|
Othello in Jonesville
(1913) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Charles M. Seay
Cast: Herbert Prior [James Reginald Whitestone], Maggie Weston [Madame Goulash], Mabel Trunnelle [Tillie Jones], William West [Mr. Jones, Tillie’s father], May Abbey [Mrs. Jones, Tillie’s mother], Frank A. Lyons [the hired man]
Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated, production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Scenario by Herbert Prior. / Released 9 June 1913. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / Edison production number 7339.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? James Reginald Whitestone, an actor of the barn-storming order, being unable to pay the rent, is thrown out on the street. He goes to a country town and succeeds in getting board with the Jones family in exchange for giving their daughter, Tillie dramatic lessons. Seeing that Tillie yearns to be a great actress, the family decides to give a performance of Othello at the village opera house, with Tillie and Whitestone as the leading characters and the rest of the family in minor parts. Tillie’s acting is so unusual that she is ordered to stop by Whitestone. His actions are misjudged by the audience, who begin to throw vegetables at him. Tillie’s career is thus nipped in the bud and Whitestone is obliged to pay for his board bill with manual labor.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 21 June 1913, page ?] A burlesque with enough freshness to get by; though most of it seems like old vaudeville sketch stuff. Old stuff seems to go with the audiences; it is strange how many people haven’t seen the old situations or heard the old jokes. This picture is by Herbert Prior, and was produced by Charles Seay, and deals with the poor actor out of work and hoofing it through the country (Herbert Prior), and with the gawky girl (Mabel Trunnelle), who is stagestruck. He teaches the farmer’s family acting for his keep and they try to give a performance of Othello at the town hall. The fact that it was burlesqued, rather than played as a farce comedy, tells against it as killing its freshness.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Actors
Listing updated: 15 April 2024.
References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 163, 343, 389; Spehr-American p. 4 : Website-IMDb.
|
