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1914Thanhouser CompanyOne reelRomance

Lost—A Union Suit

Also released as Lost—An Undervest

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

“Mab has not been converted to the new Italian silk underwear. On the evening of Mrs. Gregg’s dance she is late, as usual, in dressing, and hurries into a union suit which has begun to ravel. However, there is no time to mend the broken stitch. At the dance a young doctor, Tom Morton, recently come to town, sees Mab and loses his heart to her. He is called to the bedside of a patient before he has a chance to learn who the charming blonde is, but not before he has enjoyed a very unusual adventure. Noticing a ravelling on the fair one’s shoulder, and thinking to do her a service by removing the same, the doctor picks it off and begins to wind it up. Called into the next room by a friend, what is his dismay to find that the ravelling keeps on coming. He exits, still winding—and a few minutes later is in possession of a ball of fine yarn which he conceals in his inner pocket. Late that night he is summoned in great haste to attend a young lady who, through loss of a certain nether garment at a dance, has taken a severe cold. The doctor has suspicions of the patient’s identity, and the odd mishap of their first meeting further unravels into a very delightful romance.”

Summary from Reel Life · 9 May 1914

What the papers said

2 reviews

“Taking into consideration the cameraman’s work and the acting on the part of the entire cast, this is a creditable photoplay. While the plot has worked out as humorous, it certainly at the limit of absurdity. Mignon Anderson and Morris Foster were in the leads.”

The Moving Picture World · 16 May 1914

“The character of the humor in this picture may be judged by the chief incident in the action. The young lady goes to a party in conventional evening dress. Protruding above her bodice is a thread that we are led to suppose has unraveled from the union suit she is wearing. A physician draws out the thread and proceeds to …

Read in full · 1 min

“The character of the humor in this picture may be judged by the chief incident in the action. The young lady goes to a party in conventional evening dress. Protruding above her bodice is a thread that we are led to suppose has unraveled from the union suit she is wearing. A physician draws out the thread and proceeds to wind and wind until he has a large ball of yarn, and the young woman begins to sneeze. The next day, when called to treat a cold, the physician returns the material that previously comprised the union suit. The production is very good, indeed, but the question arises: Was the story worth producing?”

The New York Dramatic Mirror · 13 May 1914

Have you seen this film, or a print of it?

Prints of films thought lost still turn up in attics, private collections and archives. A record like this one is how the next one gets found.

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Cast and crew

Director
Carroll Fleming
Cast
Boyd Marshall as Jim, his pal
Carey L. Hastings as Mab’s mother
Frances Keyes
Janet Clendenning Henry as Nell, Dick’s sweetheart
John Reinhard as Dick, a social offshoot
Lydia Mead as Mab’s maid
Mignon Anderson as Mab, a society girl
Miss Keyes as Mrs. Gregg’s maid
J. Morris Foster as Tom Morton, a young doctor
Nan Bernard as Mrs. Gregg
Writer
John William Kellette

Every name opens that person's page, with each film they appear in and which of them you can watch.

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A frame from Crossed Wires30:58
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More about this film

Bowers’ notes
  1. Nan Bernard’s surname appeared as “Barnard” in some publicity. In some publicity one actress’ name is given as Janet Henry and in other publicity as Janet Clendenning. 2. The title was punctuated as Lost! a Union Suit in a review in The New York Dramatic Mirror, May 13, 1914.

From Volume II: Filmography of Q. David Bowers’ Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, reproduced with permission and unchanged. Read the history of 1914 →

Cite as: Bowers, Q. David. Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, “Lost—A Union Suit”. thanhouser.org/films/losta-union-suit/

Where a print is held

Held by
No print known