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A Rural Romeo
(1910) United States of America
B&W : One reel / [?] 980 or 997? feet
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
Independent Moving Pictures Company, Incorporated [IMP] production; distributed by Motion Picture Distributing & Sales Company. / Released 9 May 1910. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [The Moving Picture World, 7 May 1910, page ?] The advent of the swift-speeding automobile has certainly brought our country cousins nearer to us, and every day we hear of romantic occurrences thus brought about. Your tired business man finds an auto ride into the country his best holiday diversion. In this particular case he has taken his pretty daughter with him, and they are speeding along on a fine stretch of road, when suddenly something goes wrong with the gears, and they are catapulted against a tree, the auto describing half a parabola. In the neighborhood there dwells a youth — a stalwart, big-hearted, loving lad, whose all in life is his mother and their little home. He hears the crash, speeds to the scene, and in a short time his strong arms have carried the injured girl to his home, where his kind mother makes her comfortable. She does not suffer long, for by the grace of the able administration of mother and son, she is soon around the house, feeding chickens and enjoying the fresh farm life. Her father would fain remain there, too, but business calls him away, and he leaves his daughter to gather the vigor of the fine air and free life. Since that day he first carried her in, the youth has had that peculiar affectionate feeling for her; in his simple way, he bore it bravely, for he did not know that his ecstatic misery and heavenly heart pain was love. Nor did she, a wealthy sophisticated miss of high social circles, dream that she was gradually being drawn to him, until one day her brother calls for her, to take her home. Ah! The parting is the test, but all she allows herself is to shake his hand and give him a sprig of the many he has gathered for her. We now see her to her fine home, a striking contrast to the humble farm house. Her mind is not at ease — thoughts of him — he is with her always, and finally she writes him to come to town for a visit. He loses no time, this country boy has determined to press his suit, so we soon see him ushered in. But it was not what he thought. Why? This girl is in elaborate evening dress, such as he never saw before; the luxury of the home staggers him. She and her father try to make him feel at home, but cannot. Quietly she slips away, and in a few minutes he is ushered into another room, and there he cannot keep down a whoop of joy as he sees that the elaborately gowned, bejeweled miss has been re-transformed into the rollicking, pinafored, sun-bonneted little lady of his heart. Well, he promptly gets into the shade of that bonnet, and although one can’t see their faces, it doesn’t take a strong imagination to divine how he stands, or kissed!
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 21 May 1910, page ?] Perhaps after all it is true that love cannot be controlled, that it goes where it is sent regardless of the time, place or occasion. That a wealthy city girl should fall in love with a vigorous country youth is not surprising, especially when the romantic circumstances under which they met are considered. His bewilderment when he goes to her city home and sees her radiantly gowned and bejeweled is pathetic. But even that had its compensations. When he discovers the girl he knew in another room and proceeds to investigate the interior of the sunbonnet, all one’s pity for him disappears and is succeeded with a certain degree of envy. Even though he seemed out of place at first, the ending is pleasant enough to make both him and the audience forget.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 29 June 2023.
References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 66, 316, 390 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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