Adrift | |
---|---|
![]() Surviving film still | |
Directed by | Lucius J. Henderson |
Produced by | Thanhouser Company |
Release date |
|
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Adrift is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company and directed by Lucius J. Henderson. The film depicts a story of a young artist whose lack of success leads him to attempt suicide. Before he can carry out the act, his daughter follows and stops him. He confesses to his wife and she thanks her child, providing the inspiration for the artist to complete a great painting. It brings him success and he grows distant from his wife and becomes interested in another woman whom he was commissioned by. Once again saved by his daughter's actions, whose crying moves the woman to break off the relationship with the artist. The artist destroys the painting and learns a moral lesson.
The film was advertised to the American churchgoer as a moral picture. The film was generally well received by critics, but the faults of story for the sake of a moral lesson were noted. Adrift, like all other American silents of the day, had no musical accompaniment, but a letter written into a trade publication provides a score for the drama. The film is presumed lost.
An official synopsis of the film was published in The Moving Picture World states: "Jack Thorne, a young artist, finds his efforts unappreciated, and he and his wife and little daughter are on the verge of starvation. The final blow comes when his last painting, on which he had built much hope, was rejected by a rich man, whom an artist chum kindly brought to the impoverished studio. Jack decides that he can struggle no longer. Unseen by his wife, he picks up his revolver, puts it in his pocket and goes out, intending to end everything. But his little daughter has watched him; she follows him and stays his hand. Her prayers and entreaties bring him to a realization of what his rash act would mean to the two helpless ones that would be left behind. Penitent and remorseful, he accompanies his child back to their poor home. There he confesses to his wife that it was only the child's timely interference that saved him from ending it all. The mother drops on her knees beside her child, and clasping her in her arms, raises grateful eyes to Heaven in a prayer of thankfulness. Jack, looking up suddenly, sees the beautiful group of mother and child, with a light as if from Heaven upon them. Realizing that [this] is the inspiration and subject for which he has sought in vain, he calls for them not to move, and at once begins his great painting of them, which brings him fame and wealth." [1]
"But with wealth, the artist becomes dissatisfied with his wife, and is infatuated with a beautiful society woman whose portrait he is painting. The couple, happy in poverty, are now rapidly drifting on the shoals of matrimonial disaster, but the child saves them. She is weeping one day when Miss Brent, the society woman, enters the room. Miss Brent, who has never seen the child before, asks the cause of her sorrow, and tries to comfort her. The child tells her, and Julia's heart is touched. Though she has contempt[u]ously ignored the wife, she feels that she cannot ruin the life of the helpless child, even to win the artist's love. On the spur of the moment, she writes a farewell note to Jack, and gives it to the child, saying that it will cure all her sorrow. Then she goes out of their lives forever. Jack realizes, when he sees that his child is the messenger, why Julia has broken with him. An outsider had made a sacrifice to save the future of little Marie, when he, her father, who had always loved her, had selfishly forgotten his duty. Remorsefully, he tears up the letter, and destroys the painting, not angrily, but as a symbol that he had cast the original out of his life. Then he makes peace with his wife and daughter, who are joyfully ready to forgive, and tells them that their love will keep him [on] the right path for the rest of his life, and that the lesson he has been taught will never be forgotten." [1]
The single reel drama was directed by Lucius J. Henderson. [2] Henderson was an important director at the Thanhouser Company who began directing in the late autumn of 1910. [3] It is unknown how many film's Henderson directed prior to the release of Adrift, but one prior credit When Love Was Blind was released two weeks prior, on January 24, 1911. [4] The New York Dramatic Mirror on February 4, 1914, stated that Henderson had directed about 150 one and two reel dramas for the Thanhouser Company. [3]
Musical accompaniment for the silent films were not provided by the studios, and the Thanhouser productions were no exception. The musical program for the screenings were decided and played by the individual accompanists. At times, musical accompaniments were shared in trade journals and the musical accompaniment for Adrift was provided by an unnamed writer from Oklahoma in The Moving Picture World . The suggestion was to begin with a waltz until the friend pats the artist on the shoulder, when All I Get is Sympathy is played. The suggestion for I Don't Know Where I'm Going completes the scene and Life's A Funny Proposition follows the artist packing up until the artist pulls out the gun. A soft hurry follows as the girl confronts her father, leading to a crescendo at the climax. [5]
