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"The Swag" is a dramatic sketch, with a touch of comedy. The story tells of a reformed burglar, an ex-convict, who has (while respectable for eight years) worked himself up from porter to a position of trust in a jewelry house. He is also married, his wife unaware of his former life. When the jewelry store is robbed of a case of diamonds, valued at $75 000, which was in his private safe. He is fearful that the police will discover his jail record and accuse him of the crime. He is almost certain they will discover this through one Conroy, a "bull" who has been threatening to expose him for seven years. He sends his wife to the opera with her parents. A burglar enters the parlor. It develops that the intruder is "Blinkey," the former partner of the husband. Blinkey confesses to robbing the store and carries the diamonds on him. The husband preaches to his pal as Conroy is announced. Between a camera flash and a phonograph, Conroy is trapped, having accepted the money for a bribe. The wife returns unexpectedly, claiming her husband is a brainier man than she gave him credit for, Conroy leaves crestfallen and Blinkey announces he will return to a farm in Indiana.
The comedy should become more prominent. The introduction of a crook affords the opportunity without necessarily interfering or limiting the action. The ending could have been stronger. Why trust Blinkey to return the diamonds? The actor who played the husband did excellently. The three others did well, but could all be improved upon.
Source:
Variety 25:1 (12/09/1911)