Sunshine and Gold

Sunshine and Gold

Sunshine and Gold. Five-reel comedy-drama (850m). Balboa Amusement Co.  Copyright, Apr. 24, 1917, Pathé Exchange, Inc.; LU10624. Released, Apr. 29, 1917, by Pathé Exchange, Inc.; Gold Rooster Plays. Director: Henry King. Scenario: Henry King.  Story: Will M. Ritchey. Cameraman:  Joseph Brotherton. Cast: Baby Marie Osborne (Little Mary), Henry King (The chauffeur), Daniel Gilfether (James Andrews), Neil Hardin (Dr. Andrews, his son).

Commentary: The French title for this film is La Petite Cendrillon. De Pathé Frères à Pathé Cinéma explains that this movie was included in the Programme du Moderne-Cinéma, Lyon, Jan. 18-24, 1918, and was announced in Ciné-Journal, No. 431/127, Nov. 17, 1917, first released in France at the Omnia Pathé, Paris, Dec. 27, 1917 (128).

Summary: During her fifth birthday party, Little Mary wanders off and is kidnapped by a band of gypsies. Hearing talk about a ransom, Little Mary runs off at night into the forest to escape her captors. The next day, she encounters an old man, James Andrews, a lonely recluse with considerable wealth stored in his cabin. The following day, the family chauffeur, who has been searching for Little Mary, finds the girl still in the company of the recluse. During the chauffeur’s visit, James Andrews realizes that Little Mary is actually his granddaughter. It was after a terrible quarrel between the recluse and his son that the old man went into hiding with his treasure. The recluse decides it is time to return with Little Mary, to be reconciled with his son and the entire family (Drawn from American Film Institute 902).

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.

The following day the family chauffeur (Henry King), who had been searching for Little Mary, finds the girl still in the company of the recluse and his treasure. During the chauffeur’s visit, James Andrews (Daniel Gilfether) realizes that Little Mary is actually his granddaughter.