Then the accompanist returns to Life's A Funny Proposition until the father is sitting down in the house. What's the Use of Dreaming leads to Gee, But It's Great to Meet a Friend with the arrival of a friend. A waltz accompanies the gallery scene until the picture is shown, leading to Some Day When Dreams Come True as the artist becomes famous. The introduction with the society woman is accompanied by How Do You Do Miss Josephine and then by So Long Mary as she exits. No Place Like Home begins the next scene until the wife recognizes the emotional distancing of her husband when All I Ask is Love is played. The studio scene begins with I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid and leads to Be Sweet to Me Kid or Next to your Mother... with Nobody's Little Girl during the crying scene. [5]
The unnamed accompanist was using a range of works and shortened some titles in the letter, but these works are identifiable. They include:
The Thanhouser Company released Adrift on February 3, 1911. [2] The film was advertised as being of a moral picture and targeted towards the American churchgoer as an example of a film that would change the views of the demographic towards film productions in general. The Thanhouser advertisement in the Moving Picture News said "[Adrift] is a useful film with a big, simple moral that would do much to reconcile the Church to the Motion Picture — if the former knew that this sort of film was so much in evidence." [1] It saw a wide release across the United States, with showings in Pennsylvania, [20] Indiana, [21] Missouri, [22] Kansas, [23] and New Hampshire. [24] One of the last advertisements for the film's showing was in September 1913. [25]
The film was positively reviewed by critics, but contained within the reviews were often criticism on the execution of the story and plot. A review in The Moving Picture World was positive to the moral lesson the film asserted and found the acting to be satisfactory. Walton of The Moving Picture News criticized the type of film as invoking sudden and unnatural changes in character for the sake of a moral lesson. The child's influence and ability to bring sense to her father was seen as cheap theatrics, but ended with the assertion that the film was not second rate for employing such theatrics. [2] The New York Dramatic Mirror was positive, but said that the scene upon which the little girl follows her father was not believable because she was unaware of her father's intentions to kill himself. [5] The film is presumed lost.
Florence La Badie was an American-Canadian actress in the early days of the silent film era. She was a major star between 1911 and 1917. Her career was at its height when she died at age 29 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
The Mummy is a 1911 American short silent film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film details the story of Jack Thornton, a businessman, who is in love with Professor Dix's daughter. Jack purchases a mummy and plans to win his respect as an Egyptologist, but the mummy is reanimated in Jack's room by a live electrical wire. The mummy takes immediate interest in Jack, but is rejected and mummifies him. Before Professor Dix can cut up the now-mummified Jack, she returns and saves him. Jack explains everything and the film concludes with Professor Dix marrying the mummy.
Adrift in a Great City is a 1914 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Film Corporation that stars Florence LaBadie. The film begins with Pat Moran who pays for the passage of his wife and daughter to join him in America, but he is seriously injured on the way to greeting them. Left by themselves, the daughter works in a sweatshop and goes blind, forcing her and her mother to become beggars. By pure happenstance, the blind girl wanders to the hospital where her father is recovering and tells her story to a doctor. The father recognizes the girl as his daughter and the family is reunited, and the doctor confirms her blindness can be cured. The film was reviewed negatively by critics for its poor scenario, settings and technical execution. The film is presumed lost.
Thelma is a 1910 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The story was based on Marie Corelli's 1887 novel of the same name, it focuses on a Norwegian maiden who meets Sir Phillip and the two are wed. Lady Clara conspires to ruin the marriage and tricks Thelma with a letter purported to be from her husband. Thelma returns to Norway and to the death of her father. Thelma, alone in the world, prays at her mother's grave for strength. Sir Phillip searches for Thelma, ultimately finding her, uncovers the tricks which have been played on them and they fall back in love. Released on June 21, 1910, the film was met with praise in The Moving Picture World. An incomplete print of the film survives in the Library of Congress archives.
The Governor's Daughter is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The story details a convict who is being sent to prison when the train is wrecked and the sheriff escorting him is killed. The convict frees himself, but halts his escape to save the life of a little girl. As he returns the girl to her nurse, a policeman identifies and recaptures him. Later the little girl accompanies her father, the governor, on a tour of the prison and the father pardons the hero-convict. The film included scenes of a real train wreck and the scenario was written around the filming of the disaster. The film received praise for the before and after scenes which were described as shocking to The Moving Picture World's reviewer. The film was released on June 24, 1910, and was shown as far away as Australia. The film is presumed lost.
