The Spirit of the Game (1916)
Short | Short, Drama

Primary photo for The Spirit of the Game

The Spirit of the Game (1916)

Short | Short, Drama

Captain Dick Thornton was the star football player of his college. He was the center of attraction wherever he went. His classmate was very proud of him. One day the prettiest girl in the college town who had always seemed to find so much ...See moreCaptain Dick Thornton was the star football player of his college. He was the center of attraction wherever he went. His classmate was very proud of him. One day the prettiest girl in the college town who had always seemed to find so much pleasure in the company of Captain Thornton urged the classmate to try for the football team. Day after day the classmate practiced on the field, but the head coach did not consider him worthy of the team, nor even of the regular squad of substitutes. He was nothing but a leftover. At midnight, as the leftover was standing by the window in his room, he noticed the form of Captain Thornton walking across the campus. Realizing that he was breaking the rules and knowing that the big game was to come off the next day, the leftover went in pursuit. Two hours later, in the back room of a squalid saloon the leftover found his hero, a sodden shell of the man he was before the bottle of whiskey in front of him had been emptied. As the leftover was helping the captain home, he saw the girl who loved Thornton coming up the street. The leftover decided upon a great sacrifice. He dragged his drunken friend behind a bush and when the girl was near he appeared in an apparently intoxicated state, telling her that Thornton wanted to bring him home, but he chased him away. When the girl had gone, the leftover shook his disguise and escorted the drunken Thornton home. The next day Thornton told the leftover to appear on the field in uniform, but as he had kept watch all night over the captain, his sleep-heavy eyes closed soon after the latter left the room, and he did not wake up until the game had started. In the stand the girl watched the game. Vainly she had searched the field for him, the leftover, with whom she really was in love. The she saw him come to the side lines. Her lips curved in scorn. It had taken him many hours to sleep off the effect of his supposed debauch. She saw the coach order the leftover from the side lines because he had come in the middle of the game. She saw him walk hopelessly off. The fierce play of the opposing team crippled many of Thornton's men. Her ears caught the murmur that went through the stand. "Thornton's groggy," a thousand lips said, "He's all in. They'll get him now." She thought that only she knew the reason. In the dressing room under the grandstand the leftover sat alone. Rumbling through the great stands he heard the cheers of the other team's rooters. When the whistle blew the men of his own team crowded into the dressing room, a weary, hopeless crew. Captain Thornton saw the leftover and shook his head. They would be beaten in the last quarter. He hadn't the spirit to put in his men, nor the strength to put into his own plays because the whiskey of the night before had taken it away. And when the coach crowded the players out of the dressing room and back for the last quarter the nerve that had been keeping the captain up broke. He collapsed. "I'm all in," he said when the leftover tried to rouse him. A look of realization came to his eyes. He told the leftover to take his place. After a little discussion the leftover finally consented, and donning his friend's jersey, the head guard, the nose guard, etc., he rushed upon the field. The fresh energy of the leftover put ginger into his men and he won. His identity was revealed and he was roundly cheered. And he was placed in his proper position in the eyes of the girl. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
4 cast members

Name	Known for
Edwin Stanley Dick Thorton Dick Thorton See fewer	Conflict (1945)
Kathryn Adams Dick's Sweetheart Dick's Sweetheart See fewer	Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917)
J. Morris Foster The Left-over - a disconsolate substitute (as Morris Foster) The Left-over - a disconsolate substitute (as Morris Foster) See fewer	The Secret Man (1917)
Ethyle Cooke The Left-over's Sweetheart The Left-over's Sweetheart See fewer	The Merchant of Venice (1912)

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