Volume II: Filmography

DICKY'S DEMON DACHSHUND

(Falstaff)

October 7, 1915 (Thursday)

Length: 1 reel (1,015 feet)

Character: Comedy

Scenario: Lloyd F. Lonergan

Cast: Barnett Parker (Dicky), Frances Keyes (landlady), William Carroll (waiter)

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, October 2, 1915:

"Dicky is a 'summer boy,' doted upon by all the girls at Seacrest Villa. 'A society man from New York,' they call him - though the rumor also floats abroad that Dicky sells stockings at Macy's. This charge, however, is laid to some jealous male, and the girls are only too willing to discredit it. Three young men at the villa, who have been cut out by the newcomer, scheme to get even with Dicky. Their landlady despises dogs, and will not permit one on the premises. The conspirators send Dicky a letter, supposedly signed by a lady of rank, asking him to take care of her pet dog, Fritz, 'from the imperial kennels in Berlin and valued at $20,000.' The animal accompanying the missive is a baby dachshund. The landlady, however, has fallen under the spell of Dicky. She consents to let him house the dog in his room - and the schemers, for the nounce, are foiled. Next day, one of the conspirators, who has the room next to the summer boy, with the help of one of the others, cuts out the woodwork so that he can gain access to the closet where the dog is kept. They then get a phonograph and hire a bloodhound to make a record of sleep-disturbing howls.

"Early the following morning the concert is turned on. Dicky picks up a golf stick and opens the closet to argue with the baby dachshund. To his dismay, a huge animal steps out. The conspirators, meanwhile, have made a substitution of pets and withdrawn the phonograph. A little later the howls are renewed, and a delegation of boarders call for explanations. Dickey lets them in and tells them that his baby dachshund howled because of growing pains - that he has grown two feet during the night. Naturally, his story is doubted. Dicky opens the closet door to prove it. He is astounded to discover that the baby dog has returned, while the other animal has vanished. The landlady now glares upon him and accuses him of having personally barked like a dog just for a practical joke. She invites him to leave the house in the gray dawning. At daylight poor Dicky wanders forth from Seacrest Villa, an outcast. The boarders are assembled on the porch. But no one speaks to him, save a waiter. He says, 'The missus asks me to tell you 'Don't forget the dog, sir.' Dicky takes from the waiter's hands the baby dachshund and packs him tenderly in his satchel. All the girls go back to their respective sweethearts - while Dicky and the dog face the cold, cold world together."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, October 16, 1915:

"This film makes good entertainment. The dude of the boarding house has a small dog forced on him through the misrepresentations of the other male boarders, who send a letter with the dog to which the name signed is that of a German countess. Some amusing incidents occur in the picture which will be found to be a comedy worthwhile."

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