Volume II: Filmography

 

SHEP'S RACE WITH DEATH

 

 

November 1, 1914 (Sunday)

Length: 1 reel (790 feet)

Character: Drama; "Featuring the Thanhouser Collie"

Director: John Harvey

Cast: Mrs. Whitcove (Mrs. Mateland), J.S. Murray (Mr. Stearns), Marie Rainford (Mrs. Stearns), Marion and Madeline Fairbanks (the twins), Shep (the Thanhouser Collie, as himself)

 

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, October 17, 1914:

"Mrs. Mateland, a typical mother-in-law, makes trouble in the Stearns family. A mischievous prank of Madeline, one of the twins, in which Shep, their collie dog figures, greatly exasperates the grandmother, and eventually causes a breach between Mr. and Mrs. Stearns. The wife and Marion go to live with Mrs. Mateland, and Mr. Stearns and Madeline stay in the old home. Shep, the innocent cause of the disaster, is taken by Marion and her mother. The twins miss one another keenly, but their parents obstinately refuse to be reconciled. Some weeks later, Madeline and her father drive to town. While the child is sitting alone in the carriage, the horse becomes frightened and runs away. He plunges toward a railway track, and, exhausted, stops in the path of an approaching express. Madeline faints. But as the train is thundering down upon the carriage and the helpless young girl, horse and buggy are dragged to safety. The rescuer is Shep. Mrs. Mateland's dislike of Madeline melts away. The family is reunited, and Shep is the happiest member of it."

 

REVIEW, The Bioscope, February 11, 1915:

"A somewhat tepid and not very convincing story of a dog which saves a little girl's life and thereby brings her parents together again. Very prettily acted, but the plot is very artificial and conventional."

 

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, November 1, 1914:

"A collie dog wins a race with death, saves the life of his mistress, and causes a happy family reunion."

 

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, November 14, 1914:

"The mother-in-law's appearance temporarily wrecks the home of the girl twins, the mother and father separating, each taking a child. The events which bring the family together again are very stirring and full of anxious suspense. The big dog, Shep, pulls the runaway horse off the railroad track, where it had stopped, thus saving the life of one twin. This is well-pictured and very entertaining."

 

Modern Synopsis

(from surviving print)

(Museum of Modern Art)

 

INSEPARABLE COMPANIONS

The scene shows the large lawn of a fine home, bordered with well-cared-for trees and shrubs. Shep, a playful collie, runs on the lawn as identical twin girls, dressed alike, frolic with him. One twin throws a stick for the dog to fetch.

The scene shifts to the father and stepmother greeting the twins, as the girls put their arms around each parent. Then the girls are shown again with Shep.

 

THE WIFE'S MOTHER, WHO ONLY LOVES ONE OF THE TWINS, PAYS THEM A VISIT

The twins are playing, sitting on the front lawn with Shep. Their father is reading a newspaper, and their stepmother is close by. Their grandmother comes to the home and is greeted by her daughter (the twins' stepmother). One of the twins greets her grandmother warmly, and the grandmother responds with an embrace, but the other twin gets only a cursory handshake, after which the grandmother resumes hugging the first. The twin who is ignored by her grandmother is hugged by her stepmother.

 

MOTHER-IN-LAW IS AN UNPLEASANT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

The stepmother talks with the grandmother as they sit on a lawn bench. Both twins run up to them, and their grandmother angrily shakes one of them in admonishment, while hugging the other. The father comes over and takes the errant twin with him down a path.

The rejected twin is out in the yard and calls to Shep, who comes running. She holds Shep by the collar, gives him some instructions, and he dashes off to grab some needlework from the grandmother's lap, to bring it back to the disfavored twin, who thinks the caper is great sport. The grandmother comes running and shouts angrily at the twin, who hands back the purloined needlework.

The scene shifts to the father, who is with one twin, then to another scene showing the stepmother who is with the remaining twin. Now, the twins, their parents, and Shep are together. The parents argue with the grandmother, and the grandmother leaves.

