Lost1912Thanhouser CompanyOne reelDrama

Into the Desert

Name: Into the Desert
Genre: Drama
Released: 1912-04-19

No copy you can watch online. No print is known to survive. What follows is what does: the release, the cast, the story, and what the trade press said at the time.

The story

“An American girl and her father were traveling in the Orient, and there they were joined by the girl’s fiancé. He knew the dangers of the country of old, but the girl laughed at his warnings, and believed that life and property were safe as they are on Broadway, New York City. The girl hired a dragoman, and took an excursion to the desert, despite her sweetheart’s most emphatic warning. It does not pay to disregard the advice of the well-informed, as the girl soon found, to her cost, for the treacherous guide led her into the midst of a band of Arabs. The chief of the clan had seen the girl roaming about the bazaars, and had ordered the dragoman to lure her to his camp. After she had been made a prisoner, the chief sent a demand for a heavy ransom to her father. The father was willing to pay, but the fiancé, declaring the elder man was too feeble to make the journey, won his consent to be the messenger to the desert. The Arab chief met him at the appointed place, but treacherously refused to return the girl after receiving the money. A fight followed, and the white man was left for dead on the desert sands.

“Where love failed, jealousy won. The Arab’s favorite wife had been detailed as guard over the American girl, and believed that her sway was disputed. Therefore, she willingly listened to the girl’s plea for freedom, guided her from the camp, and gave her a horse. On her way across the desert, the girl met her American sweetheart, wounded, but still determined not to return without her. The two rode away together, were pursued, and the American had the grim satisfaction of evening scores with the Arab who had dared cast his eyes on a woman who is far superior to him.”

Summary from The Moving Picture News · 6 April 1912

What the papers said

2 reviews

Read in full · 1 min

“A picture that is remarkable because of its desert atmosphere which is very realistically suggested, both as to desert palms in the oasis and sand. The story tells of an American heroine who is lured out in the desert by a native Arab guide and captured by a band of wild Bedouins, whose chief held her for ransom. This, the American lover brings; but the chief desires both it and the girl. The Arab’s wife, because of jealousy, saves her, giving her a horse, in which both she and the American lover escape. The acting is very fair and the photographs are good. It will serve as a feature, but perhaps not one for Saturday night.”

The Moving Picture World · 27 April 1912

Read in full · 1 min

“The atmosphere of the Orient and the desert is most realistically suggested in this film, and while the story is not particularly original, it is both interesting and fresh from the way it is worked out and from the delightful work of the players, aided by a carefully constructed plot and action. In the picture a party of tourists, consisting of a father, daughter and fiancé, are traveling to the Orient. The girl insists on hiring a native guide against the wishes of her lover, and she goes alone with him into the desert. A definite reason why this young man should not accompany her at this point would seem to have strengthened the picture at this point. In the desert she is captured by an Arab chief, in conjunction with the guide, and a ransom is demanded. The lover brings the money to the appointed spot, but in the meantime the Arab chief has become much infatuated with the girl and desires both the girl and the ransom. He goes out to meet the young man, stashes the money, renders him senseless and makes away. The girl, however, has been aided by the jealous wife or slave of the Arab, and has made good her escape from the rear of the tent. She comes upon her lover in the desert and they flee together, with the Arab in pursuit. In the chase the Arab is shot by the lover, while the two return home in safety, which would seem to end the picture, but two more scenes are added, supposed to be two weeks later, as a sort of balm, perhaps, or to make the requisite number of feet. The cast comprises the ever interesting set of Thanhouser players, James Cruze enacting with his usual distinctive ability the role of the Arab chief, while the rest of the cast are equally convincing in their respective delineations—Marguerite Snow is the girl, William Russell as her fiancé, Charles Nichols [sic] as the father, and Viola Alberti as the Arab’s wife.”

The New York Dramatic Mirror · 24 April 1912

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Cast and crew

Director: George O. Nichols
Cast: George O. Nichols as the father
: James Cruze as the Arab
: Marguerite Snow as the girl
: Viola Alberti as the Arab’s wife
: William Russell as the girl’s fiancée
Photographed by: Alfred H. Moses, Jr.

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More about this film

Filmed in

Florida

Bowers’ notes

Charles Nichols played the part of the father, according to The New York Dramatic Mirror, April 24, 1912; undoubtedly, the reference should have been to George O. Nichols.

ARTICLE by Gordon Trent, The Morning Telegraph, April 7, 1912:

“It is no unusual thing nowadays for a film to contain a number of thrilling ‘falls’ by actors appearing therein, but to date such ‘falls’ have been more or less faked. At least this was always held true when the ‘fall’ was made by some principal in the picture. Frequently acrobats have been engaged to do real ‘falls,’ but they naturally played minor roles. In a Thanhouser Florida reel called Into the Desert, out Friday, April 19, there are two real ‘falls’ by real principals, setting a new versatility record for photoplayers.” (Adapted from a Thanhouser news release)

From Volume II: Filmography of Q. David Bowers’ Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, reproduced with permission and unchanged. Read the history of 1912 →

Cite as: Bowers, Q. David. Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, “Into the Desert”. thanhouser.org/films/into-the-desert/

Where a print is held

Held by: No print known