Volume II: Filmography

THE ROMANCE OF LONELY ISLAND

August 25, 1911 (Friday)

Length: 1,000 feet

Character: Drama

Cast: Marguerite Snow (the object of the young author's affections)

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, August 19, 1911:

"The Romance of Lonely Island became possible through a - romance! A certain young author wished to write one, and found he couldn't concentrate on it in the busy city - and his publishers were anxious that he turn it out quickly. So to get far away from the civilization that hampered him, he set up house on an unsettled island. And to this island came - The Girl! How she got there, what she did there (mostly to the heart of the young author), and how wedding bells pealed forth when she went from there, is a part of the romance that - the author didn't write! So we filmed it for you!"

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, August 19, 1911:

"A successful young author has sketched out a book which hugely pleases his publishers, but the trouble is that he cannot seem to write it. He knows what he wants to say, and just how to say it, but he is annoyed by callers, who bother him in all sorts of subjects. Finally in despair he decides to go into the wilderness, where no one could annoy him. He owns a little islet, known as Lonely Island, and there he goes determined to spend a summer in solitude, and complete his work. The first thing he does is to put up a sign, warning all trespassers not to land. Then he lives a happy outdoor life, and congratulates himself on the success of his plan. If a certain pretty young woman had been an accomplished sailor, or rather 'sailoress,' the solitude of the island's owner might never have been disturbed. But this girl, who generally had her own way, decides to sail a boat, and induces an old boatman to take one of his crafts out all alone. Of course she upsets the boat, but with her usual luck, is not drowned. She managed to clamber to the top of the overturned boat, and placidly awaits future developments, confident that everything will come out all right. And although Cupid has never been pictured as a Sea God, it must have been him who guides the vessel to Lonely Island.

"The girl gets ashore there, and after a very brief investigation finds a cute little camp, where she discovers dry clothes and warm drink and food. So she makes herself very much at home, and when the rightful owner came along, she greets him pleasantly. She offers him some coffee, and when he solemnly refuses she gives him one of his own blankets, and tells him he can sleep out under the trees. Then she placidly goes to sleep in his comfortable tent. In the morning she provides an excellent hot breakfast, made from his own provisions, and when rescue comes a little later thanks him for his delightful hospitality, and sails away, as placidly content as ever. The girl does not know that she has been a nuisance. And the more the man thinks about it, the more he believes that she was not. For the average man likes to be bossed gently, although be may not always admit that such is a fact. The young author decides to see the girl again. He calls, and she receives him pleasantly. He becomes more and more impressed. And then, well - There used to be a sign on Lonely Island reading, TRESPASSERS, KEEP OFF. But the girl always has her own way and superintends the installation of a new sign which reads THIS ISLAND FOR SALE. For the young author has decided that loneliness is no longer to be a part of his life, and that when the right girl comes along, it is time for a man to buy an engagement ring."

REVIEW, The Billboard, August 26, 1911:

"The little play produced here is so romantic as to be entirely beyond the bounds of possibility. The story is a very entertaining one, nevertheless, and of a nature that almost invariably pleases. It is enacted with an evident great desire the part of the cast to make it a success, although the different parts are evidently very hard to portray. The scenery and setting is good, being both beautiful and adequate to the play. The subject is a very light one, almost a fairy tale. To say that it is highly amusing as it moves along is about the most that could be said for it."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, August 27, 1911:

"Little if any fault can be found with the manner in which this somewhat novel photo-comedy is put on, but criticism is due for the conception of the farce itself and the way it is played. No girl of any breeding would so thrust herself upon a lonely man as this girl does, turning him rudely from his camp tent, usurping his personal effects and within a week's time submitting to his ardent love making. A fine chance was missed to build a pretty little romance in an artistic and appealing manner not herein accomplished. The man is an author, who goes to a lonely island to complete a novel. The girl goes for a sail, capsizes and lands on the same isle. She is received coldly, but it does not disturb her equanimity in the least, and by breakfast time the next morn they are boon friends."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, September 2, 1911:

"The early scenes of this picture, with a darkey maid dusting in the author's library, have little truth; they are like vaudeville. The author is interrupted so much that he runs away to Lonely Island, a secluded spot that he owns, and there he hopes to finish the book he is writing. Again he is interrupted and finds himself playing the hero's part in a, for him, very realistic love story. The picture's charm lies in its pretty scenes. The story is not drawn realistically, nor is it very far removed, save by its pleasing acting, from the commonplace."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, August 30, 1911:

"A rather novel and pretty little comedy idea is the basis of this film. It, however, required more delicate treatment than was accorded it at the point of the girl's entrance on the island. Maidenly shyness, it would seem, would better take the place of boldness, at least in some instances. The scenes are well chosen, and the story smoothly and clearly told. A young author bought an island where he might work in solitude without interruption. A girl, overturned in a sailboat, drifted onto the island, compelled him to give up all his comforts and disturbed him generally. Of course, it ended as it should."

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