The Telephone Girl and the Lady

The Telephone Girl and the Lady
The Telephone Girl and the Lady
Directed by	D. W. Griffith
Written by	Edward Acker; Anita Loos
Starring	Mae Marsh; Claire McDowell; Alfred Paget
Cinematography	G. W. Bitzer
Distributed by	Biograph Company; General Film Company
Release date	January 6, 1913;
Running time	17 minutes (16 frame/s)
Country	United States
Language	Silent with English intertitles

The Telephone Girl and the Lady is a 1913 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. At least a partial print of this film exists.

Play partial film; runtime 00:11:09

Plot

A telephone operator is walking out with a handsome police sergeant; her father insists that the husband for her is a plump, comfortable grocery store owner. The Lady picks up her jewels from the jewellery and brings them home, followed by a jewel thief on a stolen bicycle. She puts them in her safe, and goes to give the telephone girl a present of a necklace in thanks for her work. As the Lady answers the telephone and accepts the Telephone Girl's effusive thanks, the door creaks open – it is the masked thief! She tells the girl on the other end of the line that she's being robbed. While the thief grills the lady, the telephone girl calls the police, but there's a riot and calls about that prevent her getting through. She runs out of the exchange and spots the sergeant conveniently riding by. He lifts her onto his horse and they gallop to the rescue. Meanwhile, with an implicit rape threat the thief has forced the lady to reveal the safe concealed behind a picture. Just in time, the sergeant bursts in as the thief escapes with the jewels. After a rousing fight, helped by the feisty telephone girl and neighbours including a lady in a huge hat, the sergeant drags away the thief. The lady rewards the sergeant and the lovers fall into each other's arms.

Cast

Mae Marsh as The Telephone Girl
Claire McDowell as The Lady
Alfred Paget as The Telephone Girl's Sweetheart
Walter P. Lewis as The Father
Harry Carey as The Thief
John T. Dillon as The Grocery Man
Madge Kirby as The Telephone Operator
Joseph McDermott as The Jewelry Salesman
Kate Bruce as The Lady's Friend
Gertrude Bambrick as The Maid
Lionel Barrymore as The Desk Sergeant
Charles Hill Mailes

Production

The film was prepared by Griffith and shot by his assistant, Tony O'Sullivan.^[1]

Film historian William K. Everson noted that the film made use of a moving camera in "some extremely good running inserts" and a "well-done fight between Paget and villain Harry Carey at the climax", but offered that the film did not have a good flow due to its awkward cuts and overuse of devices intended to prolong suspense.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Everson, William K. (1988). American silent film (illustrated ed.). Da Capo Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-306-80876-5. Retrieved September 5, 2010. The Telephone Girl and the Lady -wikipedia.

External links

The Telephone Girl and the Lady at IMDb
The Telephone Girl and the Lady available for free download at Internet Archive

[Everson-1] Everson, William K. (1988). American silent film (illustrated ed.). Da Capo Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-306-80876-5. Retrieved September 5, 2010. The Telephone Girl and the Lady -wikipedia.

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