The Evidence of the Film (1913)

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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

This Thanhouser one-reeler is an especially impressive and witty example of early cinema, a melodrama which laughs at itself and uses the filmmaking process as a backdrop. A shifty broker (William Garwood) steals 20,000 dollars in stock from a client by following the little messenger boy (played by "Thanhouser Kid" Marie Eline), bumping into him, and switching envelopes. The client is horrified when she discovers she's been tricked, and the boy is blamed for the crime. His sister (Florence LaBadie) works in a film laboratory and rushes to the courthouse, but it seems like there's nothing that can be done. However, a film crew had been shooting a scene where the broker was chasing after the boy and his dirty deed is captured on film. The sister discovers it in the lab and rushes it right down to the judge. After the film is brandished in the broker's face, he is hauled off to jail. This little gem is one of less than 200 Thanhouser films known to still exist (the studio made over a thousand). It was found on the floor of a projection booth in Superior, Montana.