Easy Money (1925)

Bud Parsons fails in an attempt to steal a wallet from a well-dressed man, but the man takes him to a club and offers him a chance to make some easy money. He must pretend to be the son of Mrs. Hale, that disappeared when a very young child. Bud has a qualm or two but accepts as he sees this as a chance to earn the money to entertain Blanche Amory, a worthless show-girl, who charges a lot of money when being entertained. He and his pal, "Red," go to the Hale mansion and begin the deception. Mrs. Hale's daughter, Ellen, immediately attracts his attention, even though it is not considered proper for a brother to start hitting on his sister, even if the brother is an impostor. Lewis, the man who hired Bud to pose as William Hale, claims the $20,000 reward for the return of the son, but Bud and "Red' rob him after he cashes the reward check at the bank. Meanwhile, from out of nowhere, the real William Hale shows up but Lewis has him tossed in jail. Things eventually work out to everybody's satisfaction, with Lewis being the notable exception.