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  • The Unhidden Treasure (1915)
  • Short | Short, Comedy, Thriller
The Unhidden Treasure (1915)
Short | Short, Comedy, Thriller

Phyllis Bacon, ward of an eccentric uncle, Thomas, is informed by the latter that she must marry Billie Ingle, the son of her uncle's best friend, whom Phyllis has never seen. Phyllis refuses and leaves the house to spend a few days with a...See morePhyllis Bacon, ward of an eccentric uncle, Thomas, is informed by the latter that she must marry Billie Ingle, the son of her uncle's best friend, whom Phyllis has never seen. Phyllis refuses and leaves the house to spend a few days with a girlfriend. Meanwhile, Billie Ingle receives the same orders from his father that he must marry Phyllis Bacon. Jefferson Ingle calls upon Thomas Bacon and the two arrange a clever plot. One week later, Phyllis is called home by the news that her beloved uncle has been drowned. His body is not recovered. At the same time Billie is told of a similar happening and is wild with grief. The lawyer calls on Phyllis and shows her a strange codicil, which provides that she must search for the fortune left by Thomas Bacon which the latter had carefully hidden somewhere on the "Bacon Cables" homestead. At the same time, Billie Ingle, rummaging through his father's effects discovers a will almost identical with the one left behind by Bacon. Billie cannot find another thing to aid him, except a few old rusty keys in the same drawer which he pockets. They both set out for "Bacon Cables." Phyllis arrives and finds the old house deserted save for an old gray-haired caretaker and wife. The girl sets forth on a tour of inspection and makes discoveries of strange mounds in the earth and a locked and barricaded summer kitchen, an old well and a dirty and grimy cellar with strange old trunks and boxes. Phyllis returns to eat a hasty meal when she discovers that there is a stranger at hand, Billie Ingle, who calls himself Jack Brown. Phyllis is not exactly pleased at his presence, and after the meal she offers a curt excuse and departs, while Billie, shown to an old-fashioned room on the upper floor, makes an immediate investigation of the walls and floors. Phyllis confines her operations to the ground. She unearths a package wrapped and sealed with much care. In the package she finds a note which reads: "You have shown yourself to be interested. The treasure lies near at hand." Phyllis bursts into tears and Billie, hearing the sounds, asks if he can be of assistance. Phyllis is angry and cuts him but afterward is sorry. Billie makes the discovery that the house contains an attic, which is securely locked and nailed. He decides that the treasure must be hidden there. Noticing a wall piece, he looks behind it and finds a huge brass key. Remembering those he has in his pocket, Billie tries them on all the doors but without success. Meanwhile, Phyllis awakens and discovers a large key and a note in her pillow, telling her not to give up as she is proceeding along right lines. She comes out of her room and sees Billie stealing alone and examining every nook. She is alarmed and thinks him an intruder, but determines to watch him until he finds the treasure, intending then to demand half. She watches his operations in the library, when from behind a tall painting he pulls a leather wallet and another tantalizing note which reads: "There is no need to smash things to get the treasure. It is accessible without much effort." Billie's patience is exhausted and he is about to hurl a chair into the old master when Phyllis appears and halts him, telling him that he has no right to destroy what is hers. They quarrel and neither will give in. That night Phyllis retires tired but feeling that Billie is rather nice, while Billie retires feeling that Phyllis is the one and only woman. Just after the hall clock has struck 1 a.m., somber figures come down from the attic, and gliding along the halls let themselves into Phyllis's room. Phyllis is frozen with fear. She screams loudly for help and the intruders dance about the room. Billie hurries to Phyllis's side to see the intruders vanish into the cedar chest. A thorough search fails to reveal them. Phyllis falls ill. Billie feels lonesome when she does not appear. Phyllis for the first time examines her own room to find just a solitary slip of soiled paper which reads: "Two heads are always better than one." Phyllis begins to realize that if they are to accomplish anything they best work together. That afternoon both set out together and find a quiet spot where Billie tells Phyllis he loves her. On their return to the house the two proceed to the library and sit before the fireplace. Suddenly Phyllis looks into a mirror and calls Billie's attention to the head and shoulders of a man whose face and features are covered by a hooded mask. Billie would arise and attack him but Phyllis bids him wait. Then another masked head appears and a gloved hand gives the first one a key. They unlock a wall cabinet, place something therein and then vanish. Billie makes a wild dash for the room only to find it vacant. Billie then explains to Phyllis his purpose at the "Bacon Cables." Billie begs Phyllis to run away with him and give up all of the treasure. Phyllis is willing. Again thinking of the cabinet, Billie rushes to it, finding this time something which he had overlooked, a key with a tag attached which reads: "You may search the world for treasure which oftimes is hidden within your own grasp." Hearing sounds within, Billie tears off the wall cabinet, disclosing a secret panel. The panel opens and to their terror, out of the interior walks two masked figures. While the lovers are quivering in terror, the two remove their strange make-up, revealing the laughing faces of Thomas Bacon and Jefferson Ingle. Explanations follow and the young couple care not for the mirth poked at them from the older men in their own complete happiness. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Mar 8, 1915

Release date
Mar 8, 1915 (United States)

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Cast

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3 cast members
Name Known for
Matt Moore
Billy Ingle Billy Ingle   See fewer
Mary Fuller
Phyllis Bacon Phyllis Bacon   See fewer
Charles Ogle
Thomas Bacon Thomas Bacon   See fewer
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