Miss Robinson Crusoe
(1912) United States of America
B&W : Two reels
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: Florence La Badie [Miss Robinson Crusoe], James Cruze [Miss Crusoe’s rescuer], Harry Benham [the American], Francis Newburgh (Frank Newburg) [the nobleman], William Russell, Mignon Anderson
Thanhouser Company production. / Released 8 October 1912. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? A society woman who was traveling abroad, heard with deep interest from her husband, that a nobleman was deeply attentive to their only daughter. The mother, knowing that propinquity often leads to love, arranged for her daughter to take a long ocean trip, chaperoned by the young nobleman’s mother. In this way the count and the girl would have many hours of each other’s society and the girl’s mother felt sure that she would not long refuse the honor of becoming a countess. The girl was also wooed by a wealthy young American, of whom the family disapproved because of his lack of ancestry. He grieved over their separation, and later was completely heartbroken when news reached him that the ship had been lost and the girl he loved was reported among the missing. Still he could not believe that she was dead, and dropping all business embarked on his yacht, vowing that he would search the whole world if necessary to find her. The girl drifted to the shore of an island inhabited by a savage tribe. They would have killed her, but her miraculous escape from the attack of a venomous snake convinced them that she bore a charmed life and instead of destroying her, they worshiped her as a goddess. The young American in the meantime had carried his search into many strange lands and all on board except himself were convinced that the hunt was a fruitless one. He refused to turn back, however, and finally his boat reached the little island where his sweetheart was a queen and a prisoner. She was rescued after a lively battle with the savages, and the couple sailed away to their home in America. The parents, in their joy at their daughter’s return, withdrew their objections to the marriage, and the girl wedded the man who had braved many dangers to rescue her from her “Robinson Crusoe” existence on an island in the tropical seas.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 19 October 1912, page ?] A very delightful and romantic story of the sea. Miss Flo LaBadie and Mr. Cruze play the leads. as two young people of great wealth. The girl is shipwrecked and cast upon an island inhabited by cannibals who think her a goddess and worship her. They have reason to think so. Her handling of a huge rattlesnake makes a most startling scene. The simple islanders, as well as the audience, see this and the audience is sure to sympathize with them in their opinion of her. She is rescued by the man who, in his big yacht, seeks her out and saves her in a well- conducted battle scene, five white men against a horde of cannibals. In many of its scenes, it is a highly artistic picture and, where it fails to be so, it is nevertheless effective, and makes a very desirable offering.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 25 November 2023.
References: Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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