Volume II: Filmography

THE TWINS AND THE OTHER GIRL

October 3, 1913 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel (1,017 feet)

Character: Comedy-drama

Scenario: Lloyd F. Lonergan

Cast: Madeline and Marion Fairbanks (the twins), Helen Badgley (the other girl), Jean Thompson, David H. Thompson, Gerda Holmes

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, October 4, 1913:

"The twin sisters loved each other dearly, but their parents almost constantly quarreled. Affairs went from bad to worse, and finally there was a separation, each parent being given the custody of one child. After that they lived apart, although in the same village, but the little girls would steal out of their homes and meet by stealth, for their separation was a bitter trial for them. One day when they were about to part, 'the other little girl' came along. She was a neighbor's child and asked them what was the matter. They told her they 'had been divided up' because their parents had quarreled; whereupon the 'other girl' remarked that her father and mother were very cross with each other. The twins, then, warned her not to permit a divorce, for the children were always divided and in the case of only one child like 'the other little girl' she probably would have to be chopped up. This statement worried the only child and she went home in tears. In their silly quarrels the parents had never considered what might become of the child and they resolved to curb their temper. Her own sorrows settled, 'the other little girl' found time to devote to the case of the twins. An accident aided, and by an unusual ruse she brought them together."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, September 27, 1913:

"A great many valuable lessons are being taught every evening by motion-picture plays, throughout the United States. The Twins and the Other Girl is a case in point. Just what started Mr. Lonergan off on this tack is something which probably none but the playwright himself knows - but, whether intentionally or not, he has produced in this play a mighty wholesome reminder that most of the troubles which lead to separation between man and wife might be avoided if both were a bit less intolerant and stopped to think a little longer of the consequences to others beside themselves. The way he sugar-coats his educational pill is this: The parents of two lovely twin girls are constantly bickering - fault-finding - embittering each other's lives - and finally separate, the court awarding the custody of one girl to each parent. The twins are exceedingly fond of each other and secretly find opportunities to meet. Another girl with whom they strike up a friendship also proves to have quarrelsome parents - and they warn her that, as children are always divided in case of a family separation, she will have to be chopped up because there happens to be but one of her to divide.

"Terrified at the prospect, she goes home to her quarreling father and mother with the story - which strikes them so forcibly that they come to a better and permanent understanding. Then, wishing to help her two little friends, the girl discovers a secret room in the house of one and evolves a Black Hand plot by which the twins disappear, leaving smudged letters which drive their parents to distraction and bring them together in common misery. The other little girl proposes to find them - and does so - with a parental reconciliation as the result. We have described all this in comparatively few words - but as the story develops on the screen, it is intensely interesting and full of pathos. The play is sure to be recalled by pleased audiences, more than once."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, October 11, 1913:

"A story with a very slight plot, introducing [sic] the Thanhouser Kidlet and the more recent acquisition, The Twins. The latter's parents separate, each one taking a twin, but the Kidlet plays 'Black Hand' and succeeds in reuniting the family. Not strong, but pleasing."

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October 5, 1913 (Sunday)

No release because of two-reel film the preceding Tuesday

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