Volume II: Filmography

WHY BABE LEFT HOME

May 18, 1913 (Sunday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Comedy

Cast: Babe Wallace (himself)

Note: Babe Wallace, a 350-pound man, was spotted on a street and was hired on the spot to play the title role in this film. Later, he appeared in other Thanhouser releases.

ARTICLE, The Evening Standard (New Rochelle), May 22, 1913:

John Wallace, the latest acquisition of the movie stage in New Rochelle and the man who in one stride stepped upon the motion picture stage and became a star, will appear on the screen of the Red Mill, Union Avenue and Walnut Street, Friday night when the new Thanhouser picture Why Babe Left Home will make its debut in New Rochelle. Wallace had kept his star part a secret, but his friends, who read in The Evening Standard the story of his sudden rise as an actor, have promised a cordial reception to the picture. There is even talk of kidnapping John, who weighs 350 pounds, and taking him to the Red Mill to make a speech and tell his own story before the picture is shown.

ARTICLE, The Evening Standard (New Rochelle), May 24, 1913:

The management of the Red Mill has held the picture, Why Babe Left Home, until tonight to give the New Rochelle lovers of movies a chance to see John Wallace. On account of the rain last night it was impossible to run the program. During the summer the management will aim to run a first-class motion picture show with the latest release pictures. There will be many Thanhouser pictures shown, as the management is making every effort to get as many of the local companies productions as possible and will also have first run pictures.

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, May 24, 1913:

'Babe' Jordan was a farmer's son, and was principally distinguished for his size and his appetite. The latter trait led to many quarrels with his father, and finally he was driven out into the world to shift for himself. He tried to get work in the nearby city, but failed, until his massive proportions came within range of observation of a restaurant keeper. Then he was employed as an animated sign to testify to the good quality of the eating house. The job suited him exactly, and he probably would have been there to this day had it not been that one of the waiter girls flirted with him. She led poor 'Babe' on, finally agreeing to meet him at the church, which he took to be an acceptance of his matrimonial proposal. He found, however, that another man went with her to the church and was married to her. It broke pure 'Babe's' heart and he went back to the farm expecting to die. His father, however, forgave him and sent him to work which made him very unhappy.

'Babe' was a goodhearted fellow, and he liked the restaurant keeper. He was not one of those men who would leave an employer in the lurch, and although his heart was broken he secured a substitute sandwich man, before he hit the trail for the farm. 'Babe's' intentions were good, but the new living testimonial held the job only a few minutes. The reason was that he was a better 'before taking' ad than as an example of the after effects of food. 'Babe' never left the farm again, so he does not know how much the restaurant keeper hates him, and he probably never will know, for the restaurant keeper is unaware of his address, although he has tried frequently to find him.

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, May 18, 1913:

Babe was mamma's boy and left home with dreams of becoming a millionaire. A great deal of comedy has been extracted from the plot through the fact that Babe's ideas of what particular avocation he was suited for were rather uncertain. After applying for various jobs for which his unwieldy person and ludicrous appearance unfitted him, he is at least picked up by a restaurant keeper who wants some eccentric advertising done and put out in front of the restaurant with a sign, back and front, 'If you want to eat like me go to Dooley's [sic] restaurant.' Needless to say, he is a fine illustration of the result of a well-fed appetite and eats continually. One day he wanders off the beaten track and is speedily discharged, returning home to mamma, much the worse for wear.

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, May 31, 1913:

The leading character in this is a big, overgrown boy, who leaves home and goes to the city for work. He is employed by a restaurant to carry a sign advertising the place as the best one at which to eat. He has an enormous appetite and attracts much trade to the restaurant, but is broken hearted when the waitress he loves marries another. Fairly amusing.

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, May 28, 1913:

The picture really deals with what happened to Babe after he left home. Babe is a big country fellow, who goes to the city to be a millionaire, gets a job as advertisement for a restaurant and loses his heart to the waitress. Finally he goes home broken-hearted and otherwise broke. The comedy does not work up to funny situations.

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