Lost1912Thanhouser CompanyOne reelComedy

The Taming of Mary

Name: The Taming of Mary
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1912-03-22

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

“They were an old married couple, and yet she was jealous. It seemed to her that every woman they met had designs on her middle-aged husband, although the man thoroughly realized that his days of romance were passed, never to return. Personally, he wished that he did not have the reputation of being a gay Lothario, for the wife scolded and nagged and expressed herself in unpleasant terms from morning till night. They went on a pleasure trip South, but he failed to enjoy himself; his wife would not let him. Then, with the aid of a friend, he decided to make one desperate effort to cure his wife of her foolishness, mentally deciding that if he failed that he would do something desperate. The wife received a letter one day signed ‘A Friend,’ enclosing the photograph of her husband and a beautiful woman, and from appearances they were very much in love with each other. ‘A Friend’ explained that he would enable the wife to confront the brazen creature if she so desired, and told her where to meet him. She was promptly on hand at the appointed hour with the horsewhip, willing and eager to get her name in the newspapers. She met the woman, but did not lift a hand to her. No, it was not her husband’s long-lost sister, but under the circumstances the wife could not wax angry. Furthermore, it taught her a lesson and she stopped being jealous, for the best way to cure such a woman is to make her ridiculous, and that was exactly what happened in this case.”

Summary from The Moving Picture News · 9 March 1912

What the papers said

3 reviews · 1 article · 1 advertisement

Read in full · 1 min

“Using local Florida scenes for a background this comedy-travel film is both amusing and interesting. A henpecked husband takes a trip with his wife, who always bosses him about. They visit the famous Ponce de Leon Hotel at St. Augustine, the alligator farm so often pictured in films, an ostrich farm and other sights. Then a friend offers to break the wife of her bossy habits. So they have the husband photographed as he embraces a wax figure of a woman, and the picture is sent to the wife, who takes a horsewhip and goes forth to beat the rival. The joke is on her, and then she is asked if she had acted like ‘one of these,’ and a jackass is shown and the subtitled answer gives the affirmative reply.”

The Morning Telegraph · 24 March 1912

“A very amusing comedy in which a henpecked man and his termagant spouse are on a winter vacation trip in Florida. The husband meets an old friend and this man suggests a plan to tame Mary who, seeing the photograph of her husband embracing a dummy, falls into the trap. The photographs are very good.”

The Moving Picture World · 6 April 1912

More reviews

27 March 1912The New York Dramatic Mirror1 min

“This film is primarily the show of views around South Beach, Florida, and added interest is given by the addition of a merry little farce of a henpecked husband and the manner in which, with the help of his friends, he managed to awaken Mary to the folly of her ways. The views include scenes around the famous alligator farm of that district, raising of ostriches and other entertaining pictures of this locality. Mary and her husband arrive on a sightseeing tour, but neither Mary nor her husband succeeded in enjoying themselves to any great degree, because Mary sees in every individual she meets a possible kidnapper of her husband. With some friends whom he meets, the husband cures Mary by having his picture taken at a photograph gallery embracing a lady that is not a real living creature but a dummy; but when the photograph is sent to the wife by an unknown friend, she sees in the woman a very live creature and marches him forth with a horsewhip. She discovers the truth, and the shock to her pride brings the truth home to her.”

Article

6 March 1912The New York Dramatic Mirror1 min

“The newest negative from the Thanhouser Florida aggregation to be received by the Thanhouser Company goes under the title of The Taming of Mary and is heralded as a pretty unusual comedy. Mary was mighty jealous of her husband. Her jealousy, let it be said, was thoroughly without cause. One day, though, she got a letter signed ‘A Friend,’ enclosing a photo that showed her hubby looking very endearingly at a very pretty woman. Furthermore, ‘A Friend’ wrote that hubby and the she-devil had it all fixed for meeting next day. Mary got her anger going. She fairly boiled with virtuous wrath. She got to the meeting place at the meeting hour, finely fitted out with a horsewhip. As her guilty helpmate loped in with the erring female, Mary put her whip in position. But she didn’t bring it whack down—because the female wasn’t what Mary thought she was, and Mary was the goat in the little game that cured her of that jealous feeling.”

9 March 1912The Moving Picture News1 min

“Poor Mary! It was TOO BAD! She got into the direst predicament of her existence through her red-hot jealousy AND OUR DESIRE TO MAKE YOU LAUGH. Let us tell you now, we succeed. The reel gets smiles, cheers, laughs, YELLS from you. Aside from the value as a laugh-maker it will help your show through its scenic efforts alone. Take your patrons to beautiful Florida. And, on the same reel, another comedy: The Golf Caddie’s Dog.”