The action cuts to an indoor scene in the library or study of a beautiful home. Shep runs in, jumps into a chair, and, looking forlorn, places his chin and front paws on the edge of the desk. Grandmother, obviously distraught, comes in and is comforted by her daughter (the twins' stepmother). The stepmother then caresses one twin, and takes her away, while the other twin is shown talking with her father. Shep, who has been watching the proceedings, dashes off.

The scene changes to a bedroom, where the stepmother and one twin are packing their things. In the meantime, the father and the other twin are talking in the living room. Shep runs off. In the bedroom, packing continues.

 

THE SEPARATION

The grandmother and the stepmother, carrying two bags, leave with one twin, wearing a light travel coat and bonnet, and Shep, on a leash. The father says goodbye to his departing daughter. The father and the other twin stay behind in the house. As the twin leaves, she does so reluctantly, lingering somewhat behind the others, as does Shep, who also is uncertain that this is a good idea. The departing twin is crying. Just before she goes out of view she waves at the loved ones she has left behind. The father and remaining daughter put their arms around each other and go back into the house.

 

DAY AND NIGHT THE TWINS LONG FOR EACH OTHER

The scene is of the lawn at the twins' home, with the remaining twin sitting on a bench and appearing very sad and lonely.

The scene shifts to the other twin, at a distant location, sitting on the grass with Shep, and holding a bunch of flowers. She, too, is very sad.

Now there is a bedroom scene. The remaining twin is by herself in a large brass bed made for two. She is given a goodnight kiss by her father, after which she starts dreaming. A separate inset panel in the frame shows the two twins together, playing happily with Shep, in a reflection of the past. The dream scene fades away, and the twin continues sleeping.

The scene changes to the other twin, who is in her new bedroom with Shep. She gets a goodnight hug from her stepmother, and falls asleep. Shep, who has been resting nearby on the floor, jumps into the bed and puts his head on her. She has a dream, and she, too, recalls the earlier days when she was with her other sister, in their brass bed, having an uproarious pillow fight, with Shep right in the middle of things.

 

A WEEK LATER

The father and the remaining twin are in town, riding in a one-horse buggy driven by their chauffeur. The rig stops in front of the First National Bank, and the father alights, to go in and transact some business. The driver goes further down the street, the twin hands him a coin, and he hops out to run into a provision store.

The horse starts and runs off, uncontrolled, with the twin in the back seat. The driver comes out of the provision store, glances around, and sees the rig is missing, whereupon he runs to the bank to get the father. Alarmed and excited, the father summons a nearby motorist who is about to get out of his car. Father leaps into the back seat, and standing hunched forward, urgently pounds his fists on the seat back as the driver races off in the direction pointed out.

The scene changes to the home where the departed twin is staying with her stepmother and Shep. Apparently, they hear something and sense there is danger. Shep charges off, down the stairs. We now see the runaway buggy racing down a dirt road, with its hapless passenger apparently slumped in the back seat (she is not visible, and the rig appears empty).

The stepmother and the other twin run down the road, following Shep.

Now the scene is of the father and the automobilist. The driver is having problems, and the car (bearing 1914 New York license plate 14546) is stalled.

Suddenly a locomotive hauling a half dozen passenger cars is shown chugging at moderate speed down a track through a forest.

The action now cuts to the father, who, having left the useless automobile behind, is running down the road, after which we see Shep running down another road, apparently to the same destination.

The buggy with the frightened twin has come to a stop, for no apparent reason, and the horse is standing right in the middle of the railroad track! Shep comes to the rescue, grabs the horse's bridle in his teeth, and leads the animal across the tracks to safety. The train passes by.

The stepmother and other twin reach the rig and revive the comatose twin. The stepmother hugs the twin and helps her from the buggy. At this moment, the father runs up and caresses his daughter. With Shep standing nearby, still holding the reins, the twins and their parents are reunited. All are happy, and all realize that Shep, who is jumping with joy, saved one twin from certain death. The family climbs into the buggy, and Shep prances nearby. The father, in the driver's seat, commands the horse to move on.

 

A PRAYER OF THANKS

The scene is set in the bedroom of the twins' home, and both are together once again. They kneel in prayer beside their brass bed, as their father and stepmother look on. Then they climb in bed and continue their prayers, with Shep in bed between them.

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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.