The Restoration is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on Hugh Logan, a single father who leaves his little girl, May, at home when he goes on a business trip. On the way to the city he is attacked by robbers and left in the road. He is found and taken in, but he suffers from amnesia. He falls in love with Maud Neals and proposes to her. Due to the prolonged absence of her father, May is taken to an orphan asylum, but she escapes. May goes to the city and ends up stopping to sleep on the doorstep of the Neals' home. Maud finds her and takes her in, where Logan recognizes his daughter and his memory comes back. Little is known of the production credits, but the film does feature Marie Eline as the little girl. It was released on August 5, 1910 and was met with mixed reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The Mad Hermit is a 1910 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The story focuses on Harry Willard, who becomes a hermit after his wife and daughter leave him. He spends a quarter of a century in isolation, but he stumbles across a runaway carriage and the woman tosses her baby to him. He runs into the wilderness and prepares to kill it, but he stays his hand when he sees the baby's locket. The parents survive the carriage crash and seek out the hermit, and it is revealed that the baby's mother is the daughter of Harry Willard. Created by a staff of twenty, it was the first film to be produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film was released on August 9, 1910, after the success of the company was ensured, and met with positive reception by critics. The film is presumed lost.
Tangled Lives is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The plot focuses on, John Hill, a bank cashier who decides to fakes his death after the manager finds his accounts are short. Before he can go through with the plan, a reporter interviews the wife, May, and decides to suppress the story because he has become infatuated with her. Five years pass, May and the reporter decide to marry, but John returns on the day of the wedding. Upon sneaking into the house, he sees their love and decides to disappear. As he attempts to leave he accidentally falls to his death and the reporter removes his body before he leads May to the altar. The film was described as a variant of Enoch Arden by one reviewer, but it differs in its execution. The cast and credits of the film are unknown, but a surviving film still shows the principal characters. The film was released on September 13, 1910, to positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
Their Child is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film begins with Ellen Stokes whose extravagant lifestyle is outside the means of the family. While their only son is hosting a birthday party, the husband informs Ellen that they are financially ruined because of her. Ellen attempts to get money from her uncle, who refuses, and a friend of the family soon comes to her aid with a loan. Ellen is deceptive in telling who provided the money and her jealous husband soon learns the truth. In anger, he takes the child and leaves. The child soon returns to Ellen and she whisks him away to a new home where she fails to obtain gainful employment. The son decides to sell newspapers for some money and in this job is recognized by his father, soon the family is reunited. Marie Eline played the role of "their child" and was likely so well disguised that the reviewer for The Nickelodeon believed her to be a boy. The film was released on October 21, 1910, and was met with positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The American and the Queen is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on Maud, the fictional queen of Rumania, who is overthrown by her cousin, Rupert. Maud is thrown into prison after refusing the romantic advances of Rupert. She escapes with the aid of her lady-in-waiting and a priest. A wealthy American named Jack Walton, foils an assassination attempt on Maud and he falls in love with her. Maud is recaptured and set to be executed when the priest comes up with a plan to save her, by marrying Jack and Maud. The ceremony takes place through her cell window, and soon the United States military arrives to save the now wife of an American. Rupert is killed in the ensuing conflict. No known cast or production credits for the film is known. The film was released on November 11, 1910 and was met with neutral to negative reviews by critics. The patriotic element of the film was cited as likely being comical for European audiences and the film was also used as an example of an inappropriate example of American flag-waving. The film is presumed lost.
The City of Her Dreams is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on Ella Brown, who is sent to live with her aunt who living in a boarding house when her father heads to Alaska to prospect for gold. Ella's life at her aunt's home is miserable and she dreams of going to New York City. She dreams that she is in the city and has all money to buy anything which she fancies. Then she receives word that her father has returned from Alaska with a fortune and wants to give her everything she wants. The cast and staff credits are unknown, but the film includes scenes of New York City. The film was released on November 18, 1910 and saw a wide national release. The film is presumed lost.
The Wild Flower and the Rose is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on Frank Wilson, the son of an inventor who has constructed a new airplane model. After failing to secure financing, his father suggests that he marry Rose, the daughter of his wealthy employer, to get the money they need. Jack rejects this idea because he is engaged to another woman, but he soon learns she does not love him. He heads out West to seek a fortune and is quickly successful. He returns to the aviation field and meets Rose again, after a successful flight she confesses to loving him. The cast and staff credits are unknown, but the film may have included scenes from the 1910 International Aviation Meet at Belmont Park One reviewer claimed that a Wright brothers flyer was also shown in full flight. The film was released on November 25, 1910, but is now presumed lost.
Value—Beyond Price is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a family beset by tragedy when the father is presumed dead after his ship is lost at sea. The mother struggles to support her child and sells her possessions to a pawnbroker. When she has nothing left, save her wedding ring, the pawnbroker asks to take care of the child and the mother consents. The pawn broker gives her a pawn ticket for the girl stating "a precious jewel, a value beyond price" and tells her she can redeem it at any time. Before her death, she entrusts the ticket to a friend. Ten years pass, the shipwrecked father has discovered a great fortune on the island and is rescued by a passing steamship. The father soon realizes his wife is dead and his child is missing, but he receives the pawn ticket and decides to claim this jewel his wife had left for him. He redeems it at the pawn shop and finds it is his lost daughter. The film was released on November 29, 1910 and it was met with positive reviews. The film survives in the Library of Congress archives.
