She Wanted to Marry a Hero is a 1910 American silentshortdrama produced by the Thanhouser Company. Elsie Plush, an avid dime novel reader, came to idolize the concept of a hero and rejected her plain boyfriend, George Mild. She idolizes a series of men, only to have each ideal candidate be shattered a short time later by a series of incidents which highlight their flaws or weaknesses. In the end, Elsie returns and accepts her boyfriend's marriage proposal. Released on April 29, 1910, as split-reel with The Cigars His Wife Brought, the film was given favorable reviews and had advertisements for its showing until late 1912. The film is presumed lost.
The official synopsis of the film was published in The Moving Picture World. The film follows Elsie Plush, an avid dime novel reader who becomes infatuated with the hero type in Laura Jean Libbey's books. After reading A Great Hero, she rejects the marriage proposal of George Mild. She says that he is a fine young man, but he is not the hero she is looking for. Plush then encounters a military man and idolizes him as her hero. As she walks with the man, she falls from the bridge. Instead of saving her, he calls for help and she is rescued by an athlete. Elsie's ideal is broken and latches onto the athlete as her hero.[1]
Elsie's ideal is quickly dashed in repeated succession for the athlete fails to manage a horse and then becomes interested in the horseman who reins it in. The horseman secures her interest only to become beaten by a pugilist in a fight. She is keen on the pugilist until an escaped lunatic arrives and scares him away. The maniac is brought under control by a hypnotist and is taken back to the asylum. Again Elsie idolizes this new man and asks him to escort her home. They encounter a footpad on the way, who robs them both. The thief is frighted off by a policeman, but Elsie finds he is married with five children. Then she is robbed again. At last Elsie recognizes the hero she idolizes is fictional and returns to George and accepts his proposal.[1]
The back story and focus of the film is based on Elsie's obsession for a dime novel-styled hero, specifically Laura Jean Libbey.[1] Known for writing 82 novels, Libbey was a prolific writer of sensational romances.[2] The story attributed to Libbey, A Great Hero is fictional publication because Libbey authored no work of that title. The writer of the scenario is unknown, but it may have been Lloyd Lonergan. Lonergan was an experienced newspaperman still employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions. He was the most important scriptwriter for Thanhouser, averaging 200 scripts a year from 1910 to 1915.[3]
The director of the film is not known, but two Thanhouser directors are possible. Barry O'Neil was the stage name of Thomas J. McCarthy, who would direct many important Thanhouser pictures, including its first two-reeler, Romeo and Juliet (1911 film). Lloyd B. Carleton was the stage name of Carleton B. Little, a director who would stay with the Thanhouser Company for a short time, moving to Biograph Company by the summer of 1910.[4]
Film historian Q. David Bowers does not attribute either as the director for this particular production nor does Bowers credit a cameraman.[5] Blair Smith was the first cameraman of the Thanhouser company, but he was soon joined by Carl Louis Gregory who had years of experience as a still and motion picture photographer. The role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions.[4] Anna Rosemond was one of two leading actresses for Thanhouser and had two credited prior appearances, St. Elmo and She's Done it Again.[6] Bernard Randall was an actor credited with only this one Thanhouser production, but the credit includes the erroneously claim that this was also the first commercial release by Thanhouser when it was the eighth.[7]
An article and a review in The Moving Picture World said the film serves as a cautionary tale for women who seek dime novel heroes. The Morning Telegraph provided a positive review, but pointed out a specific continuity error in the production. In the scene where Elsie and the athlete come out of water, both of their clothes are completely dry instead of being wet.[1] The film was advertised by the Joyland Theatre in Wilmington, North Carolina as "society comedy" instead of a drama.[10] The film is presumed lost.
^ abcdefghQ. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 2: Filmography - She Wanted to Marry a Hero". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^"Laura Jean Libbey". American Women's Dime Novel Project. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Lonergan, Lloyd F." Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
^ abQ. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 1: Narrative History - Chapter 3 - 1910: Film Production Begins". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 2: Filmography - Her Battle for Existence". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Rosemond, Anna". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Randall, Bernard ("Barney")". Thanhouser.org. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
^"The Gem". Palestine Daily Herald (Palestine, Texas). November 26, 1910. p. 4. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^"(The Vaudet)". The Daily Republican (Rushville, Indiana). January 3, 1911. p. 5. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^ ab"(Joyland advertisement)". The Wilmington Dispatch (Wilmington, North Carolina). August 23, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^"(Gem Theatre advertisement)". The Interior Journal (Stanford, Kentucky) Edition. October 13, 1911. p. 2. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^ ab"Local talent at the Globe". The Indiana Gazette (Indiana, Pennsylvania). December 31, 1912. p. 5. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^"Theaterette". Fort Scott Daily Tribune and Fort Scott Daily Monitor (Fort Scott, Kansas). May 19, 1910. p. 4. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
December 20, 2023
