Coals of Fire

A pleasing story with a slight plot, in which Riley Chamberlain appears as an old man discharged unjustly. The Thanhouser Kidlet, daughter of his employer, is the means of restoring the old man to his place. A pretty story with a touch of heart interest in it. - The Moving Picture World, January 24, 1914

Harry Benham is a hard-as-nails businessman who fires Riley Chamberlin, his clerk of many years for no clear reason; perhaps his pension was about to vest. His one soft spot is his loved daughter Helen Badgley, for whom he forgoes his nightly amusement of stereoptikon viewing to give a piggyback ride.One afternoon, she wanders off in the park. Benham is wild with fear, anger and sorrow. Fortunately, she has been rescued by young Leland Benham. When his grandfather, who in this movie at any rate, is Riley Chamberlin, arrives home, the old man is caught between the cuteness of the child and the fact she is the daughter of the man who fired him.

The Thanhouser Company, when they weren't producing screen versions of classics, certainly had a taste for appealing to the middle class, no more so than with their films starring their large company of child actors. Often they hired the children of their adult performers, as here. It's a pleasant little one-reel drama of little depth. 'How much subtlety can you stick in ten or twelve minutes of film?' seemed to be their motto.