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A Child of the Desert
(1914) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Lorimer Johnston
Cast: Sydney Ayres [Tom Manning], Vivian Rich [Blossom Clark], Jack Richardson [Larsen], Harry von Meter [Mr. Manning], Louise Lester [Mrs. Manning], Helen Armstrong [Blossom Clark, at age 3], Jacques Jaccard, Joe Knight
American Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, production; distributed by Mutual Film Corporation. / Scenario by Sydney Ayres. / Released 7 March 1914. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Tom Manning, a young cattle man in Montana, while looking over the range with one of his men, sees in the valley below them the remains of a massacre. Riding down upon the overturned prairie schooner, they discover the dead bodies of a man and a woman. A little baby girl rises from the breast of its dead mother, and is cared for by the big hearted westerner. At dawn the following morning the child, picking prairie flowers, wanders away and is lost to Tom, who frantically scours the country for her to no avail. A freighter crossing the plains stops at a water hole to take on a supply of water. Leaving his schooner and oxen, the little orphan climbs in and falls asleep. Arriving at the destination, the freighter discovers the baby. He is a brutal man and raises the child only to stake her in a poker game against his financial losses. Manning, years later, comes upon the scene of action and himself takes a hand in the game, winning the girl. He takes her to his mother. Love dominates all and a happy ending gives to this story an unusual power.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 7 March 1914, page ?] A love story of rough but human hearts; it ought to make a very fair offering. The same situations and sentiments have been used in other offerings. They are of the kind that never grow trite and we have never seen them used as effectively as in this story without the picture’s being a decided success. The staging and the camera work are commendable.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 26 November 2022.
References: Braff-Short n. 3714 : Website-IMDb.
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