Adrift in a Great City
Adrift in a Great City | |
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![]() Florence La Badie in Adrift in a Great City | |
Produced by | Thanhouser Company |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Adrift in a Great City is a 1914 American
Plot
Pat Moran, the foreman of a construction gang, worked hard to save up enough money to pay for the passage of his wife and daughter to their new home in America. On the day of their arrival, he heads to the pier to greet them and becomes involved in a serious accident. He is injured and taken unconscious to the hospital as an unidentified patient. His wife and daughter know nothing of what has befallen him and struggle to live in the city. The daughter gets a position in a
As Pat Moran recovers in the hospital, he sends messengers out to contact his wife and child, but they all fail to find them. One day, the blind girl has lost her way and stumbles into the hospital grounds. She encounters the doctor and tells him of her story and plight. Weakly reclining in a chair nearby, Pat Moran overhears her and recognizes the girl as his daughter. The grief of the separated family abates with their reunion and doctor's assurance that the blind girl that her sight can be restored.[1][2]
Cast
- Sidney Bracy as Pat Moran – the prosperous father[1]
- Arthur Bauer as the doctor[1]
- Lila Chester as a nurse[1]
Production
The scenario was written by
Release and reception
The film was released in the United States on January 13, 1914, and later in Britain on April 13, 1914.[1][7] The film had a wide release in the United States with showings in Kansas,[8] Pennsylvania,[9] Maryland,[10] Indiana,[11] North Carolina,[12] Texas,[13] Kentucky,[14] Wisconsin,[15] and Missouri.[16]
The film was met with negative reviews by critics and mixed enthusiasm by theater proprietors. The Morning Telegraph found it unbelievable and only for the sake of the plot that family would be reunited by happenstance. The Moving Picture World was negative finding that it was not a strong offering because of the plot and the camerawork having resulted in a cloudy image quality in parts of the production. The New York Dramatic Mirror found the concept of the plot to be interesting, but the execution to have been poorly executed. The review found that the production was crude, cheap and unconvincing because the set was bare and lacked the presence of onlookers on the city scenes.[1] Advertisers like the Majestic theater of Wellington, Kansas, would prompt it as a "well told story".[17] The Empire in Frederick, Maryland, would be equally promotional and appeal to the audience as having pretty girls in the cast.[10] The Edisonia in Durham, North Carolina, advertised the film as a strong Thanhouser drama that was "thrilling, pathetic, interesting".[12] The film is presumed lost.
Notes
The plot was reconstructed from the Reel Life synopsis that is included Q. David Bowers' Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History Volume 2: Filmography and the synopsis published in Moving Picture World.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Q. David Bowers. (1995). "Volume 2: Filmography – Adrift in a Great City". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914) (Jan-Mar 1914)". Chalmers Publishing Company. 1914. p. 340. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies – La Badie, Florence". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies – Bracey, Sidney". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies – Bauer, Arthur". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies – Chester, Lila". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Q. David Bowers (1995). "Thanhouser Films – British Releases Thanhouser-Princess-Falstaff". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
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