Volume II: Filmography

THE EUGENIC BOY

March 15, 1914 (Sunday)

Length: 1 reel (1,000 feet)

Character: Comedy

Scenario: T.O. Eltonhead

Cast: Madeline or Marion Fairbanks (a Thanhouser Twin; as Cyril Reginald Pointdexter, the eugenic boy), Lila Chester (Mrs. Pointdexter), Harry DeJonge (Mr. Pointdexter), Miss Maude Pease (trained nurse), Frances Keyes (governess), William Noel (park policeman), Charles Horan (police lieutenant), "Mike" (Mike Googan)

Notes: 1. The Thanhouser Twin in this film was not the one appearing in Guilty or Not Guilty, released March 8, 1914, to which listing refer. Reel Life identified the twin in Guilty or Not Guilty as Madeline, and, by implication, the twin in The Eugenic Boy as Marion, but theatregoers were not so informed. However, Reel Life, March 14, 1914, page 11, printed a scene from the play and identified the twin as Madeline! Likewise, the synopsis and cast list in the same issue named Madeline. 2. Some sources name Marie Eline, earlier known as The Thanhouser Kid, in the role of Cyril Reginald Pointdexter, the eugenic boy. The cast list above is from Reel Life.

ADVERTISEMENT, Reel Life, March 14, 1914:

"'The Eugenic Boy' is one of the Thanhouser Twins - a repetition of our last week's stunt, wherein we gave you a Twin alone for the first time in our lives. Lila Chester plays the Twin's mother, Harry DeJonge her father, and the whole film gives you a fine laugh."

SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, March 14, 1914:

"Cyril is Mamma's pet. He takes a sterilized bath three times a day and sleeps between sterilized sheets. He drinks sterilized water, has his temperature taken every three hours and in general leads a sterilized life. Mr. Pointdexter would like to see his boy join in the sports enjoyed by other youngsters, but mamma, who spends a great deal of time reading books on eugenics and prophylactery, is shocked almost into a faint at the idea. While the governess and the park policemen are enjoying themselves in the park Cyril steals away, meets Mike, a very tough, red-headed youngster, and promptly resents the latter's insults and jibes at his long curls by mashing Mike's snub nose. Pleased to find that Cyril really has the makings of a real boy in him, Mike stands sponsor for his adversary and Cyril is informally introduced to the gang, who are playing baseball nearby. He knocks out a home run when the bases are full and immediately is crowned a hero. Meanwhile Cyril's absence is discovered. Several Italians are suspected of the kidnapping and the police are notified. Hysterical with anxiety, mamma takes to her bed with a corps of trained nurses around her. Mr. Pointdexter, the police and servants find Cyril just as he slides into home plate with the winning run. He is smeared with mud and grime but, strange to say, the fact seems to please Mr. Pointdexter. Overjoyed at her son's safe return, Mrs. Pointdexter consents thereafter that her son shall live the normal life of a small boy."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, March 22, 1914:

"Though 'eugenic' seems hardly the word in this case, the little comedy has a human touch which will not be denied. The boy, kept in and pampered and looked after by a doting mamma and a female nurse, nearly goes crazy at the sight of some other boys playing baseball, and later when nurse takes him out and becomes absorbed in conversation of the policeman on the beat he makes his escape and hurries to the ball ground. He has to lick one of the young toughs here gathered before they will let him play, and he does so as much to his own surprise as their own. Then he has a wonderful time, makes a home run and does everything a healthy boy ought to be allowed to do. Meanwhile the nurse, panic-stricken, turns in an alarm to the police, the mother nearly has nervous prostration, and even the father, who has not approved of the way the boy has been brought up, is worried. They find him just as he is sliding for home, and the father leads the congratulations. The picture closes with the little boy telling his father of the fight and the latter's taking him off to have his hair cut - for the first time."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, March 21, 1914:

"A poor little rich boy is being brought up on a hospital regimen by order of his too-careful mother, a woman with advanced ideas. He breaks loose and has a good time, after which his father gets spunk enough to have his hair cut, and prospects are more bright for the future. If a player who impersonates a boy had been of the male gender, the picture would have had more punch; for it might have been made convincing. There is much that is distinctly good in it and we think it will please many just as it is. The photography is clear."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, April 15, 1914:

"An up-to-the-minute theme that should interest parents with offspring still in their formative stages. The Eugenic Boy - played by the Thanhouser Kid, is a healthy victim of nurses, doctors, and petting. He sighs for the freedom of the open lot, and one day eludes his nursemaid, and licks the captain of the boy's baseball team, thereby gaining the right to play, and romps about the diamond while his parents are in the agony of despair over their missing child. Having marvelously keen eyes, detectives follow The Eugenic Boy's footsteps over well-beaten ground, and even rocks, leading to the ball field, and the lost child is recovered. The close of the film implies that pampering methods will be abandoned. Some exaggerations for the sake of comedy effects may be overlooked in view of the good quality of the production."

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