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William Clifford (left), Gaston Méliès and Edith Storey.
Photograph: Silent Era image collection.
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The Kiss of Mary Jane
(1911) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by [?] William F. Haddock?
Cast: Edith Storey [Mary Jane], William Clifford [Bob Ford], Francis Ford [Black Bill], Gaston Méliès [the priest], [?] Eleanor Blanchard? [Black Bill’s wife]
G. Méliès production, distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. Cinematography by [?] William Paley? / Released 22 June 1911. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Mary Jane had nursed Black Bill’s wife through a spell of fever and Bill was grateful with all the fullness of his rough nature. He sent Mary Jane a necklace and a note in which he promised on his honor to someday discharge his debt. It happened later, that one of Bill’s horses was stolen. Bill and his friends found the thief, and were bringing him into town to a handy tree, when they passed Mary Jane, drawing water from the old well. Bill had a drink and Mary, in pity, raised the cup to the lips of Bob Ford, the horse thief, whom she had never seen before. He was in the stupor of despair and drank greedily, but with no sign of intelligence. Moved by a sudden womanly feeling which she could not classify, Mary Jane leaned forward, and in a great wave of sympathy, she pressed a kiss full upon the lips of the thief. The effect was like an electric shock to him. He raised his eyes and looked upon a girl who was fair and sweet. He, who had been about to die, felt the warm blood of energy and ambition coursing through his veins. Watching his chance, he slipped his bonds, felled one of his captors with a blow, ducked the shots of the others, and putting spurs to his horse, dashed madly to the cabin of Mary Jane for one more look before he died. She found him and secreted him in her bedroom just before the lynchers arrived. Her furious anger at their intrusion drove them out, but Ford had heard their conversation and knew that his presence there had endangered the good name of the girl he had come to love, so he quietly stole from the window and allowed himself to be captured in the timber. Mary Jane saw him being led to the nearest tree. She suddenly thought of the necklace and Bill’s promise and dashed after him. Thus importuned, Bill lived up to his obligations like a man. He not only forced the boys to give up their “lynching bee,” but he paved the way for Ford to leave the country with Mary Jane, knowing that she would make a man of him.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: USA: Texas: Mission Espada
Listing updated: 25 May 2024.
References: Thompson-Star pp. 45, 54, 203-204, 205, 230 : ClasIm-226 p. 55 : Website-IMDb.
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