Volume II: Filmography

THE LUCKY SHOT

July 12, 1910 (Tuesday)

Length: 1,000 feet

Character: Drama

Cast: Marie Eline (the little boy), Mrs. George W. Walters (haughty, miserly woman)

Note: The identity of the lucky archer is subject to question, for the synopses and article released by Thanhouser name the mother, while reviewers pinpoint the child.

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, July 16, 1910:

"The most wonderful shot ever recorded, next to the far-famed William Tell, is that in The Lucky Shot, a Thanhouser subject released Tuesday, July 12. Said shot is announced as 'a shot that found a fortune, a shot that brought prosperity, a shot that made sunshine out of darkness and night into day!' Truly a peculiar, puzzling kind of shot, if the producer's description is true! And it really seems to be. Here's why.

"The picture tells the story of a young man of social position who weds a dancer and is promptly disowned by his aristocratic mother. A member of the militia, he was called out on strike duty and killed in a riot. The penniless widow goes to the mansion of her mother-in-law and implores the protection that is her due. The old woman, who has become a miser, angrily turns the young widow away. In fact, her rage is so bitter that it induces a stroke of apoplexy, which results fatally. As she left no will, her property goes to her grandchild, the widow's tiny son, but search fails to reveal anything except for the family mansion. The widow concludes to sell that, when the shot begins to figure in the story. Playing 'Indian' in the mansion with her boy, she shoots arrows aimlessly about the room. One of them strikes the secret spring of the treasure vault, and the accident puts the boy and his mother beyond want for the remainder of their days."

SYNOPSIS, The Billboard, July 16, 1910:

"Jack Hunt, son of a wealthy woman, has married an actress. Jack's mother will have nothing to do with her daughter-in-law, although she is willing to forgive her son. But Jack sticks to his wife. Some years later the young husband dies, but Mrs. Hunt refuses to be reconciled with her son's wife. As time passes Mrs. Hunt becomes a miser, while Nell has a hard time to get along. Finally she appeals to her mother-in-law for aid, who repulses her, and in a fit of rage is stricken with apoplexy and drops dead. Although property goes to little George, her grandson, a search fails to find anything of value except the family homestead. Nell is about to sell that when she makes a discovery. Playing 'Indian' with her boy, she shoots arrows aimlessly about the room. One of them hits a secret spring of the treasure vault and the accident puts the boy and mother beyond want."

Note: Compare the preceding abbreviated synopsis to the following.

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, July 16, 1910:

"A shot that found a fortune! Jack Hunt, the son of a wealthy woman, falls in love with Nell Horsley, who is in the chorus of a musical comedy. They are married, but when Jack's mother is informed she declares she'll have nothing to do with Nell, although she is willing to forgive her son. But Jack sticks to his wife, and for a time they are very happy. Then Jack, who is in the militia, is called out on strike duty, and meets his death during a fight with strikers. The widow takes the news to her mother-in-law, who nevertheless retains her hatred for Nell, despite the tragedy.

"As time passes, Mrs. Hunt becomes a miser. She disposes of all of her property, receiving in exchange money and jewels which she hides in a secret place in her room. In the meantime Nell has a hard time to get along and keep a roof over her head and that of her little boy. So desperate are her circumstances that she finally sinks her pride and appeals to her mother-in-law. The old woman repulses her again; her fit of rage brings on a stroke of apoplexy and she drops dead after Nell leaves. All her property goes to little George, as the woman left no will, but search fails to locate anything except the family homestead. Nell is about to sell that, when she makes a discovery. Playing 'Indian' with her boy, she shoots arrows aimlessly about the room. One of them hits the secret spring of the treasure vault, and the accident puts the boy and his mother beyond want for the rest of their lives."

Note: A similar synopsis appeared in The Bioscope, December 29, 1910, indicating that this text was the one originally distributed by Thanhouser.

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, July 17, 1910:

"A young man who is a member of a wealthy family marries an actress against his mother's wishes. He leaves his mother and makes a home for his wife. The newlywed joins the militia and is shot and killed during a strike riot. The young son is finally made the beneficiary of the property left by his rich grandmother. She had very much money concealed behind a picture, which the young boy and his mother know nothing about. Once, by accident, he shoots with a bow and arrow given him as a present, near the picture. The treasure chest is exposed and all the money becomes their property. The story and plot is interesting."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, July 30, 1910:

"That a shot from a toy bow and arrow should open a secret door and disclose a store of wealth is the main feature of this picture. This novelty raises the film above the ordinary, which nothing else discloses. A child in shooting its arrows about a room accidentally hits a secret spring, opening a door which shows the wealth left by his grandmother. It solves the problem for himself and his mother, and because of this is a happy ending for an otherwise unpleasant outlook."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, July 23, 1910:

"There is not as much appealing interest in this picture as we usually note in the films of this company, but the story is not at all a bad one, and is acted with considerable ability. A young man with a miserly mother marries an actress against the mother's wishes. After the birth of a child he is killed in a riot and the young wife supports the child by hard work. The old mother then dies and the property is inherited by the grandson, but the treasure is not found.

"One day the little chap with his bow and arrow shoots into an old painting on the wall and lo! the treasure is revealed. It consists of paper money and bags of gold - all stage money, because one of the bags that should have weighed forty or fifty pounds is lifted by the child with one finger. Some of the scenes have little to do in advancing the story, and some of the acting appears to be without feeling, evidently because there was no feeling to express."

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