Volume II: Filmography

THE IDOL OF THE HOUR

March 14, 1913 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Director: Lucius J. Henderson

Cameraman: Arthur A. Cadwell

Cast: Marguerite Snow (the shepherdess), James Cruze (the young artist)

Location: California

Note: This film was originally advertised for release on March 4, 1913 and was subsequently rescheduled to March 14, 1913.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, March 15, 1913:

She was the idol of the hour, the toast of the town, with admirers galore - this pretty model. Her suitors were all of them men of wealth and standing, and yet she rejected all of them for the poor-enough artist, for whom she posed. He, again, rejected her for another. But the story is not of the conventional 'scorned by the one man she loved' sort. The Thanhouser Twist puts in its appearance and you will be surprised at the odd ending of the tale.

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, March 15, 1913:

The young artist had searched Paris for a suitable model to pose as a shepherdess in a new picture which he hoped would win him fame. But none of the models pleased him, and at last, feeling that he could do no justice to the picture, he decided to postpone his work and take a walking trip through France. In a little hamlet far removed from the city, the artist found the model for his picture, a beautiful peasant girl tending her sheep on the hillside. He tried to induce her to return with him to Paris, but she demurred, and he went back to Paris alone. But the girl thought often of the stories he had told her of the French capital, and the simple country life palled upon her, until one day she left her country home forever and journeyed to the great city. The artist received her joyfully. She was a great success as a model, and the painting made the artist famous.

As time passed, the liking that the girl had for the artist grew into love; but it was not reciprocated, for to the man she was merely a beautiful model. The model was the idol of Paris, but although many of her admirers were far richer than the artist she cared only for him. The artist gave his love to another woman and married her. When models cease to be young, they are no longer in demand, and this the former shepherdess learned all too soon. Slowly she sank in the social scale until at last she was glad to earn her living as a cleaner in an office building. One day the woman, now old, was sent into a studio building to scrub the floors. She entered a studio and commenced her work. A man sitting at an easel, painting, turned as she entered, and then seeing that it was only the scrub woman, continued his work. But the woman stood aghast, her heart struggling with conflicting emotions. For the artist was the young man whose reputation she had made, and whom she had loved in the years gone by. Her heart filled with yearning, she stretched out her arms to him as he sat, busily working at his painting; then as the realization of her position came to her, she picked up mop and pail and staggered out the studio and his life forever.

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, March 16, 1913:

The idol was an artist's model, who had been discovered through the sheep country of France. Through his persuasions she came to Paris and there he painted her, and his work made him famous and rich. But he cared for her only as a model, though she had come to love him. He married another woman. As time passed the model grew old and lost her value as a subject for the canvas, and so she dropped out of her work and her circle of friends, and years afterward she was forced to work as a scrub woman. One day while at her toil in a studio she came upon the artist who had lured her from her country home, and she longed again for his love, but he did not recognize her, and so she tottered from the room, knowing that she could never know him again. The story is one of contrasts in emotion, characters, scenes and situations, and is all the more interesting therefore. It is told in a straightforward way and is capably acted.

REVIEW, The Moving Picture News, March 15, 1913:

A very prettily staged drama in which Marguerite Snow has an opportunity for some of her best work. The part of the shepherd girl is a versatile and difficult role to carry out, and in this film has been interpreted in a very splendid manner by Miss Snow. The film contains plenty of variety and color in scenic effects, and the story is one of intense pathos.

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, March 22, 1913:

The forepart of this film is wonderfully artistic and pleasing. The shepherdess, played by Marguerite Snow, is discovered, tending her picturesque flock of sheep, by the young artist, impersonated by James Cruze. He induces her to come to Paris and pose for him. She becomes a popular model of the day, but when he marries another she loses ground, and the picture winds up with her acting as his maid, both in an advanced age. Unusual for its artistic effects.

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, March 12, 1913:

While several artistic effects have been gained in the production of this picture it is not altogether what we would expect from the Thanhouser company. Especially is the ending unsatisfactory to the spectator.

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