Volume II: Filmography

THE SPARTAN FATHER

August 29, 1913 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel (800 feet)

Character: Drama

Director: W. Eugene Moore, Jr.

Assistant director: Frank Grimmer

Scenario: Lloyd F. Lonergan

Cast: Eugene Moore (Spartan father), Harry Benham (the son)

Notes: 1. A notice in the August 8, 1913 issue of The Moving Picture World stated that in recent times Eugene Moore had been busy directing Thanhouser films, but had appeared in a few releases, including some bit parts in films which he had directed. Films in which Moore played major parts up to this point in the 1913 year included A Mystery of Wall Street, The Patriot, For Another's Sin, The Boomerang, and Good Morning, Judge. In addition, he was "loaned" to Majestic, for whom he appeared in The Politician. 2. This film was just 800 feet in length, far short of the normal length of about 1,000 feet.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, August 30, 1913:

"He was 'The Honest Cop' and it broke his heart to learn that his little son had 'gone bad.' But he remembered his duty in the matter and arrested his son. The arrest, instead of being a blight, proved the lesson of the lad's life and cinched his success."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, August 30, 1913:

"He was proud of his title 'The Honest Cop.' Everyone on his beat knew and liked him. He never won promotions, meekly admitting that he did not have the head to be a commanding officer. His ambitions entirely concerned his motherless son. When the boy was a little chap, the other policemen made much of him. When he grew up, the father was convinced that his heir was destined to become a great man. No one told him that the boy was degenerating into a loafer. While in the station one night, a man entered to tell of a daring attempt to rob him. His assailant got away, but he left his hat behind him. 'The Honest Cop' looked at the hat and recognized it as that of his son. The old policeman went to his home, and his son trembled before him. He knew the boy was guilty and sorrowfully led him back to the station. There, his duty completed, he handed in his resignation, and went away, a broken-hearted man. The complainant, however, was kind-hearted. The young man was not a hardened criminal, he had only yielded to a sudden temptation. The charge was dropped, the old policeman's heart made happy. In later years the son showed that he had learned his bitter lesson, and his father had reason to be proud of him."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, August 31, 1913:

"This is one of the best films of the week. It is well acted and deeply pathetic and the role of the Spartan father, whose business is that of a policeman, is exceptionally well done. The child, who was the father's pride, and the pride of the police headquarters in fact later in life, when just entering manhood committed a theft for which the father, in order to stand by his duty, is obliged to arrest him. The story is a particularly touching one and exemplifies many manly traits."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, August 30, 1913:

"The acting and characterizations in this picture are very good, but it struck us that the plot was not sufficiently plausible to carry conviction. The policeman's son grows up at the station, the idol of the men. When he is older he falls from grace and his own father traces a theft to the boy. We think the manner of the theft was too hurried, as were the subsequent scenes at the station. The picture, however, possesses considerable interest."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, August 27, 1913:

"It is the splendid characterization of the old father, an honest policeman, that gives this picture its principal value. The pathos expressed by this actor in a finished, restrained way is genuinely appealing. Others in the cast are good, and the staging and directing are very acceptable. It is the story of a father's shattered faith in his only son, the pride of his life, and of the circumstances which work the regeneration of the boy. The old policeman finds it his duty to arrest his own son on a charge of stealing. In doing his straight duty he unwittingly gives the boy the incentive to do right."

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