The Modern Prodigal - Production & Contact Info

The Modern Prodigal (1913)
Short | Short, Drama

The Modern Prodigal (1913)

Short | Short, Drama

Part One: With all the good influences and favorable surroundings of a model home, Mr. and Mrs. Gray cannot understand why their son, Jack, does not prefer it to all other places. Jack seeks pleasure elsewhere and his father finds fault ...See morePart One: With all the good influences and favorable surroundings of a model home, Mr. and Mrs. Gray cannot understand why their son, Jack, does not prefer it to all other places. Jack seeks pleasure elsewhere and his father finds fault with him for his non-appearance at supper-time or his delay in getting home a certain hour at night. This arouses Jack's anger, and he tells his father the only way to avoid his fault-finding is to get out of the way of it. His father replies, "If you leave this house and go to your evil companions, you leave it forever." His mother tries to intercede, but Jack has cast the die. He goes to a roadhouse with his thoughtless associates for a good time. They are all seated at a table eating and drinking when a girl at the next table flirts with Jack. Her escort takes exception to Jack's familiarity. Jack, with his usual hot temper, resents his interference and in the melee, he strikes the man over the head with a bottle, felling him. During the confusion, Jack, with some of his companions, escape in an auto. They drive to the nearest railway station in time to catch the train bound for the west. The man whom Jack struck down is given immediate attention and he soon recovers from the blow. Fortunately, he is not seriously injured. Jack, not knowing the consequences of his escapade, and thoroughly frightened, determines to put a long distance between himself and any possibility of arrest. His father and mother are very much concerned about Jack's disappearance and constantly grieve about him. His mother's prayers are always for her boy and his safety. They avail much, for Jack cannot forget her gentle words and love for him at all times, and he determines to mend his ways and redeem the past. Mr. Gray, who is the head of a large Trust Company, has aged greatly since Jack left home, and together with his business anxieties, feels the strain very keenly, and regrets his harshness in the correction of his son. The last straw comes when the Trust Company, of which he is the president, is not able to meet its obligations and he is unable to raise the money necessary to tide over the crisis. His heart, which had always been weak, fails him and when he suddenly learns that his banking house must go to the wall and close its doors, he suddenly feels an ominous weakness come over him. Seizing the telephone receiver, he calls up his wife, telling her to hasten to his office at once. Before he can finish the message, he falls prostrate on his deck and expires, just as one of the clerks enters the room. Mrs. Gray hurries to the bank, rushes into his office, followed by the angry depositors. She lifts her husband's head and announces he is dead. In the presence of the bereaved woman, the angry men stand speechless and remove their hats out of respect for Mr. Gray, as she falls in a faint over his lifeless body. Part Two: Mrs. Gray is left alone with her only companion, her faithful collie, Jean, her only solace in her bereavement. To satisfy the creditors, the Gray mansion and its contents are sold at auction. She is offered a home by a friend, but their pride prompts her to refuse it, and she determines to go to New York. With her few belongings and her dog Jean, she leaves, to face an uncertain future. Jack has secured a good position, through hard work and close attention to business, and has made himself a valuable employee. In his spare moments and at night, he has invented an automobile attachment which he has patented. He receives word by telegraph that a number of capitalists will incorporate for the manufacture of his device, and give him 25% of the stock and $50,000 in cash. He accepts the proposition and suddenly finds himself a comparatively wealthy man. Visions of the past come before him. His mind is made up to return to his home and make his parents happy with the knowledge of his accomplishments for good. He gives notice and departs for home. Arriving there, he goes at once to his father's place of business and finds it closed. As he is searching for information, he meets a lawyer who did business with the family and from him learns what has happened. He breaks down completely and gives way to his sorrow. Recovering himself, he makes arrangements with the lawyer to trace the old household effects and to recover as many of them as he can, while he goes to New York in search of his mother. Mrs. Gray has found it very hard work to make her living with her own hands, and finally becomes so poor that she is obliged to go to an old woman's home, to which she is taken sick and helpless. Jack fails to locate his mother. Seated on one of the benches of the boulevard, he is seriously meditating his next step, when the nurse attending his mother at the home, walks by with the dog Jean, who rushes up to Jack. He returns its friendly greeting by throwing his arms about its neck. The nurse, in surprise, asks Jack what it means and after explanations, he learns his mother's whereabouts. Calling a taxi, they drive to the home where Jack finds his dear old mother making herself as useful as she can in her feebleness. The meeting is intermingled with joy and pathos and after Jack furnishes his mother with a suitable wardrobe, be loses no time in taking her from the place. They return to their old home, which he has re-purchased and re-furnished with as many of the old furnishings as could be recovered. Jack leads his mother to the place where once hung his own portrait and pointing to the wall, shows her the portrait of his father, telling her that while he is not with them in the flesh, he will ever be in their remembrance. Her mother's heart goes out in thanksgiving and praise for the return of her boy and the re-occupancy of the old home, where she and Jack settle down to the enjoyment of his good fortune and forget the trials of the past. Jack, with his mother, sitting before the old fireside, finds no pleasanter moments than to remind her that he can now realize the kindly intentions of his father and appreciate her prayers for his safety and guidance. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
4 cast members

Name	Known for
Van Dyke Brooke Mr. Gray, a Banker Mr. Gray, a Banker See fewer	Betty's Choice (1909)
Mary Maurice Mrs. Gray Mrs. Gray See fewer	Les miserables (Part II) (1909)
James Morrison Jack Gray, Their Son Jack Gray, Their Son See fewer	Captain Blood (1924)
Jean Jean, the Dog Jean, the Dog See fewer	The Signal of Distress (1912)