Mary Miles Minter and George Periolat in "The Ghost of Rosy Taylor" (1918)
In addition to being readily available to view, the plot of the film is summarised and reviewed in various film magazine articles.[4][5]
Rhoda Eldridge Sayles (Minter) is left a penniless orphan in Paris when her father (Periolat) dies and the shipping company in which he invested his money goes bust. She finds passage to America with a family looking for a nursemaid, but when they arrive in New York there is no place in their household for Rhoda, who finds herself alone with only seventeen dollars to her name.
She takes up residence in the New York boarding house of Mrs. Sullivan (Price). After two weeks’ futile search for work, and down to her last ten cents, Rhoda finds a letter in a park, addressed to Rosy Taylor, and containing two dollars and the instruction to clean the mansion of Mrs. du Vivier every week. Rhoda tries to return the letter, but when she learns that Rosy Taylor is dead, she decides to take on the cleaning job herself.
All goes well until Mrs. Du Vivier’s brother, Jacques Le Clerc (Forrest) catches Rhoda in the act of cleaning the family silver. Believing that she is stealing the silver, he refers her to a reformatory, whose patron is Joseph Sayles (Periolat in a dual role). After being forced to stay and work at the reformatory by Mrs. Watkins (Schaefer) who believes she is a thief, Rhoda escapes and, although afraid of another encounter with Jacques, returns to Rosy Taylor’s job as she needs the money.
When she returns to the Du Vivier mansion, Rhoda finds a letter from Mrs. Du Vivier, saying that she is pleased with the work, and some of her cast-off dresses for Rosy Taylor to wear. While wearing the dress, she is found by Jacques, who initially mistakes her for his sister. While Rhoda is explaining herself to Jacques, Mrs. Du Vivier (Howard) meets her friend Mrs. Herriman-Smith (Kluge) and thanks her for her recommendation of Rosy Taylor. Mrs. Herriman-Smith tells her that Taylor has been dead for weeks. Wondering who has been cleaning the house all this time, the women race back to the Du Vivier mansion to investigate.
Jacques, meanwhile, when Rhoda shows him a letter of her father's with her full name, asks her to remain while he makes some enquiries. It is at this point what Mrs. Du Vivier and Mrs. Herriman-Smith arrive at the house, and mistake Rhoda cleaning with windows with a long mop as a ghostly apparition. They telephone the police, who arrive at the same moment as a worker from the reformatory seeking their escaped inmate, and Rhoda is taken into custody before Jacques can return.
After everyone comes together at the offices of the reformatory, Jacques and Rhoda are able to prove to Joseph Sayles, with the aid of her father’s letter, that Rhoda is his niece. Jacques introduces Rhoda to his sister as the ghost of Rosy Taylor, who, he says, “Will haunt me for the rest of my life.”[6]
Contemporary reviews of the film were mixed, with some critics praising the film as “exquisitely done” and the star and support as good,[7] while others found the plot contrived but praised the personality of Minter.[8]
Critical assessment
Film historian Paul O’Dell offers this appraisal of The Ghost of Rosy Taylor:
The picture has quite unbelievable charm, and Mary Miles Minter makes us forgive her lack of acting talent, by the sheer beauty of her face. Edward Sloman’s direction is gentle and tender, as exemplified in the slow fades in and out as Rhoda tells in flashback her story to Jacques.[9]
William Desmond Taylor was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, Taylor directed fifty-nine silent films between 1914 and 1922 and acted in twenty-seven between 1913 and 1915.
Mary Miles Minter was an American actress, and one of the leading ladies who established the early Hollywood star system. She appeared in 53 silent films from 1912 to 1923.
Wives and Other Wives is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, based on a story by Jules Furthman. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
George Periolat was an American actor.
Melissa of the Hills is a 1917 American silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. As is the case with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Gentle Intruder is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film was Minter's sixth production with Mutual Film. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films known to have survived; a copy is held by the Dutch Filmmuseum.
Annie-for-Spite is a 1917 silent film directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film is based upon the 1916 short story Annie for Spite by Frederick J. Jackson. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
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The Mate of the Sally Ann is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Beauty and the Rogue is a 1918 American silent comedy crime drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was filmed under the working title of "Mademoiselle Tiptoe," based on a story by Arthur Berthelet and adapted for the screen by Elizabeth Mahoney, who was the screenwriter for many of Minter's Mutual Film features. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
The Eyes of Julia Deep is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by Lloyd Ingraham. The film is based on the short story by the same name, written by Kate L. McLaurin. It is one of the few films starring Minter which are known to have survived, and one of even fewer readily available for the general public to view.
Judy of Rogue's Harbor is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Mary Miles Minter. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Grace Miller White, with a scenario by Clara Beranger. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Realart and Paramount Pictures.
Social Briars is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Henry King and starring Mary Miles Minter. The story was by Jeanne Judson, and it was filmed under the working title of "The Greater Call." As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Nurse Marjorie is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Mary Miles Minter. Based on a 1906 play, Nurse Marjorie, by Israel Zangwill, with a scenario by Julia Crawford Ivers, it is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films know to survive today, and one of even fewer readily available for the general public to view.
The Amazing Impostor is a 1919 American silent comedy film starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by Lloyd Ingraham. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
Jenny Be Good is a 1920 American silent romance drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Mary Miles Minter, based on a novel by Wilbur Finley Fauley and adapted for the screen by Julia Crawford Ivers. It is the last of Minter's films to also feature her older sister Margaret Shelby in a supporting role. As with many of Minter's features, it is believed to be a lost film.
The Little Clown is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Thomas N. Heffron and starring Mary Miles Minter, adapted by Eugene B. Lewis from a comedy play by Avery Hopwood. It is one of approximately a dozen of Minter's films which still survive today. A copy of the film was found in the Dawson Film Find in 1978 - although other copies survived in various holdings - and a few brief frames from this copy can be seen in 2016 documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time.
Shattered Idols is a 1922 American drama film directed by Edward Sloman and written by William V. Mong. It is based on the 1912 novel The Daughter of Brahma by I. A. R. Wylie. The film stars Marguerite De La Motte, William V. Mong, James W. Morrison, Frankie Lee, Ethel Grey Terry, and Alfred Allen. The film was released on February 6, 1922, by Associated First National Pictures.
Rosemary Climbs the Heights is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, Allan Forrest, and Margaret Shelby. It is the only one of Minter's feature films not listed in the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Database, making its survival status difficult to ascertain.
The Intrusion of Isabel is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Mary Miles Minter, J. Parks Jones, Allan Forrest, and Lucretia Harris. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.
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