-'Em, Haines (1936)
Velma Whitman Marian Denby Marian Denby See fewer	Some Boy (1917)
George Routh Lt. Gerald Netter Lt. Gerald Netter See fewer	While the Children Slept (1913)
R. Henry Grey Actor (as Robert Gray) Actor (as Robert Gray) See fewer	Twin Kiddies (1917)
Sid Hayes Actor Actor See fewer	The Secret Room (II) (1915)
Melvin Mayo Actor Actor See fewer	The Death Warrant (1914)