A barber commits a petty theft, which leads to his becoming involved in blackmail and murder.
A barber steals £100 from a tailor to settle his extravagant wife's debts. Discovering who committed the theft the tailor starts to blackmail the barber. When a fire breaks out in the tenements and spreads through the area the barber murders the tailor—tonyman5
On a whim, barber Will Kobling steals £100 he spies as he passes an open window, planning to use his good luck to get himself and his wife Kit and their child into better digs and a better barbershop. Kit discovers her husbands crime and tells him she has run up a £70 debt with the usurious tailor Pilleger. Will gives his wife the money to pay off Pilleger, but the tailor learns that the bills she paid him with are the ones from the £100 theft. Pilleger blackmails Will and Kit, accelerating a train of events that leads to great crime and greater tragedy.—Jim Beaver <[email protected]>
The setting is Newcastle upon Tyne . Will Kobling is a financially-struggling barber, married and trying to raise a kid. On a certain evening Kobling sees an open window in a local factory. Acting on impulse, he enters through the window and steals 100 pounds sterling. He escapes unnoticed.
Kobling thinks that the stolen money can provide a fresh start to him and his family. But his wife Kit confesses that she owes a lot of money to Pilleger, a local draper and usurer. Most of the stolen money is used to settle this debt. Koblng deposits the rest of the money to the bank. But the serial numbers are identical to the ones the police are searching for, following the recent theft.
The police call Kobling for an interrogation. He claims that the money was passed to him by a customer, and that he can not remember which customer. The police allow him to leave. Pilleger realizes that Kobling is the thief and proceeds to blackmail him. Pilleger will protect Koblin's secret, in exchange for a weekly payment of 3 pounds sterling. Kobling seems to consent, though he can not afford the additional financial burden.
Sometime later, there is an urban fire in Newcastle. This keeps the police preoccupied. Kobling uses this opportunity to secretly confront Pilleger. at his store The two of them have a fight and Pilleger is killed. The police consider Kobling a murder suspect and use psychological measures to break him. He stays silent, but instructs Kit to stay with her sister. He does not want her to be involved in the police investigation.
Lizzie Crane is the sole witness who has seen Kobling in Pilleger's store. She spreads rumors that Kobling is the killer, though the police considered her to be an unreliable witness due to her eccentric behavior. The locals, however, believe Crane and start calling for justice.
The police keep pressing Kobling to confess, but he manages to stay silent. He soon learns that Kit was killed was killed in a road accident. Feeling distraught over her death, Kobling confesses his crimes. The film ends.
