Volume II: Filmography

A ROMANCE OF THE U.S.N.

December 6, 1912 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Cast: Harry Benham, Marguerite Snow

Location: Some scenes were filmed in the Hudson River near New York City.

Notes: 1. The title appeared in expanded form as A Romance of the U.S. Navy in some notices. 2. The release date was listed erroneously as December 12, 1912 in a review in the December 18, 1912 issue of The New York Dramatic Mirror, and as November 6, 1912 in a synopsis in The Moving Picture World, November 30, 1912. 3. The naval fleet in the Hudson River attracted other film companies as well, and trade journals of the time list other productions featuring the ships. 4. In The Moving Picture Story Magazine, March 1913, the title was given as Romance of U.S. Mariner.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, November 30, 1912:

"The feature of this reel is an American sailor's great dive under water, where he cuts the wires connecting with the submarine mine and saves his nation's fleet from being blown up. The part a pretty girl plays in getting word to the sailor about the mine is pretty thrilling, too."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, November 30, 1912:

"A foolish quarrel with his sweetheart and a desire for adventure caused the young man to enlist in the United States Navy. Soon after his departure the fiancée regretted that she had treated him unjustly, but was unable to get any trace of him. The young woman was a teacher in a school for deaf mutes. A year later the warships of the United States Navy gathered in the North River, and there was a great parade, at which the girl was one of the spectators. Among the men who marched by she saw with delight the man she loved. She followed him to his ship and there were mutual explanations and forgiveness. On the day the fleet sailed the young sailor and his sweetheart lunched together. In the other end of the room far from all the other guests were three foreign looking men. They were whispering together and the girl watched them. Because of her ability to read lips, she was able to understand everything they said. They were discussing a plot to blow up the ships of the fleet as they passed out to sea. The girl told the facts to her sweetheart, and the two followed the conspirators to a lonely hut near the Narrows. There while the conspirators were inside waiting, the young sailor located the wires leading to the hidden mine, dived into the water and severed them. After taking other precautions he returned to the ship, where his statement of what happened caused him to be warmly commended.

"On an eminence near the hut one of the conspirators stood watching. Suddenly he turned and ran into the building with the news that the fleet was in range of the mines. Exultantly the conspirators touched the button. To their amazement the big warships were sailing majestically along and there were no signs of any explosions. Frantically they overhauled their apparatus, but suddenly there was an interruption. A number of policemen dashed into the shack and placed the cursing conspirators under arrest. On the deck of one of the finest warships was a young sailor who looked back toward the land and waved his cap with a smile. On the shore was a young girl who returned his greeting happily, knowing that in less than a year the man whom she loved would be home again to claim her as his bride."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, December 8, 1912:

"Continuing the policy of making topical events of interest carry much of the story of their films, the Thanhouser Company has herein created one of the best of this series of semi-educational subjects. The recent demonstration of the United States Navy in the Hudson River is the basis for this story, and the land parade is a part of the many interesting features shown. It is a story of plausibility, even if it does stretch the imagination, and imaginative tales are the sort all of us enjoy the most. A sailor, after showing his sweetheart over his ship, gives her a luncheon, and at a table nearby - they notice some foreigners whose conversation the girl is able to read through her knowledge of the lip movements, she being a teacher in a school for the deaf and dumb. They are planning to blow up the entire fleet as it leaves New York. The sailor and the girl follow them to a rendezvous at the Narrows and there discover their plant and electric station. The sailor dives into the water, cuts the connecting wires and thus the mines are made useless. He is well rewarded after the plotters are captured, and as he sails to sea he knows that his sweetheart will wait for him to return."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, December 21, 1912:

"A rather wild melodrama which we believe the least convincing Thanhouser we have ever seen. It was fabricated, however, to include scenes aboard Uncle Sam's big ships, a view of the recent naval review on the Hudson and the land parade. These are very good."

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

"Up to that point in the drama where the girl discovers her former lover is a sailor for Uncle Sam a certain amount of interest is maintained. From here on it drags in consequence of the impossible turn given. In the forgoing scene a more unconventional excuse might have been adopted by the author for causing the girl to break her engagement with the boy. He was misjudged, and in his discouragement joins the navy. During a review in New York several years later the girl meets him. While at supper one evening they discover a plot underway to blow up the fleet. Together they thwart it. He sails away highly honored, soon to return again to the girl."

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