- Brother and sister Peppo and Gorgone destroy the death certificates of a brother and sister named Palmieri who died in Calcutta, and assume their identities so they can inherit 20 million francs. They hire a law firm in Paris, where Gorgone meets the Count De Moray, a wealthy diplomat who just returned from India, and attempts to ensnare him. When the count's wife pledges a necklace to a jeweler for a loan to pay her mother's illegitimate son, gambler Robert Burel, to keep his identity secret, Peppo informs Gorgone, who convinces the count that his wife has a lover. When Gorgone pays Robert, the count sees them embrace. He shoots Robert, divorces the countess and marries Gorgone. Later, the count's daughter Pauline returns from India with her sweetheart, Elliott Drake of the Italian consulate. After Pauline agrees to marry Peppo to save her father from financial ruin, the countess gets her mother to confess, and Drake proves that Peppo and Gorgone are impostors. The countess forgives her husband, Peppo takes poison, and Gorgone accidentally stabs herself to death trying to kill the count.—Pamela Short
- Siblings Peppo and Gorgone destroy the death certificates of Hannibal and Claudia Palmieri and lay claim to the fortune of 20 million francs left by the elder Palmieri. They journey to Paris and place their fraudulent case in the hands of a law firm. Reduced to practically their last penny by the cost of the trip, they have to exercise their wits in order to maintain an existence until there can be some adjustment of their claim. When Count de Mornay, a wealthy diplomat, and his wife return to Paris from India, Peppo and Gorgone, now known as Hannibal and Claudia Palmieri, decide to cultivate their acquaintance. Claudia determines to ensnare the wealthy count if possible and Hannibal is to aid her by besmirching the name of the countess and causing the count to turn against his wife. The countess, while opening and answering the mail of her mother, Madame de la Marche, comes across a letter from Robert Burel, who claims to be Madame de la Marche's illegitimate son. Burel demands money on threat of making known his identity to the world. The countess is at first unable to credit the statement of Burel, but she finally decides to see him in person and question him. While she is on her way to Burel's quarters she is followed by Hannibal Palmieri, who assumes that she is going to see her lover. When the countess, satisfied that Burel is her half-brother, pledges her necklace to obtain the money which Burel demands, Hannibal concludes that she is engaging in the transaction to supply her lover with money. Hannibal transmits the news to her sister, Claudia, and together they inform the count of what they have learned. The count intercepts the necklace, returns to his apartment and finds the countess and Burel, embracing each other. He demands an explanation from the countess, who makes a supreme sacrifice and remains silent rather than tell the truth and admit the early sin of her mother, Madame de la Marche. The count kills Burel, divorces the countess whom he believes has been guilty of infidelity, and marries Claudia. After a lapse of time, Pauline, daughter of the count and his first wife, returns from India. She attracts the attention of Hannibal, the count's new brother-in-law, who makes known his desire to marry her. Pauline does not care for Hannibal, but her father insists on the marriage. The marriage contract is about to be signed when Drake, one of the witnesses to be, who is also a government agent, exposes Hannibal and Claudia as impostors, declaring that the real heirs to the Hannibal fortune have long been dead. In the last few scenes of the play the innocence of the real countess is established and Claudia and Hannibal pay the penalty for their sinful conspiracy.—Moving Picture World synopsis
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