Volume II: Filmography

THE BLIGHT OF WEALTH

Thanhouser advertizement. Courtesy Ralph Graham, MD. (F-660)

November 25, 1913 (Tuesday)

Length: 2 reels (2,018 feet)

Character: Drama

Cast: David H. Thompson (Jack, a handsome young quarryman, afterward an idle rich man), Florence LaBadie (May, his wife, always wealthy), Catherine Webb (Mrs. Gray, May's chaperone), Frank Quimby (Mr. Gray)

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, November 29, 1913:

"The young man had been used to hard work all his life. From his childhood days he had labored steadily, and now as a young man he owned a large marble quarry, which supplied him with a small but steady income. The quarry was located in a section where many society people made their country home, and a number of them visited the quarry at different times, merely out of curiosity. In this way the young owner met a wealthy society girl and they soon fell in love, and after a brief courtship were married. The husband had planned to continue his work, but he soon found the wealthy wife had first claim upon her husband. Gradually the business was turned over to subordinates while the young couple lived abroad in luxury and idleness. What might have been expected, happened. The hired manager wrecked the business of the quarry and ran away with all the funds he could lay his hands on. At first this was a bitter blow to the husband, but as his wife said, there is not real reason why he should worry, she had more than enough for both. He had been idle long enough to accept this view of the situation, and as time passed, became more and more worthless. Fortunately for him, his wife's money was swept away during a financial panic, and this reverse brought the young man to a realization of what he had become and what he should be, and told his helpless wife that the time had come when he should be the breadwinner. He forced her to return to America, and he revisited the quarry, which had once been his pride and joy. The place was now abandoned and fast going to wrack and ruin, but the owner was again energetic and optimistic and cheered his wife with the prediction that he would soon show her that the blight of wealth had passed, and that he was again a self-respecting man, who could support and comfort those dependent upon him."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, November 22, 1913:

"Is there a more uncomfortable situation in this life than living idly on one's rich wife's money - going to her for every cent one spends? Is there a red-blooded man in the United States who would calmly settle down into that sort of existence and be satisfied with it? If so - what is he worth to himself or anyone else? This particular man had worked up to the ownership of a marble quarry on a strip of coast which had become a fashionable resort for society people. Among them was a wealthy girl who fell in love with the quarryman and married him. They went abroad to live for a few years - leaving the quarry in the hands of a manager who soon wrecked the business and decamped with all the funds he could lay his hands upon. This was a heavy blow to the owner - but his wife said she had plenty of money for both and persuaded him to live upon it, more or less contentedly. Then came panic - smash - and the wiping out of his wife's fortune. He came to his senses - realized what a worthless fool he had been - and forced her to return with him to his quarry, which was now abandoned. He soon put it in shape, however, and became again a self-supporting, self-respecting man. It may seem a rather difficult task to represent all this on a moving-picture screen, but it has been so well done that nothing is lost in the action - and the various scenes are unusually beautiful. Mr. Thompson and Miss LaBadie do some very clever work in this play - being well supported by the other members of the cast."

REVIEW, The Motion Picture News, December 13, 1913:

"The title of this is poor, meaning nothing. A quarry owner marries a rich heiress. Formerly a hard worker, he now neglects his business and goes to Europe. He loses his quarry, his wife loses her fortune, and together they come back and start afresh. The episode of a duel between the husband and an attentive count makes good material."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, December 6, 1913: This review is reprinted in the narrative section of the present work.

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, December 17, 1913:

"There is not an especially strong call in this film of two parts, in which situations seem to be rather forced. What fault there is does not lie with the players, who have done justice to every opportunity afforded to them; neither is the photographer at fault; on the contrary, some very effective work is credited to the camera in this production. David Thompson and Flo LaBadie play the principal roles, both doing excellent work. As the story runs, a quarry worker takes a rapid leap to wealth, which, the picture proves as it progresses, he would have been better off without. The sudden lift which the acquirement of wealth gives him into the social circle paves the way for his marriage to an heiress, with whom he goes abroad, leaving the entire business manipulation of the quarry in the hands of subordinates. It transpires that trouble and very little real joy follows in the wake of absolution to an idle life, and in that portion of the story which introduces an unscrupulous baron into his domestic life are excellent opportunities for strong dramatic efforts that have been taken advantage of. Harassing attentions of the baron to the wife of the quarry owner results in a saber duel between the two men which adds a bit of color that is rather an appreciated item. The victor is scarcely strong enough to back up its title, although it will no doubt provide pleasing entertainment for the average audience."

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