| The Gibson Goddess | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | D. W. Griffith |
| Produced by | American Mutoscope and Biograph Company |
| Starring | Marion Leonard |
| Cinematography | Billy Bitzer |
| Distributed by | Biograph Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Gibson Goddess is a 1909 short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith. [1] It stars Marion Leonard. [2] [3] [4]
Nanette Renfrae, a young woman known for her beauty, decides to take a break from high society and spend the summer at a quiet seaside resort. She hopes the simpler setting will give her a rest from constant attention. Traveling with only her maid, she tries to stay unnoticed, but her looks quickly attract a crowd of admirers. The local women, feeling ignored, grow jealous.
Nanette soon becomes overwhelmed. She cannot go for a walk or sit in the park without being followed by groups of men. Tired of the attention, she hides in her room. Her maid comes up with a plan. She dresses Nanette in an unflattering bathing outfit, including oversized stockings stuffed with cotton, which make her look awkward and strange.
Most of the men leave in embarrassment, but Commodore Fitzmaurice, who is not fooled or frightened, stays. Nanette is touched by his kindness. When the others find out it was a trick, they are embarrassed. The local women, no longer interested in them, turn cold. In the end, Nanette chooses Fitzmaurice. [5]
'Oh! Why do they call me the Gibson Girl?' These lines of a popular song were uttered with a sigh by the heroine of this Biograph comedy, for beauty is sometimes an annoying possession. Nanette Renfrae, after an arduous season of society's whirl, decides to spend a quiet summer at a secluded seaside resort. The place selected is one frequented by the middle class, where she feels she will be free from the tormenting attentions of the male sex that her beauty has induced in the past. She arrives without ostentation accompanied only by her maid, but her extreme pulchritude and graceful bearing soon enraptured the male contingent of the place to the jealous rage of the other women folks who find themselves deserted. She cannot stir but what there is a score of admirers present. A walk on the beach, a stroll through the park is invariably attended by a regiment of gallants, until to her they become positive pests, destined to pass time in the seclusion of her room. The maid, however, is ingenious and suggests a new way to get rid of the troublesome pests. She attires her mistress in a bathing suit and puts on her a hideous pair of stockings lined with raw cotton, which gives her a Gargantuan appearance, at least as to her nethers. Of course, the persistent tormenters flee in a panic when they behold; but, you know 'none but the brave deserve the fair,' and Commodore Fitzmaurice sticks, thereby making a decided impression upon Nanette. You may imagine the chagrin of the others when they learn of the hoax. Fitzie is now the favoured one. As for the others, they are a disgruntled bunch, for the other girls, slighted before, turn cold shoulders on them.