Volume II: Filmography

 

HER LADYSHIP'S PAGE

 

January 23, 1912 (Tuesday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Cast: Florence LaBadie (Her Ladyship) Marie Eline (the page), Harry Benham

 

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, January 20, 1912:

"Her Ladyship's Page was a tiny boy - but his tininess was the means of rescuing his Liege Lady from a perilous position. You never saw a page so cute - or so daring! Of course, he is played by 'The Thanhouser Kid.' This is an adventure story that your 'regulars' would not miss for the world!"

 

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture News, January 13, 1912:

"Her ladyship, the countess, had a faithful little page, whom she chose as her constant companion. The lady was wooed by a wicked baron, whom she loathed and seldom permitted to enter her presence. The baron retreated to his castle by the sea, and there plotted revenge on the fair lady who spurned him. About this time the prince started out on a tour of adventure with a few boon companions. He went in disguise, to be surer of catching his underlords unawares, and of finding how they were fulfilling their stewardships. By accident he met the fair countess at a wayside shrine, and not knowing who she was his heart went out to her.

"The wicked baron finally succeeded in carrying off the fair countess to his lonely castle. At the time of the capture she was accompanied only by her little page, whom the baron also carried off, so he could not tell people where to find her. The little page was a very small chap indeed, and managed to slip through a tiny window in the baron's castle, which had never been regarded as a possible means of exit. Securing the baron's horse the countess' small defender rode off for aid, and encountered the prince and his friends. A tiny band of monks happened to pass the baron's castle shortly after he had taken the countess prisoner. The holy men were invited to feast at the baron's table, and afterward one of their number was commanded to wed the countess to the baron. Just when the baron thought his plan sure to succeed he found himself face to face with the prince and a few brave hearts, who rescued the lady and carried her safely off to later become the consort of the prince himself, and the tiny page, let it be said, was duly knighted."

 

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, January 28, 1912:

"To the director or whoever chose the backgrounds for this exceedingly fine production heartiest congratulations are forthcoming. Few American producers could have arrived at a finer conclusion than is herein displayed, and still fewer could have held to such an artistic realization from the outset. It is a dramatic story of medieval times in which a young lady is kidnapped by the nobleman she had refused and is gallantly rescued through the astuteness of her little page and the bravery of her knightly lover and his followers. It is staged as correctly as could be asked for in its interiors of studio make, is wonderfully realistic and beautiful in its choice of exteriors, and is finely played from beginning to end."

 

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, February 3, 1912:

"A prettily romantic picture in which a beautiful lady, captured by a cative [sic] baron and in sad distress, is rescued by her unknown knight, the king of the realm. The lady's little page (the Thanhouser Kid) carried the news to the king whom he didn't know save as a friend. The little page is made a knight and keeps his vigil by his armor in the chapel like other true knights who wear golden spurs. It is a very good feature for the right occasion. It is well photographed, well acted, and delightfully set."

 

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, January 31, 1912:

"A delightful spirit has been maintained through this romantic fairy tale, a thing which this company seems especially adept at putting on. It is delicate, human and true, and above all replete with the soul of chivalry. The page waits on the countess at the shrine, where the prince in disguise sees and loves her. Then when the wicked baron steals her and takes her to his castle and would force her to marry him, the little page escapes, because he is so little, through the iron bars of the window, and tells the prince, who, with his men disguised as monks, enter the castle. When the baron asks one of their number to marry him to the countess, there is an unexpected struggle instead of a marriage, and the wicked baron is overcome. And last of all amid much sumptuousness and grandeur the little page is knighted. The film is one of great harmony and costumes and exquisite settings and backgrounds."

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