Volume II: Filmography

THE PRETTY GIRL IN LOWER FIVE

February 18, 1913 (Tuesday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Director: Lucius J. Henderson

Cameraman: Arthur A. Cadwell

Cast: Florence LaBadie (the pretty girl), Jean Darnell, William Garwood

Locations: On a train from New York to Los Angeles with Thanhouser's Western stock company; other scenes on the railway up Mt. Lowe, a Southern California tourist attraction of the era.

Note: This film was originally scheduled for release on January 17, 1913, the date listed in various trade notices.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, February 22, 1913:

He had a lot of time on his hands, for it was a long, uneventful trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, so he became interested in the pretty girl across the aisle - in a gentlemanly way. That is, he never obtruded himself on her, and she on her part ignored him. She made the poor chap feel sorry for merely being lonely - awful crime! - and he spent the journey in much misery. Then came a rift of sunshine through the clouds, and Lonely Man and Pretty Girl became firm friends.

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, February 22, 1913:

It is a long trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, and when the young man boarded the train in the Windy City, he was afraid that time would hang heavily on his hands. Then he looked around in the car and saw one interesting object, a pretty girl in Lower 5. He had Section 6, directly across the aisle, and he did all he could, in a gentlemanly way, to scrape up an acquaintance. The maiden, however, viewed him with disdain, and would not even accept his assistance when she was unable to open the window. They stood together on a platform of the observation car, but they might as well have been miles apart, for she ignored his presence. There was sorrow in Section 6, and freezing disdain in Section 5, while the train was plunging its way westward. The scenery changes on an overland trip, and so do the dispositions of many passengers. The young man in 6 found a chance to be the gallant knight of the damsel in 5, acquaintance followed, and long before they arrived at the California city they were on friendly terms. In Los Angeles the girl was met by her father, the boy by his sister, and the friendship so unconventionally begun later ripened into a happy love romance.

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, February 23, 1913:

Travel scenes enhance this pleasing little photo-play, which is a novel form of romance between two tourists enroute to California. The man has a section in the sleeper opposite the girl and tries to make her acquaintance, but fails utterly until they are almost at their journey's end. And then they become friends, and when she is met at the Los Angeles station by her father and he by his sister they become fast friends and afterward full-fledged sweethearts. It makes one long to travel once more, if such could come true. The charm of the romance combined with the backgrounds makes the story one long to be remembered.

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, March 1, 1913:

This is almost a picture without a plot, although, it works out very prettily and is pleasant to look at. The forepart of the film shows the manner in which the young couple become acquainted on board a train, and the latter part finds them on top of Mt. Lowe in California. The scenes are attractive throughout.

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, February 19, 1913:

A quiet, almost plotless story that is pleasing because of its simplicity and the exceptionally natural acting of Flo LaBadie and other members of the cast. The scenes taken from the window of a moving car and from the observation platform are particularly good. Most of the film is devoted to depicting the gradual manner in which a young man becomes acquainted with a strikingly pretty girl while they are on a train bound for the West. There is much delicately shaded acting in these scenes. After the arrival in Los Angeles their friendship is continued, until all ends happily with the pair in fond embrace while they stand on the summit of a high mountain, which might be termed the height of conspicuousness.

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