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The Rummage Sale
(1910) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 870 feet
Directed by Sam Morris
Cast: Dot Farley, Adrienne Kroell
American Film Manufacturing Company production; distributed by Motion Picture Distributing & Sales Company. / Scenario by Allan Dwan. / Released 12 December 1910. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [The Moving Picture World, 7 January 1911, page ?] This picture opens with the maid assisting Mrs. Goodhart down the steps with a carriage which contains the wonderful twins of the Goodhart family. The mother walks leisurely down the street and at last finds herself in the business district, where she meets a friend; while talking with her friend, she spies a sign on a store announcing a rummage sale under the auspices of the W.C.T.U. She asks the friend if he will object to watching her twins for a few moments until she steps into the sale. He agrees to do so. In the meantime, a flirt entices the man to follow her. He looks for the mother, but fails to see her. Spying a young boy looking into the window, he calls to the boy and offers him some money to care for the children, telling him the mother has stepped into the store and will return soon. The boy agrees, and the friend takes up the chase for the young lady. A tramp steals a handbag from a lady, and is making his escape when the cry of ‘stop, thief’ is heard. The boy has followed and, in the excitement, left the carriage containing the twins near the steps of a dwelling house, where they are found by the lady of the house, who, seeing there is no one to care for them, takes them into her home. She is given a telegram announcing the return of her husband, who has been away for eighteen months. He arrives suddenly. He embraces his wife, then turns and sees the twins. Asks if they are hers. Is answered, ‘No.’ Then he demands an explanation. The wife explains and he refuses to believe her. She leaves her husband in despair, and goes to find the mother. In passing along a street, the mother spies a baby cart and recognizes it as the one that had held her babies. She enters the house and demands an explanation. The man of the house explains to her that his wife had found two such children and has gone to find their mother. He joins in the search, and they have gone only a short distance when they meet the wife. To be conscious of the climax, get the film.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 24 December 1910, page ?] The story of a pair of twins who accompanied their mother to a rummage sale. The wildest flight of imagination can scarcely furnish a clew to the funny things that happened. Given a lively pair of twins, aching for mischief and filled to the brim with curiosity, and a rummage sale; the combination is irresistible and the situations which develop are sufficient to make even a Sphinx laugh. The man who can sit through this picture with a long face doesn’t deserve anything more lively than ‘Hark from the Tombs a Doleful Sound.’ It would be sufficient evidence that sense of humor was sadly lacking.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 29 June 2023.
References: Lyons-American p. 217 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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