Moving Picture World (July-Dec 1909)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 385 •Stories of the Films. (See Page 396 for Release Dates.) BIOGRAPH COMPANY. THE BROKEN LOCKET.— A realistic story of man's weakness. George Peabody is a young man who has been giving free rein to his inclinations, the principal one being drink. One might have concluded he was lost, but there was the chance which the hand of Providence always bestows in the person of pretty little Euth King, who had secretly loved George since their childhood days. She succeeds in persuading him from his reckless life, and he determines to cut off from his old loose companions by going out West and making a man of himself. Bidding Ruth and her mother good-bye, he realizes that he loves his little preserver and promises to return worthy of her love and confidence. They plight their trotli with their first kiss and a heart shaped locket, which Ruth wears, she breaking it in two, giving George one side while she retains the other, which symbolized the reunion of their hearts with his return. George is fortunate to strike the West in the midst of a boom, and being an affable, bright chap, meets with success, and is soon a favorite with his employers. Uis life here up to this is without a blemish, but has he strength? We shall see, for as gold is tested by the fire, so a man is by temptation, and George's trial comes with the persuasion to take a drink. At first he holds out against it, but at last yields, and that drink was his undoing. Once more the craving for liquor is induced and his promise to his little sweetheart in the East is forgotten, he falls an easy victim of a Mexican girl, who pretends to love him. assuming him a rather good catch. Meanwhile, faithful little Ruth is counting the days as they drag on towards the time she imagines he will return. The Mexican girl, to secure him as her own, writes a letter to Ruth purporting to come from one of his male chums to the effect that he had been killed. The shock of this letter throws the poor girl into a delirium of fever, and for a time her life is despaired of. She recovers, however, but is hopelessly blind. What woe a man's weakness may work, but we find he is rewarded for his weakness, and some time later we see George a loathsome parasite — ■ a dirty, ragged, drunke bum — a nnrlah among his former associates. Back East he wanders, ignorant of the misery he has caused, and what a sight greets him. There is the ever faithful little girl, accompanied by her mother, standing at the gate, the beauties of the world forever shut out from her. How dark is everything to her, but then how much darker would this world have been, had she viewed the awful condition of George as he stood there. No, of this, at least, she is blissfully ignorant, and with a subterfuge. George slinks :iw:iy. she imngining that he will soon return — but. alas, the locket Is forever broken. Length. 900 feet. GETTING EVEN. — The most satisfying and pleasurable sensation experienced is "getting even" — especially where one has been held up to ridicule before a jeering mob. Such was the reguerdon of Bud, the Kid of the Mining Camp, after suffering gross humiliation at the hands of the other cowboys and miners. Miss Lucy, the belle of the camp, is introduced to the Kid, and makes an impression; the Kid becomes quite seriously inclined towards her. The boys, more in the spirit of jest than ehasrin. no'te fun at him; call him the baby, and end with Jim Blake spanking him. Needless to say the Kid is mortified and swears to get' square. A masque ball is to be held that night, so Bud plans his revenge. All tog out In grotesque costumes, a high old time is imminent. for it is fair to assume that the society folk of the camp will be well represented. Bud. however, feigns a toothache and will not go. Dressed up in carnival duds, the gang leaves the shack for the pavilion. All gone. Bud jumps from his bunk, and dresses up in swell female attire, the effect being marvelous. He presents such a striking appearance that he is the belle of the ball. Jim Blake becomes deeply smitten, and after leading him on Bud soon has Jim on his knees, pouring nut his soul's devotion, regardless of the snickerings of the motley mob around them. There Jim kneels, declarim. his undying love for the fair charmer, as only a lion-hearted cowboy can. when Bud removes his hat and wig. "Holy "Smoke!" Well it is safe to say that Mr. James Blake will not attend any more spanking bees where the Kid is a victim. Length. 5S7 feet. THE CHILDREN'S FRIEND.— A party of children start on a little outing at the beach. A dog wagon, drawn by Rover, carries baby, and Gladys parries their little feathered friend, a dove. A children's quarrel ensues and the party is divided. Gladys, Pearl and baby go in one direction, the resl ii the other. The trio sit on the odcre of a snnd pit nlavin-r with their ilnve when there is :i cavein and all three go to the bottom. In vain they try to get out. but fail. Meanwhile their absence has been felt, and a searching party is scouring the neighborhood. Pearl conceives the idea of making a messenger of their bird, so tying a note to Its neck, sends it off. It flies home; their whereabouts is discovered and they are soon rescued from their perilous situation. Length, 780 feet. EDISON MANUFACTURING CO. HOW THE LANDLORD COLLECTED HIS RENTS. — We are all prone to pride ourselves on our ability and to think how much more satisfactory results we could accomplish if we were t.