Volume II: Filmography

THE OTHER HALF

December 17, 1912 (Tuesday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Cast: James Cruze (the father), Marguerite Snow (the sick mother)

Note: The title of this film was undoubtedly inspired by Jacob A. Riis' 1890 book, How the Other Half Lives, which gave graphic descriptions of life in the slums.

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, January 18, 1913:

"Millionaire Philanthropists Commend Assailed Film: Recently a permanent New York newspaper in its 'moving picture crusade' spoke in denunciation of a Thanhouser film entitled The Other Half, which merely gave a true picture of conditions among the poor of New York. At a recent meeting of the Board of Managers of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, a report was made on the same film and approval unanimously passed on it. The managers are almost all of them in the millionaire class and undoubtedly there never has been so moneyed a class to give praise to a motion picture. They were: Henry G. Barbey, George Blagden, Cornelius N. Bliss, Jr., George S. Brewster, Charles C. Burlington, B. Ogden Chisholm, R. Bayard Cutting...[and others - Ed]."

SYNOPSIS, The Bioscope, April 17, 1913:

"A labourer has the misfortune to lose his arms [sic], and consequently loses his employment. He soon degenerates into a drunkard, and his family are on the verge of starvation, while his wife is ill. A charity organization takes an interest in the man, and decides to reform him. His wife and family are taken to a country house, where they regain their health. The man secures work, and in a short time the family are again in a sound condition."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture News, December 7, 1912:

"According to men who have devoted years of study to the subject, there are three causes for abject poverty. One is sickness, another inability to obtain employment, and the third drink. Sometimes, in fact very often, these three cases are combined. There are two ways used to remedy these conditions, one indiscriminate almsgiving and the other organized charity. It is claimed, and with much reason, that the latter is the only effective cure. A laborer, who lived with his family in a New York tenement, was in better financial condition than most of his associates. Misfortune came upon the man, however, and as a result of an accident his arm was amputated. When he recovered and applied for his old position, he was turned down because he was physically unable to perform the work. Desperate and hopeless, he soon degenerated into a common drunken tramp, while his family was on the verge of actual starvation and his wife was very ill. Indiscriminate charity aided this man, but the coins tossed to him went to drink, and his family did not benefit. Then he came under the attention of organized charity and matters soon assumed a better aspect.

"Investigations were made, which developed that he was weak, rather than worthless, and with proper encouragement might be expected to really reform. His sick wife and several of the children were taken to a country home, run by organized charity, where they speedily regained their health and strength. The man secured work he could perform, the wife and eldest daughter were taught how to keep their home in order, and in a short time the family was again on its feet. Helping the other half to help themselves is work that has brought happiness to many persons who seemed headed for the prison or the almshouse."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, December 22, 1912:

"The object of this photo-story is to show the difference in attainment in indiscriminate charity and organization work. It is the story of a man who loses his position through an accident, when his arm has to be amputated. He sinks from poverty-stricken helplessness to the grade of a common drunkard, dependent upon the charity of those who may give him a few coins. Meantime his family suffers from want. Then he falls into the hands of an organized charity, and through this influence he rises and his family is saved and uplifted. The play is effectively presented, the semi-tropical scenes are most interesting, and the good direction is apparent."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, December 28, 1912:

"A film produced in conjunction with one of the charity societies. The picture shows a family on the downward path toward misfortune. Injury to the breadwinner has discouraged him; he becomes a panhandler. Through the agency of a charitable society the sick mother is taken to a rest home, where she is taught the proper care of children; the father secures the situation. Fortune again smiles on the family. Mr. Cruze should not have been cast as the father of a daughter of 12 years. He is too youthful. The picture is well done."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, December 18, 1912:

"In this picture the Thanhouser producers have reached a happy medium in combining a story with an educational subject. Having the laudable purpose of giving people an idea of how the poor live and how they may be helped, and at the same time interest them in a picture as a drama, they have taken a page from the history of a common laborer, who lived with his father in a New York tenement. The scenes are exceptionally well drawn and clear, and the various incidents, many of them dramatic in themselves, have been set forth in a logical manner. Misfortune comes to the man through an accident. He loses his position, and with only one arm is thrown out upon the streets to live from indiscriminate charity. This charity makes a drunkard out of him, and the family receives none of it. Later he comes under the attention of organized charity, and from then on matters assume a brighter aspect. The man was weak, rather than worthless, and with the proper encouragement he is made to reform. The wife, sick through improper care and food, is taken to the country and, on regaining her strength, is taught how to care for her home, sew, and tend to family. The film performs its double function vigorously."

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