wanted, marry, hero, 1910, american, silent, short, drama, produced, thanhouser, company, elsie, plush, avid, dime, novel, reader, came, idolize, concept, hero, rejected, plain, boyfriend, george, mild, idolizes, series, only, have, each, ideal, candidate, sha. She Wanted to Marry a Hero is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company Elsie Plush an avid dime novel reader came to idolize the concept of a hero and rejected her plain boyfriend George Mild She idolizes a series of men only to have each ideal candidate be shattered a short time later by a series of incidents which highlight their flaws or weaknesses In the end Elsie returns and accepts her boyfriend s marriage proposal Released on April 29 1910 as split reel with The Cigars His Wife Brought the film was given favorable reviews and had advertisements for its showing until late 1912 The film is presumed lost She Wanted to Marry a HeroA film still for the lost workProduced byThanhouser CompanyRelease dateApril 29 1910 1910 04 29 CountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilent film English inter titles Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release and reception 5 See also 6 ReferencesPlot editThe official synopsis of the film was published in The Moving Picture World The film follows Elsie Plush an avid dime novel reader who becomes infatuated with the hero type in Laura Jean Libbey s books After reading A Great Hero she rejects the marriage proposal of George Mild She says that he is a fine young man but he is not the hero she is looking for Plush then encounters a military man and idolizes him as her hero As she walks with the man she falls from the bridge Instead of saving her he calls for help and she is rescued by an athlete Elsie s ideal is broken and latches onto the athlete as her hero 1 Elsie s ideal is quickly dashed in repeated succession for the athlete fails to manage a horse and then becomes interested in the horseman who reins it in The horseman secures her interest only to become beaten by a pugilist in a fight She is keen on the pugilist until an escaped lunatic arrives and scares him away The maniac is brought under control by a hypnotist and is taken back to the asylum Again Elsie idolizes this new man and asks him to escort her home They encounter a footpad on the way who robs them both The thief is frighted off by a policeman but Elsie finds he is married with five children Then she is robbed again At last Elsie recognizes the hero she idolizes is fictional and returns to George and accepts his proposal 1 Cast editAnna Rosemond as Elsie Plush the hero seeking girl 1 Bernard Randall 1 Production editThe back story and focus of the film is based on Elsie s obsession for a dime novel styled hero specifically Laura Jean Libbey 1 Known for writing 82 novels Libbey was a prolific writer of sensational romances 2 The story attributed to Libbey A Great Hero is fictional publication because Libbey authored no work of that title The writer of the scenario is unknown but it may have been Lloyd Lonergan Lonergan was an experienced newspaperman still employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions He was the most important scriptwriter for Thanhouser averaging 200 scripts a year from 1910 to 1915 3 The director of the film is not known but two Thanhouser directors are possible Barry O Neil was the stage name of Thomas J McCarthy who would direct many important Thanhouser pictures including its first two reeler Romeo and Juliet 1911 film Lloyd B Carleton was the stage name of Carleton B Little a director who would stay with the Thanhouser Company for a short time moving to Biograph Company by the summer of 1910 4 Film historian Q David Bowers does not attribute either as the director for this particular production nor does Bowers credit a cameraman 5 Blair Smith was the first cameraman of the Thanhouser company but he was soon joined by Carl Louis Gregory who had years of experience as a still and motion picture photographer The role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions 4 Anna Rosemond was one of two leading actresses for Thanhouser and had two credited prior appearances St Elmo and She s Done it Again 6 Bernard Randall was an actor credited with only this one Thanhouser production but the credit includes the erroneously claim that this was also the first commercial release by Thanhouser when it was the eighth 7 Release and reception editThe film was released on April 29 1910 The production was a split reel containing both She Wanted to Marry a Hero and The Cigars His Wife Brought with an estimated length of 1000 feet 1 Some publications erroneously would list the film s release as being on April 22 but this was the split reel release of Her Battle for Existence and Sand Man s Cure 1 The film was advertised by theaters in Texas 8 Indiana 9 North Carolina 10 Kentucky 11 Pennsylvania 12 and Kansas 13 One of the last advertisements would be for a showing in Indiana Pennsylvania on December 31 1912 12 An article and a review in The Moving Picture World said the film serves as a cautionary tale for women who seek dime novel heroes The Morning Telegraph provided a positive review but pointed out a specific continuity error in the production In the scene where Elsie and the athlete come out of water both of their clothes are completely dry instead of being wet 1 The film was advertised by the Joyland Theatre in Wilmington North Carolina as society comedy instead of a drama 10 The film is presumed lost See also editList of American films of 1910References edit a b c d e f g h Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 2 Filmography She Wanted to Marry a Hero Thanhouser org Retrieved January 20 2015 Laura Jean Libbey American Women s Dime Novel Project Retrieved January 21 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Lonergan Lloyd F Thanhouser org Retrieved January 17 2015 a b Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 1 Narrative History Chapter 3 1910 Film Production Begins Thanhouser org Retrieved January 19 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 2 Filmography Her Battle for Existence Thanhouser org Retrieved January 20 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Rosemond Anna Thanhouser org Retrieved January 22 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Randall Bernard Barney Thanhouser org Retrieved January 22 2015 The Gem Palestine Daily Herald Palestine Texas November 26 1910 p 4 Retrieved January 21 2015 The Vaudet The Daily Republican Rushville Indiana January 3 1911 p 5 Retrieved January 21 2015 a b Joyland advertisement The Wilmington Dispatch Wilmington North Carolina August 23 1910 p 1 Retrieved January 21 2015 Gem Theatre advertisement The Interior Journal Stanford Kentucky Edition October 13 1911 p 2 Retrieved January 21 2015 a b Local talent at the Globe The Indiana Gazette Indiana Pennsylvania December 31 1912 p 5 Retrieved January 21 2015 Theaterette Fort Scott Daily Tribune and Fort Scott Daily Monitor Fort Scott Kansas May 19 1910 p 4 Retrieved January 21 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title She Wanted to Marry a Hero amp oldid 1168153539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
