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The Fallen Idol
(1909) United States of America
B&W : Split-reel / [?] 330, 335 or 360? feet
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
Edison Manufacturing Company production; distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company. / © 28 December 1909 by Edison Manufacturing Company [J136744, J136745, J136746]. Released 28 December 1909; in a split-reel with The Cap of Fortune (1909) and Tobacco Mania (1909). / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / Thompson-Star p. 228 mistakenly identifies this as a Méliès production.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Tenors are proverbially temperamental in constitution, but the actions of the one pictured on this film prove that the word is more often than not employed as a polite way of saying “the man has a nasty temper.” This particular one had been feted and petted by an admiring public until, as is invariably the case, his head became completely turned by the excessive attention shown him. Two young matinee girls worship this tenor from afar off, and when one of them reads an ad in the paper for a maid in his household, she applies for the position in order to be constantly in attendance upon the idol of her dreams, whose home life she is positive must be ideal. She secures the position very easily, but doesn’t remain long, as the tenor in his home life has a horrible temper and is not afraid to show it to either his wife or his servants. He is exactly the reverse of all that she had fondly pictured him to be and her awakening is both rude and lasting, as well as humiliating, for she is compelled to perform all kinds of the most menial offices for him. He is a perfect tyrant in the amount of attention and dispatch that he demands. When, indignant at his overbearing manner, the maid leaves, she upsets the household by visiting retribution, swift and plenty, upon her “idol” to such an extent that he is unable to appear at the concert that evening, but is compelled to stay at home for repairs.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 8 January 1910, page ?] Even matinee idols are human, and the comedy in this one consists in the disillusionment of the girl who had worshipped him at a distance, but found to her sorrow when employed in his home that he was anything but what he appeared to be. As a clever bit of acting, and as a suggestion of a good method of curing matinee idolators this film is a success, while the comedy is sufficiently emphatic to obscure in some degree the rebuke it really administers.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 24 May 2024.
References: Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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