The Film Index (Jul-Dec 1910)

24 THE FILM INDEX THE FILM SERVICE THAT SATISFIES GET IT FROM GEO. K. SPOOR CO., Inc., fifi RENTERS of LICENSED FILM" 435 N. Clark Street, Chicago, III. at the Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was killed and William took possession of England and was raised to the throne at Westminster on Christmas Day, 1066. This ornate and magnificent picture, "The Last of the Saxons," has to do with the betrothal of Harold to Lady Edith, one of the court attaches. This occurred when he was the "Duke of Wessex." After the death cf King Edward and he was selected as ruler of the kingdom he was obliged to break troth with Edith in order to sustain his relations with Edwin and Mocar and stand in with his allies. Therefore he married the Princess Aldyth, although he did not love her and always kept in communication with Edith, who was as much in love with him as he with her, as is evidenced at the gorgeous and unprecedented elaborate marriage ceremony at Westminster, where Edith is seen mournfully witnessing the wedding of her rival to her love, the king. Then, again, when she bids him farewell, just before he starts for the Battle of Hastings and finally when she searches among the dead after the fatal encounter with William to find the body of Harold and expires of a broken heart when she discovers it. "THE SAGE, THE CHERUB AND THE WIDOW."— When you see it in the newspapers you know it is so. "Dr. Arnold, the noted specialist, has given up his practice and rented a cottage at Brightside, where he will pursue his literary studies and research." This is the notice that appeared in the local columns of the heme newspaper. We will follow the doctor to Hrightside and learn all about "the Cherub and the Widow." Dr. Arnold's cottage is the next one to the widow's, and while he is quietly pursuing his studies, comfortably located under the shade of an overspreading tree, the widow's little girl looks over the dividing wall, calls out to the doctor. "The Sage" is very much annoyed by the interference. The childish playfulness and desire to make the doctor's acquaintance gradually wins his friendship. One day the widow misses her little girl, looks over the wall, and finds her sitting with the sage having a jolly good time. Shortly after this episode the child is taken very sick, a specialist is called in by the attending physician and they retire to the garden to hold a consultation. Dr. Arnold, who is in his accustomed place on the other side of the wall, overhears the discussion of the little one's case, acts upon the impulse of the moment, climbs over the wall and offers his services in behalf of his little friend, whom he has learned to love. The physicians willingly accept his services and he is invited to the room of the sick child. He makes a careful examination and diagnosis of her case, and after prescribing for her and watching her, she is soon on the road to recovery and in a very short time is well and about her play as usual. The most interesting part of this story is the climax. The doctor learns to love the widow as well as the cherub, and it is not long before things become still more interesting — who can guess the rest? The sage marries the widow and the cherub is glad of it. LUBIN MFG. CO. "THE BAGGAGE SMASHER."— Celia Strafford is a romantic young girl, but she admires brawn and good looks more than she does a title. Her father, however, is not averse to being the father-in-law to a Baronet and he falls an easy victim to "Jimmy the Duke" when that adroit swindler presents himself as Lord Euclid. His wife passes as his sister, the Duchess of Lornemary, and it locks pretty soft for Jimmy, who is after the Strafford necklace, a wonderful collection of diamonds. The little heiress does not care for Jimmy from the start and she admires him less after John Bender, the baggagemaster's assistant, comes to her aid when ehe is attacked by a tramp after "Euclid" has taken to his heels. As soon as the tramp is down Jimmy comes back to the attack and seeks to claim the credit, but Celia will not have it that way and John is thanked. All he cares for is Celia's praise, and when they meet again the next day and she again thanks the stalwart baggage smasher he is transported to the seventh heaven of delight. There is a splendid foundation for a romance, but the sinister figure of Lord Euclid stands in the way. Jimmy, however, "makes his haul," but the detective thinks his face familiar and visits the rogues' gallery of the metropolis. There a finger print and a picture tell their tale and a warrant is sworn out. Through underground channels a warning comes to when the self-satisfied wearer raised her veil the men all fell' off the dock. A rippling little comedy on the same reel with "The Golf Fiend." Jimmy and he makes his escape in his sister's trunk. The baggage smasher smashes the trunk and Jimmy is arrested. That leaves the coast clear for the happy union of Celia and the baggage smasher — but this is a story of real life and it ends differently. "WOMAN'S VANITY."— The devotee of fashion having mastered the intricacies of the hobble skirt sought new modes to conquer and a Parisian dressmaker evolved the "hobble hoopskirt," a hobble skirt with the hoop skirt of our grandmothers, starting from just below the knees and flaring some fifteen feet in circumference. It was a wonderful creation and the girl's delight was unbounded when the soft tissues were removed to disclose the "creation." Navigation proved somewhat difficult, but she was able to make her decorous progress through the streets all unconscious of the attention she was attracting until upon her arrival home she found half a dozen persistent swains in her train instead of on it. It was more than she had bargained for, and with tears of mortification in her eyes she threw the now detested garment out of the window. It was rescued by a negro, who took it home to his inamorata, and presently the delighted darky was strutting out to show herself in the wonderful structure with its fifteen-foot flounce. Some of the mashers who had seen the original owner fell in behind and the crowd was augmented by others until there were a dozen following. The stroll ended by the water, and "THE GOLF FIEND."— The golf fiend, with his bag of sticks and bag of tricks, is a funny person, but Jones was funnier because he was a golf fiend without being much of a player, and he persisted in driving at a ball no matter whose property the guttapercha object happened to be. The other players objected when the ardent Jones knocked their spheres o the tees, and passers-by objected when he knocked the balls into their eyes. It may be seen that Jones was not the most popular man on the links by a great deal, and the more he hung about the more he got himself disliked. On the street it was pretty much the same, and there were a lot of people who thought they would enjoy nothing quite so much as using Jones' head for a golf ball and a sledge hammer for a driver. It was not their fault that someone did not carry out this program, but Jones was a good runner and he managed to keep ahead of them until their tempers had cooled down somewhat and they were not quite so blodthirsty. At any rate. Jones does not play so much golf now and there is a reason. Give a look at the reason. On the same reel with "Woman's Vanity" and a fitting companion to that fast little comedy. KALEM CO. "THE ENGINEER'S SWEETHEART."— Following up their great success, "The Hero Engineer," the Kalem Company offer another real railroad picture, entitled "The Engineer's Sweetheart." As in the former instance, the Kalem Company has gone to a large expense in securing what would amount to practically the exclusive use of an entire small railroad system, and with clear tracks and all of the running stock of the road at their disposal the Kalem players were enabled to produce a drama of extraordinary realism. The play opens with a pretty romance, showing how a young engineer becomes acquainted with an attractive girl living in a roadside cottage. The waved signals as the train passes by on its daily run lead to a love affair and a betrothal. It so happens that one of the engineer's gifts to his little sweetheart is a powerful telescope with which she is enabled to see his engine as it comes speeding up the distant valley. It so happens that one day there is a heavy shipment of bullion over the road and a band of crooks determine to gain possession of the gold by throwing a switch and wrecking the train. Through the telescope the girl sees them at work. Realizing she has not an instant to spare, she mounts a horse and makes a thrilling ride and saves the train and the life of her sweetheart. It is needless to say that she is successful and that the robbers are circumvented and captured. Pictures of this sort seem to have a tremendous