A Rich Man's Plaything (1917)

Overview

Marie Grandon may have seen more of the world than any nice girl ever would, but her motives remain pure. Marie labors in a New England oyster cannery and dreams of someday crushing the slumlords who prey upon the poor. While on a cruise, "Iron" Lloyd, a millionaire financier and tenement owner, decides to visit the town where Marie lives. Under the name Strange, he gets in a fight and is injured. While recuperating, he meets Marie and she tells him of her dream. Lloyd is intrigued by this and decides to test her. He has his lawyer transfer a huge sum of money to her and makes it look like she inherited it from a distant relative. Marie takes the money, goes to New York, and does exactly what she had planned. Her main target happens to be Lloyd. His business rival, Ogden Deneau, even aligns with her, pretending interest in her cause, but really wanting to ruin Lloyd. Marie, however, had dealings with Deneau a long time ago and plans to crush him too.