In a Garden

In a Garden

(One reel of approximately 1,000 feet, October 25, 1912)
Alternate title: The Romance of a Gardener.
Print source: British Film Institute, 15 minutes 4 seconds.
Cast: Riley Chamberlin (gardener and narrator), Marie Eline (Miss May [Marie in film inter-title], as a child), Leland Benham (Jack, her childhood sweetheart), Marguerite Snow (May grown up), James Cruze (Jack grown up), Harry Benham (who precipitates a quarrel between May and Jack, Helen Badgley (child visitor to garden), Carl LeViness (butler).
Original music composed and performed by Ben Model.

The gardener tells the story he has seen unfolded within the precincts of a beautiful spot - the beginning of affection between two, the quarrel, and the reconciliation years afterward.

The ups and downs and ups of a romance over 30 years, told as a series of flashbacks by the gardener who witnessed them. The final garden scene, which is back-lit by the sun, appears to use fill lights or reflectors (which would have been a startling innovation) or may be lucky natural fill by scattered or thin clouds. Either way, the Thanhouser cinematographers always showed remarkable skill in dealing with the widely variable lighting conditions in their extensive exterior location work.