Her Father’s Gold

This review is reprinted in the narrative section of the present work.

This review is reprinted in the narrative section of the present work.

“For an audience that likes action, this will be a great film. The plot is never very convincing, but it works overtime in providing incidents which give a touch of mystery and many wild bits of rushing about in the search of stolen gold from a Mexican mine, which has been buried on an island in a Florida lake. The plot all centers around the theft of this gold by a group of crooks, one of whom doublecrosses his partner, steals the gold, buries it, and leaves a mysterious communication telling of its whereabouts. The rest of the crooks then do strenuous things to discover where the gold is hidden, a newspaper reporter and the mine owner from whom the gold has been stolen being just as anxious as the crooks to recover it.

“The mystery of the hiding place of the gold is hidden under a water-color painting, the crook having written down the secret and then painted over it, in order to make it difficult for anyone to find this very valuable information. Of course, he had to die before he could tell his wife, and so there was much business with the painting, trying to figure what it meant, before the newspaper reporter happened to photograph it, for what reason it is hard to figure, except for the purposes of the scenario writer, since it would have been much easier for him to have taken possession of the original; but by photographing the water-color, the blue of the paint gave negative values, with the result that the writing could be distinguished and so the secret was out.

“All of this strenuous excitement ended with the death of the villain, who was eaten by an alligator, just as he was about to shoot the hero and the heroine who had discovered the gold. This alligator stuff had been planted by newspaper stories beforehand and that was the reason the newspaper reporter had gone South from New York which, in itself, is far-fetched, because New York papers are not in the habit of sending reporters to Florida because one or two [black men] happen to be eaten by alligators. Taken as a whole, this is simply a fast-moving movie melodrama, with a lot of action and a certain amount of interest as to what will happen next. It does not convince and it is surely not distinctive. It will probably register satisfactorily in some houses, but it surely will not appeal to a discriminating audience. The cast included Harris Gordon, Barbara Gilroy, William Burt and Louise Emerald Bates.”

“Louise Bates, the popular Thanhouser-Mutual star, who has been appearing in the Falstaff brand made by the Thanhouser Company, has been transferred to Mr. Moore’s dramatic company. The vehicle which Miss Bates plays the heavy lead is The Water Devil, a novelette which appeared in the Blue Book recently. It deals with the adventures of a band of desperadoes, who rob a Mexican gold mine of a million in bullion and escape to the States. One of the bandits steals the gold from his pals and secretes it on an inland Florida lake. The bandits are all killed in a terrific battle with the man who has stolen the gold from them, and he afterward dies. Miss Bates, as the wife of one of the bandits, takes up the search for the gold, and after many exciting adventures is about to secure it when she is thwarted by a young newspaper reporter, who has come to Florida to investigate stories of a mysterious water devil which has been creating havoc in the Everglades. The water devil kills her accomplice, and the reporter returns the gold to the mine owner from whom it was stolen, and marries his daughter, and presumably lives happily every after. Mr. Harris Gordon portrays the character of the newspaper man, and Miss Gilroy that of the mine owner’s daughter. Mr. Leo Wirth will assist Mr. Moore in the production of this photoplay, which will be photographed by Chief Photographer Alfred Moses. The city scenes will be taken in Jacksonville, and many of them being laid in the depot. A full Pullman train will be used, the lake scenes will be photographed in southern Florida. It is quite a jump from comedy roles to intense dramatic ones, Miss Bates has shown her versatility before, and can be depended upon to put it over.”

“W. Eugene Moore, the Thanhouser director, and his assistant, Leo Wirth, had a very interesting trip to the mouth of the St. Johns River Wednesday. They were looking for locations for The Water Devil when the motor broke down and they started to drift out to sea. Wirth saw visions of losing the [Hotel] Seminole orchestra [which he was directing in his spare time] and Mr. Moore does not like salt water. Hence the perturbation.”

“Not having found rocks in Jacksonville the size called for in Mr. Moore’s story, The Water Devil, Mr. Charles Owens, scenic artist of the company, has been at work in the past week building a large rock of canvas and plaster parts. The rock he is making is 20 feet in height and about 15 across. It has an important bearing on the picture.”

“Louise Bates, lately featured as the Falstaff Girl, makes her dramatic debut in The Water Devil, a Thanhouser Mutual Masterpicture, DeLuxe Edition, in which she plays the heavy lead. Miss Bates was prima donna with The Passing Show at the Winter Garden, New York, when Edwin Thanhouser made her an offer to star in the silent drama.”

“Her Father’s Gold, the Thanhouser contribution to the DeLuxe features of the week, is important for several reasons, principal among them because it serves to introduce Louise Emerald Bates as the star of these Masterpictures DeLuxe. Her Father’s Gold is an unusual adventure drama, having to do with a young girl’s search for a hidden treasure, in which she is joined by a young newspaper reporter. Harris Gordon essays the role of the reporter. Barbara Gilroy is seen in the role of the girl who seeks and finally finds the treasure, and Miss Bates appears as a crook, an intensely dramatic role which has much to do with the unfolding of the story.”