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[Detective Kelly]
(1914) Germany
B&W : Two reels
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
[?] Messters Projektion Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung or Messter-Film Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung? production; distributed by [?] Messters Projektion Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung or Messter-Film Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung? / Released 11 April 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was released in the USA as Detective Kelly by Pathé Frères [American] through The General Film Company, Incorporated, on 11 April 1914.
Drama: Crime.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Briggs and his wife live lavishly in their magnificent home attended by a retinue of servants, of which none is more favored than Hooks, the butler. Always his master’s favorite he conceals beneath the mask of calm servility a propensity for taking things that belong to others. Under cover of darkness, while the members of the household sleep, Hooks succeeds in opening the family safe, from which he extracts a pearl necklace, the pride of his mistress. This he passes to a man accomplice at a window. Secure in the safety that he feels the high regard in which he is held assures, Hooks goes about his duties the next day fearless of detection should the crime be discovered. But early in the day Briggs’ wife has need of the jewel and the loss becomes known. Hoping to regain the necklace or to locate the thief, Briggs seeks the aid of the police and publishes the crime in the newspapers, offering a $5,000 reward for its return. Kelly, who has won distinction in bringing all classes of criminals to justice, learns of the robbery and goes to secure the facts first hand. Arriving at Briggs’ home he meets the men from headquarters, who take no pains to conceal their ill-feeling against the “amateur.” Even Briggs is influenced by their jealousy, so Kelly receives scant consideration in his quest. Despite all this the detective determines to run down the criminal. The butler is unable to hide his agitation at seeing so notable a figure interested in the case, which action does not escape the eagle eye of Kelly, who immediately centers his investigation on Hooks. Disguised as a man who had seen better days, Kelly shadows the butler till he sees the accomplice return the necklace to the real thief. He shadows his man to one of his haunts, where a thoughtless movement reveals his identity. His position promises to be an unenviable one for Kelly, who has to contend with the followers of Hooks, who promises to make a speedy end of his chances in the game. A nearby door offers an opportunity for escape and Kelly rushes through, but it leads to a subterranean stream and Kelly is carried out of danger. A few days later the detective, undaunted by his previous experiences, again visits the dive, but this time armed to the teeth. Hooks enters, but does not see the man who is bent on bringing him to justice. At a favorable moment Kelly covers the thief with his gun and clears the room of its inmates. Apparently deceived by the ease of the capture Kelly lays the gun on the table before him and lights a cigarette. Hooks accepts the opportunity for escape and grabs the weapon to fire on his enemy, but it fails to discharge, for Kelly had withdrawn the shells. Utterly subdued by the helplessness of his position the thief himself adjusts the handcuffs to his wrists while Kelly covers him with a second weapon. With his prisoner secure the detective reveals the gun to be a novel fan, with the leaves concealed in the barrel. At this point the two leave the place, but the friends of the butler succeed in getting his prisoner away from Kelly and they escape in an automobile. The detective starts in immediate pursuit, but the handcuffs having been filed from his hands, the thief again makes good his escape. Kelly finally picks up the trail again, but the fugitive jumps on the rear of a passing train. The detective hires an automobile and races the train till finally arriving at a dangerous crossing he proposes to wreck the train by obstructing the track with the auto. To do this he prevails upon the owner to sell it for $2,500 and the plan is carried into effect. The scheme works to perfection for the fast approaching train, unable to check its speed, crashes into the machine and comes to a stop as Kelly triumphantly takes the fugitive into custody.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: (unknown) [Germany]; Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 19 August 2025.
References: MoPicNews-19140404 p. 3 : Website-IMDb.
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