The Childhood Of Jack Harkaway is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. Adapted from Bracebridge Hemyng's Jack Harkaway story series by Lloyd Lonergan, the film depicts the life of the title character. Given to the care of strangers after his birth, Jack grows up and is sent to a school at age 12. After being severely and unjustly punished by the schoolmaster, Jack runs away and comes across two thieves plotting a robbery. Jack hurries to the house and warns the mistress of the planned robbery. The robbery is foiled and the lady of the house is very grateful, but Jack's schoolmaster and his guardian arrive to take him back. She recognizes the guardian as the man who forced her to turn over Jack and turns them out of the house. The film's cast and production credits are unknown. The film was released on December 23, 1910, it was met with favorable reviews and saw a wide national release. In 1988, a severely deteriorated nitrate print of the film was known to exist and it was likely transferred to the Library of Congress archives in 1997.
Hypnotized, released in Britain as A Quack Hypnotist, is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on May Smalley and Jack, who loves her, who attend a traveling show that comes to their little town. The show consists of a hypnotist and a Hindu magician and proves to be a popular show, but the hypnotist who is becomes interest in May. The hypnotist lures May away by telling her that he has a message for her from the spirit world and later gets her to leave town with him. Jack knocks the magician down and takes his costume and follows the hypnotist and May back to their hotel, where he rescues her. Aside from William Russell's role in the film, the production and cast credits are unknown. The film was released on December 30, 1910, it was met with positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The Vote That Counted is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a state senator who disappears from a train and detective Violet Gray investigates the case. Gray manages to find that he was kidnapped and that it was done because he opposed a powerful lobby. She manages to free the state senator in time for him to cast the deciding vote to defeat the lobby. The film was released on January 13, 1911, it was the second of four films in the "Violet Gray, Detective" series. The film received favorable reviews from Billboard and The New York Dramatic Mirror. The film is presumed lost.
When Love Was Blind is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on young blind woman, May Read, who is saved from her burning home by Frank Larson. In the act of saving her, Frank is disfigured, but the two fall and love, marry and have a child. Two years later, the family physician offers to restore May's sight through a surgery. Frank consents despite his fears that May will not love him if she gazes upon his disfigured face. The surgery is a success and the doctor tells May not to remove the bandages. May ignores this warning and is permanently blinded after attempting to gaze at her husband, but she is content knowing her baby is beautiful. Directed by Lucius J. Henderson and starred Lucille Younge, the film was a critical success. The film is presumed lost.
Only in the Way is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a grandmother who seeks the support of her only son and makes herself comfortable in his house. The grandmother is welcomed and befriended by Marie, her crippled granddaughter. The son's wife cannot bear to live with her mother-in-law and delivers an ultimatum to her husband: "Either your mother or I must leave this house!" The husband decides to put his mother in an old folks' home and the wife informs her she is to leave immediately. Little Marie is upset that her grandmother has to leave because she was "only in the way" and decides that as a cripple, so was she. Marie pens a letter to this effect and runs away to the old people's home. The parents frantically search for Marie and discover the note. They rush to the home and are relieved to find Marie safe and the family departs together with her grandmother.
A Newsboy Hero is an American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. A standard melodrama, it has the alcoholic John Bailey return home in a drunken state. He strikes his wife and by this act drives his wife and child from the house. They go out into the snow and fall asleep, but are saved by a newspaper boy and taken home. John searches for them, but believes they are dead after reading a newspaper story and decides to commit suicide. He is saved by a member of the Salvation Army and then is reunited with his family. The only known credit in the production is that of Marie Eline as the couple's child, Marie. The film was released on February 24, 1911, and it received mixed reviews by critics over its melodramatic plot, but the actors strong skills was the strongest redeeming factor in the negative reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The Little Mother is an American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film stars Marie Eline who goes to her mother's employer and asks for her mother's job after she dies. Her employer is an artist with a kind heart and though the girl does not do the chores well. One of the artists models plot against him makes false charges against him, leading to his arrest. The little girl follows them and learns that they were out to obtain a large amount of money to have the false case dropped. She reports it to the police and the artist is freed, whereby he adopts the girl out of gratitude. Released on February 28, 1911, the film received mixed reviews. The film is presumed lost.