Conscience

Inventor George Grant and his partner, financier John Benson, accept an offer of $200,000 for the rights to an invention. After Grant breaks up a fight in a bar between drunken Dave Wilson and an old man reprimanding him, Dave is told by his mother to apologize to Grant. He meets Benson, who witnessed the fight, outside Grant's apartment and tells him his purpose, but during Dave's conversation with Grant, Grant suddenly drops dead. The police find Dave hiding, and after a pistol is found outside and Benson tells them about the fight but says he knew nothing about Dave's apology, Dave is convicted of murder and electrocuted.

Directed by Stuart Paton, Conscience leans on a strong ensemble — William Welsh, Allen Holubar, Curtis Benton — 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 drama titles of 1915.