Get Rich Quick

Get Rich Quick

(One reel of approximately 1,000 feet, May 26, 1911)
Print source: The Museum of Modern Art, 12 minutes, 46 seconds.
Cast: Harry Benham (bunco artist), Marguerite Snow, Marie Eline (daughter of poor widow).
Original organ score composed and performed by musician Andrew Crow.

The moral tale, a staple of early film, observes in this case how an elaborate swindle, the "Utopia Investment Corporation," affects one of its participants. The film challenges the quest for material wealth without concern for those victimized.

A review in The Billboard praised Marguerite Snow's acting as being "the most natural we have ever seen in a moving picture, the story as "excellent," and the picture as "splendidly photographed." Another review noted the "novel" technique of "the dissolving picture appearing through the newspaper headlines." The narrative progression is smooth without having to depend on too many titles.