
A rather complex interweaving of romance and crime is squeezed into one reel. A "respectable" couple of city "card sharpers" invite a distant country relative to visit, then use her as a pretty, unwitting decoy to lure rich victims. They flee town a step ahead of the law. At a resort, the innocent girl falls in love with the latest victim, but they help expose and apprehend the guilty parties.
Directed by Carl Gregory, The Decoy leans on a strong ensemble — Charles Horan, Marie Rainford, Virginia Waite — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 1914.
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Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
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