« do the other fellow's work, but when put to a practical test we almost invariably find that either we have under-estimated the other fellow's task, or over-estimated our own ability, or both. Grimes is positive that his agents are incompetent and that the collecting of rents is a ridiculously simple proposition. To demonstrate his convictions lie takes the monthly receipt book and starts out on a tour of his properties. His experiences prove that Grimes is no exception to the general rule of the proposition, but it is possible that the demonstration would not be so complete and decisive were it not for the fact that Grimes is an entire stranger to his tenants. His first call is made upon an able-bodied wash woman who receives him with a demonstration that is lacking in nothing except hospitality. It is amateurish, however, to that accorded him at the home of the prize fighter, who is assisted in receiving ( ?) by several strenuous friends. His appearance after these two encounters is such that the groceryman and tailor may be pardoned for being skeptical of his assertions that he is the owner of the buildings in which they conduct business. His protests to that effect convince them that he is suffering from some mild form of insanity and they do not take him seriously. He is unable to collect rents from them; on the contrary, he is obliged to expend money at the tailor's to replenish a much damaged wardrobe. After this is done he is so satisfied with his personal appearance that when the coquettish daughter of his best tenant smiles on him and invites him to a seat on the porch beside her he Hatters himself with the thought that she has a real personal interest in him. and departs without stating the object of his visit. On his way to the next tenement Grimes awakens to the realization that so far he has accomplished nothing and determines that his last call shull not be fruitless; but when he enters the building and finds himself face to face with poverty and sickness his kindly nature asserts itself, and lie voluntarily resigns his last chance of making a collection. We then suddenly forget .that his experiences up to this time have been productive of laughter, and tears unconsciously spring to our eyes as we see him slip a roll of bills into the hand of one of the poor woman's children and gently steal from the scene. There is a deal of human nature in the incidents of this story, comedy and pathos being admirably blended: and in the acting and scenic environments the story runs true to life. Length, 460 feet. 'TIS NOW THE VERY WITCHING TIME OF NIGHT. — " Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and graves give up their dead." It is the hour when ghosts come forth and prowl, when elves and spirits of the spirit worfd hold merry carnival in the realms of the living. Imagine yourself at the midnight hour in an old house that has long had the reputation of being haunted — a house in which several people have attempted to sleep and have failed. You are impelled by a love of the mysterious to see if these reports are true, and have bolstered your courage up to the sticking point for the occasion. Approaching the building you are impressed by the ominous silence and gloom that envelop it. The hoot of an owl and the sudden apparition of a myriad of bats send cold chills chasing one another up and down your spinal cord. Entering a large room, your ears are assailed by unearthly noises and discordant sounds. You are about to seat yourself at a table when table and chair disappear as if by magic and you sprawl upon the floor. You see strange shapes and weird, flitting figures; you are chased from one room to another by toothless hags and dried up witches; skeletons grin at you from every nook and cranny of the building, disappearing and reappearing in a most bewildering fashion: a pretty girl comes out of the frame of an old picture, and as you are about to kiss her hand you find a donkey's head nestling snugly in your fingers. Would you be frightened? One young man about town certainly was when he saw all these strange happenings. The aforesaid young man had made a wager with some of his fellow club members that he would sleep in the old haunted house over night. nis friends, not doubting his bravery but thinking to have a little sport and at the same time make his evening interesting, engaged a professor of sleight-of-hand to take them to the haunted house and give an exhibition of his feats of magic for the benefit of the adventurous young club member. Fortunately for the picture loving public the Edison Company had an operator and his camera in the house that evening and everything that happened is now reproduced in detail as a moving picture, even to the young man's return to his club and the discovery of the trick played on him. This picture is extremely well staged and very amusing. It will appeal strongly to the innate love of the mysterious that is present in greater or less degree in the makeup of every one of us. Length. 