Love's Prisoner (1919) Olive Thomas, Joe King, William V. Mong.mp4

Director: John Francis Dillon

Writers: E. Magnus Ingleton (screenplay), E. Magnus Ingleton (story)

Stars: Olive Thomas, Joe King, William V. Mong | See full cast & crew »

Synopsis by Janiss Garza
When her pickpocket father is sent up the river, Nancy (Olive Thomas) has to provide for her younger sisters. She places them in the care of Jonathan Twist (William V. Mong), a jeweler and a fence, then goes to work as a demonstrator in a drug store. There she meets wealthy old Englishman Lord Cleveland and marries him. He dies not long after, and Nancy discovers that she has no title to his fortune. She returns to the States, playing the society dame by day and by night, dressed in boy's clothing, she robs rich people's homes. (However, she gives some of her ill-gotten earnings to the poverty-stricken people she grew up with, showing that she hasn't completely forgotten her roots!) Her skill at burglary inspires the police to put their craftiest detective, Jim Garside (Joe King), on her trail. He's probably not quite so sharp as he appears, since it takes him several weeks to nail Nancy, and that's only after he finds Twist -- who has been fencing the items she's stolen -- dead. He is about to accuse her of the murder when he finds out the real killer has been captured. So instead he falls in love with her. Needless to say, this preposterous film did not do Olive Thomas's career much good.