The Restoration
(1909) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 964 feet
Directed by D.W. Griffith
Cast: James Kirkwood, Marion Leonard, Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, George O. Nicholls
Biograph Company production; distributed by Biograph Company. / Cinematography by G.W. Bitzer. / © 10 Novmeber 1909 by Biograph Company [J134602]. Released 8 November 1909. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [From a 1909 Biograph advertisement] The world’s history would contain many blank pages if it were not for the frequent occasions of misconstruction of intent. How many commendable deeds have be misconstrued and made the genesis of woe. Wrong impressions, converted ideas and hallucinations have formed the greater part of the causes of calamity and there is no stronger idealogical force than jealousy, and jealousy thrives most in the fagged brain. Henry Morley was suffering from what seemed to be an attack of hypochondriasis. He was low spirited, irresolute of purpose, and in fact on the verge of nervous collapse. His wife becomes solicitous and urges outdoor exercise, such as hunting, driving and the like. Mrs. Morley’s cousin, Alice, is spending the Summer with them. Alice and her sweetheart, Jack Dudley, indulge in a lovers’ quarrel, and Mrs. Morley volunteers to patch it up. Morley miscontrues the intent of their meeting and, entering the drawing-room in the evening after the couple had made up, sees Jack enfolding Alice in his arms. Thinking it is his wife, he sends Jack reeling to the floor with a blow of his whip handle. Realizing his mistake, his mind in unbalanced. Jack is only stunned and the doctor, in order to restore Morley’s reason, has Jack and Alice re-enact the scene, with successful results.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 15 October 2011.
References: Barry-Griffith p. 41; Blum-Silent p. 12; Card-Seductive pp. 34-35; Everson-American p. 50; Eyman-Pickford p. 324; Spehr-American p. 3 : Website-AFI.
|