Volume II: Filmography Volume II: Filmography
August 29, 1915 (Sunday)
Length: 1 reel (1,000 feet)
Character: Drama
Scenario: Adapted from J. T. Trowbridge's poem, The Vagabonds
Cast: Morris Foster (Tim, a vagabond), Grace DeCarlton (Amelia, his wife), Arthur Bauer (Grossbeck Upham), Carey L. Hastings (Tim's mother), unnamed dog (the other vagabond)
Note: The title appeared as The Vagabond in several notices, including in Reel Life, August 28, 1915.
BACKGROUND OF THE SCENARIO: The poem, The Vagabonds, begins with "Roger and I" and was first printed in Atlantic Monthly in 1863. The verse, from the pen of John Townsend Trowbridge, told of a wanderer and his dog Roger, who for five years shared food and lodging. After enduring all sorts of tribulation, the itinerant, fortified with strong drink, dreams of death and a happier afterlife: "But soon we shall go where lodgings are free; And the sleepers need neither victuals nor drink; The sooner the better for Roger and me." J. T. Trowbridge (1827-1916) wrote more than 40 novels directed toward young boys. Of elevating themes, they formed an important contribution to children's literature of his era. A fervent abolitionist, Trowbridge penned a number of anti-slavery works, including his well known Cudgo's Cave (1864) and Coupon Bonds (published in 1866; dramatized for the stage in 1876).
SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, August 28, 1915:
"A ragged vagabond, followed by a disreputable-looking dog, wanders to the door of a country inn. 'Get out!' commands the inn-keeper. But an eccentric rich man, pulling up before the inn just then, dismounts from his horse and orders supper for both himself and the tramp. After they have eaten and drunk, Grossbeck Upham wins from his companion his story. Tim, the beggar, once had wooed and won a beautiful girl. But he could not keep away from the drink. At last, Amelia cast him off. He drank then harder than ever, and sank to the lowest depths of degradation. Only his dog stayed by him. Years later, he saw again the woman he loved. She had married a minister. She did not recognize Tim, but taking him for some unknown beggar, dropped a coin in his hand and passed by. 'Little did she dream,' said the vagabond, 'as she walked on, so self-possessed in her black silk dress, and so ladylike, who kissed the coin her fingers dropped!'"
REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, September 4, 1915:
"A screen adaptation of J.T. Trowbridge's famous poem, Roger and I [sic; the poem was actually titled The Vagabonds]. Morris Foster does some effective character work on the part of the tramp, whose sole friend is his faithful canine. He tells the story of his downfall from drink. The number is one of considerable appeal."
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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.