The story
“No phase of American history is so full of romance as the Civil War period. The fast thinning ranks of the veterans who fought to preserve the Union touch a tender spot within us, and serves to increase our patriotic pride in recalling the brave deeds they performed in the sixties. Many romantic dramas have been founded upon some episode of the Civil War, but none has the heart, interest or originality in plot of the Thanhouser-Mutual three act war drama, The Reunion.
“This is no story of a Southern girl, who falls in love with a Northern soldier, but is the delightful love story of a veteran of the war and his sweetheart, who waited fifty years for him to claim her. Martha Winthrop, the story reveals, had served during the war as a trained nurse. During a bitter struggle with the enemy, she rescues John Bowden from death and then nurses him back to life. He promises to claim her for his bride after the war. Martha lives in a small village near Washington, where she is loved by everybody for her kindness and charity. In this village are three old soldiers, the remaining members of a famous regiment. The time comes for the annual reunion of the G.A.R. and the three old men send Martha to the reunion to represent their regiment. While watching the parade she sees the man she has dreamed about for half a century. She is overcome and is assisted to a hotel by a young man, who awakens memories of long ago in Martha’s mind. She learns that he is the son of her old sweetheart and through him meets the man of her dreams. He learns that she has never received a letter written to her at the close of the war, but her long wait is rewarded by having her hero claim her.
“The Reunion is an unusual photoplay replete with pathos and humor and one that leaves a pleasant taste in your mouth. There are no problems to be solved. It is but a simple, delightful story. Isolde Illian as Martha, is charming and sweet, making the role stand out as one of the few great film characterizations. J.H. Gilmour makes a splendid Civil War veteran, who lost his early love through a mistake. He is excellent in the scene where the reconciliation is effected. Ethel Jewett, popular favorite of Thanhouser-Mutual releases, as Relée, the dance girl, scores one of her most delightful screen characterizations. The settings of The Reunion, are typical of Thanhouser productions. The scene in particular, that depicting the battlefield after a bloody engagement between the Blue and the Gray, is one of the most thrilling witnessed on a motion picture screen in many a day.”
Summary from Reel Life · 19 February 1916
