The Skinflint is a 1915 American short silent drama film, directed by Jack Harvey for the Thanhouser Company. It stars Ernest C. Warde, David Thompson, Carey L. Hastings.
The mayor refuses to sign certain franchise bills which he believes to be dishonest, and when, unexpectedly, the political boss finds in his hands the means of coercing his superior, he determines to make the most of his opportunity. Little Helen, Mayor Southwick's child, straying away from an automobile party, gets lost in the woods. She comes to the house where the boss holds his secret conferences, and he orders his housekeeper to keep guard over the child while he motors to the city. His plan is to hold the child until her father has signed the bills. Meanwhile, the housekeeper wanders away to a neighbor's, leaving little Helen locked in an upper room. But the child's devoted collie, who misses her sorely, already is tracing her. Shep reaches the house just in time to rescue Helen. A fire has broken out while she is locked in alone. He alarms the firemen, climbs a ladder to Helen's room, and, jumping through a skylight, leads the rubber-coats to where the child is.