1915 Beppo, the Barber

The Duke de Touche is wanted by the police. He and his confederate, Lotta Kale, have been hiding at a hotel resort. Miss Kale learns that a detective is on the trail of the duke and warns him to get away. He, however, not caring to leave the place where business for the two crooks is good, decides to have his beard shaved off so the detective will not recognize him. He goes to Beppo the barber, who does a neat job. The Duke informs Beppo that he is returning to Europe. The rich Miss Kale long has fascinated the ambitious barber from a distance. He now plots to win her. Disguising himself in a beard, Beppo goes to the hotel, meaning to impersonate the Duke. However, he mistakes Fay, the manicurist, for the heiress and gets in deep before he discovers his blunder. The barber is accused of the villainies of the real Duke. He sits on a freshly painted bench and is forced to borrow the first pair of trousers he can find. They happen to belong to the Duke. Beppo is arrested with his pockets loaded with valuables. But the Duke makes the fatal mistake of accusing Beppo of having stolen his trousers. Then the victim owns up that said garments are not his, and proves, to all concerned, that he is indubitably only a barber, and the Duke pays the penalty.