Told at Twilight
Told at Twilight
Told at Twilight. Five-reel drama (965m). Balboa Amusement Producing Co. Copyright, Mar. 14, 1917, Pathé Exchange, Inc.; LU10367. Released, Mar. 25, 1917, by Pathé Exchange, Inc.; Gold Rooster Plays. Director: Henry King. Scenario: Daniel F. Whitcomb. Cameraman: William Beckway. Cast: Baby Marie Osborne (Little Mary Sunshine), Daniel Gilfether (Daniel Graham), Henry King (The father), Beatrice Van (The mother), Leon Perdue (Piggy). Commentary: The French title for this film is Aube et crépuscule. According to De Pathé Frères à Pathé Cinéma, this movie was in the Ciné-Journal, No. 422/118, Sept. 15, 1917. The film was shown at the Omnia Pathé, Paris, Oct. 19-25, 1917 (123). Summary: Daniel Graham is a crusty, ill-tempered old man, living next door to Little Mary Sunshine. Innocently one day, Mary and her playmate Piggy are out by the neighbor’s fence laughing. Graham crosses to the other side of the fence to see what the commotion is about and meets Little Mary Sunshine. This first encounter begins the daily routine of visits from the little girl to the old man. Little Mary Sunshine transforms the old man with her warmth and goodwill. Graham decides to throw a birthday party for Little Mary Sunshine, and when a storm brews that evening, the little girl is invited to spend the night. The very same evening, the little girl’s father, despondent over his investment losses, breaks into Graham’s house, with every intention of robbing it. When the old man and the little girl come across the intruder, Little Mary Sunshine naïvely assumes that her father has come to fetch her. Graham understands the real situation, but for love of the little girl, he decides to help her father get back on his feet, without pressing any charges (Drawn from American Film Institute 939). Works Cited: American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. Vol. 1, Feature Films, 1911-1920. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. Bousquet, Henri. De Pathé Frères à Pathé Cinéma: Catalogue 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918. Paris: Édition Henri Bousquet, 1999. Jura, Jean-Jacques and Rodney Norman Bardin II. Balboa Films: A History and Filmography of the Silent Film Studio. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999.
U.K. Synopsis
Mary and her playmate (Leon Perdue) attract the attention of a crusty, ill-tempered neighbor. Later, at bed, she prays with her parents, her father (Henry King) despondent over investment losses. 
Graham (Daniel Gilfether) decides to throw a birthday party for Little Mary Sunshine, and when a storm brews that evening, the little girl is invited to spend the night. 
The girl and Graham encounter an intruder (Mary’s father) with the intention of burglary, but for love of the girl, Graham decides to help her father get back on his feet. Back home, Mary’s mother is all smiles.