The Half Wit - Production & Contact Info (original) (raw)

Ned, a half-wit boy, is used as a tool by a gang of crooks led by Bud Adams. Ned is cruelly treated, and his one friend is Theresa, the daughter of Mancuso, an Italian wine merchant. The Mafia are after Mancuso, but he plans to escape ...See moreNed, a half-wit boy, is used as a tool by a gang of crooks led by Bud Adams. Ned is cruelly treated, and his one friend is Theresa, the daughter of Mancuso, an Italian wine merchant. The Mafia are after Mancuso, but he plans to escape their demands by selling out his business and leaving the city. Paretti, leader of the Mafia, swears that Mancuso will not escape him. Accordingly, he cuts an entrance to a cabinet in Mancuso's home from a room in the empty house next door. Theresa tells Ned that she and her father are going to leave, and Ned is disconsolate. In his despair he tells the whole story to the crooks at their hangout. Adams has an idea. He tells his companions that they can rob Mancuso without fear of discovery by disguising themselves as members of the Mafia. Mancuso sees the supposed members of the Mafia, and locks himself in the cabinet. The crooks beat on the door and Theresa starts for help. But Adams, trapping her in the dining room, tries to make her tell where the money is hidden. Meanwhile, Ned has found out from the old hag at the hangout what the crooks are up to. Theresa is having a struggle with Adams when Ned Arrives. He shoots and kills Adams. The crooks at the door hear the shot, and are going to rush to the dining room, when Ned mimics Bud Adams' voice, and says that all is well. He is going to escape with Theresa, but she tells him they cannot leave her father at the mercy of the others. Ned has a plan. He slips on Adams' disguise and tells the crooks he knows where the money is. He leads them unsuspecting to the cellar, and Theresa slams the trap door on them. Theresa rushes for the police, and the crooks are captured, but not until they have knocked Ned unconscious in the cellar. Theresa then goes to look for her father. She is grief-stricken to find that the Mafia have secured their revenge after all. Several days later Ned recovers from an operation performed on his brain. He is no longer a half-wit, and a wealthy banker offers to send him to college. But Ned is loyal to the only friend he had in the old days, and he gives up the promised career to marry Theresa. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less