500 feet. ESSANAY MFG. CO. A CASE OF TOMATOES.— Two mischievous boys, after the fashion employed by the "Stelnheimer Kills,'' make havoc in their community with a case of red-ripe tomatoes, which falls from the rear of a grocer's delivery wagon, unknown to the negligent driver. The boys happen along at this Mine, and gathering up the globular vegetables, proceed to cat their till, after which they discuss means of diversion, other than epicurean, in which Hie tomatoes might lie utilized. There ambles peaceably into view a dignified old gentleman, under a tall shiny silk hat. "(). Willie! Pipe de guy wid the silk skypiece!" one of the lads whispers. "Watch me — Mordecai Brown — wid de original invisible twirler." A splattering tomato strikes the old gentleman's sky-piece, removing it deftly from his head, and while the boys make a hurried retreat he pursues the tomato stained hat. A well directed "love apple" hurled into a passing hansom is surprisingly received by the gentleman occupant, somewhere amidships, adding a touch of color to his immaculate white vest. Passing an artist's studio, a few tomatoes are hurled through the window, causing indescribable havoc to the artist's attire and stampeding an old art connoisseur who was about to place an order for a few thousand dollars' worth of paintings. The boys next wander into a park where a few young people are enjoying a game of tennis. The game is interrupted when one of the young fellows makes a pass at the ball and receives a tomato. After other adventures the boys finally meet their Waterloo and are dragged off to the police station, followed by a throng of irate, tomato stained citizens. A few over-ripe tomatoes rubbed in the boys' faces secures the promise of "we'll never do it again." Length, 495 feet. THREE REASONS FOR HASTE.— A homesick drummer, out on the road, while showing his line of goods to a couple of purchasers in his room at the hotel, receives a message from home that he is needed there quickly. There Is evidently no ■death in the family, because our drummer friend gives one joyous whoop, jumps into his coat and hat, seizes his suitcase and beats it, while one of his open-mouthed customers turns to the telephone and informs the clerk below to beware of an excited traveling salesman who has suddenly gone dippy. The clerk stops our friend as he rushes up to the desk, but on being shown the telegram, slaps him on the back in a congratulatory manner , and bids him be on his way. "Haste makes waste" it is said and the salesman, puffing hurriedly up to the gate in the railroad station discovers the loss of his ticket. He is detained until he brings forth the telegram, when lie receives further congratulations and is passed on. Aboard the train the magic telegram again comes into play, while a number of other salesmen friends who happen to be aboard the train drag him back to the buffet car, where he is told that the drinks "are on him." Leaping from the train at his home station, he jumps into a waiting auto, but is refused accomodations by the waiting taximan until he brings forth the telegram, when the driver of the machine laughs and tells him the car is at his services. They are interrupted on this last homeward stretch several times for breaking the speed limit, but the telegram always gets him out of his trouble. Arriving home at last — But what's the use. you've guessed it by this time. They are triplets, a girl and two boys — just and sufficient cause of "Three Reasons for Haste." Length, 485 feet. KALEM MFG CO. THE STORY OF A ROSE.— The principal characters are Guido. a poor Italian, and his crippled daughter, Rosa. Coming to this country when a young man, Guido soon saved enough money to send back home for his promised bride. But, alas, the climate of New York was too severe for his young wife, and after three short happy years she passed away, leaving to his care a little crippled daughter. Rosa. All the love in Guido's nature seemed to go out to this child. Refusing the kindly offer of relatives to care for her, he and Rosa lived alone in their little cabin home. During the week he was away all day. but mi Sunday how happy they were together. If the weather was bad they would spend the day fixing up their little home, but if it was fine, bright and early they would set out. a modest lunch in Guido's pocket, to wander out into the country they both loved so well. If Rosa grew tired Guido would carry her on his back until she was rested, and thus they would spend the happy day until darkness drove them back to their little home. Scene I. — The Gardener Refuses Rosa a Rose. Scene II. — Rosa Begs Papa For Roses. Scene III. — No Roses For a Poor Italian. Scene IV. — The Burglars. Scene V. — Guido Mistaken For a Burglar. Scene VI. — The Burglars Caught. Scene VIL— Guido Tells His Story. Scene VIII. — The Burglars Identified. Scene IX. — Rosa Looking For Her Papa. Scene X. — Guido Released and Rosa Has Her Roses. Arriving at the little cabin, Rosa is too frieht