Volume II: Filmography

DEBORAH

a.k.a. DEBORAH, THE JEWISH MAIDEN

a.k.a. THE JEWISH MAIDEN'S WRONG

July 7, 1914 (Tuesday)

Length: 2 reels (2,004 feet)

Character: Drama

Scenario: Philip Lonergan

Cast: Maude Fealy (Deborah), Robert Robson (Abraham), Josephine Hoole (Sarah), Morris Foster (Joseph), Edward Hoyt (Burgomaster Lorenz), Ethyle Cooke (Anna), Helen Badgley (Anna's child), Mitchell Lewis (Nathan, an apostate Jew), Louise Everts (Mary)

Notes: 1. The title was listed curiously as Bevorah in schedules printed in the July 1, 1914 issue of The New York Dramatic Mirror and in The Moving Picture World, July 4 and July 11, 1914; it seems likely that Thanhouser listed the title erroneously in a press release, and these trade publications never corrected it. 2. Louise Everts was listed as "Louis Evert" in some notices.

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, July 18, 1914:

"Deborah, an Austrian Jewess of great beauty, meets and falls in love with Joseph, the son of Lorenz, the village burgomaster. The young man also loves Deborah. Nathan, the town's schoolmaster, an apostate Jew, informs the burgomaster of the attachment and convinces Joseph that Deborah is untrue to him. Broken-hearted, Joseph consents to marry Anna, the local pastor's niece. When Deborah learns of her sweetheart's faithlessness, she leaves town. Later, when she returns, the apostate Jew incites the citizens against her. Anna, Joseph's wife, saves her life. The schoolmaster is exposed, and after Deborah goes forth again into the world alone, Joseph devotes himself to securing justice for a down-trodden race."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, July 18, 1914:

"Clearly aimed to please the many, this two-reel offering in which is pictured the trials and sorrows of Deborah, a Jewish girl in Austria of about 100 years ago, is 'a good guess' from the exhibitor's viewpoint. The story is likely to convince the heart, though the mind will, if in a critical mood, find much that is not strongly logical in it and a bit of mawkish sentimentality. It carries the clear earmarks of the stage melodramas of the last period and includes a fine scene in which a Catholic priest stands off a mob intent on lynching the Jewess, and another big picture of the persecuted girl's forgiveness of the lover who had let himself be deceived about her. Maude Fealy takes the role of Deborah and is adequately supported by a large and well-trained cast. The photography is excellent."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, July 15, 1914:

"A sub-title at the opening of this drama informs us that the picture is intended to reflect conditions in Austria early in the 18th century. The persecution of the Jews is the theme, handled with no little skill, though the story is personal rather than general in its scope. What we see of the tragedy directly affects Deborah, a Jewish maiden, and her immediate family, and it is with the suffering of Deborah that we are concerned, not with the misery of a down-trodden people. This is not cited as a defect, merely as a fact that may be construed as tribute to Maude Fealy's persuasive acting. Certain it is, she excites much sympathy for the unfortunate Jewess.

"Deborah and her aged parents are the objects of ridicule and abuse. Even a home is denied them, but they show their resignation born of necessity. Then Joseph, the burgomaster's son, falls in love with Deborah, and despite parental objections, promises to marry her. A school master, an apostate Jew, tells the Burgomaster that money will induce the girl to release her hold on Joseph, and he is authorized to test her with an offer. He returns with a false report, which convinces the young man that Deborah is untrue. Joseph weds a girl of his own race, and, as the wedding party descends the church steps, the Jewess, with dramatic fervor, heaps curses on their heads. Five years later she is saved from a gang of ruffians by Joseph, and, having lost all bitterness against the man, who, after all, only observed the laws of his people, she leaves for a land of broader freedom - America. Most of the settings in this picture are attractive, and photography is beautifully clear. There is plenty of action, a fair share of it being dramatic. Then there is Miss Fealy's impressive performance supplemented by the competent acting of a numerous cast."

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