The Lucky Shot is a 1910 American silentshortdrama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The plot follows Jack Hunt, the son of a wealthy woman, who weds a chorus singer Nell Horsley. Jack's mother forgives the son's error, but rejects his wife. Then Jack is killed while on strike duty in the local militia and the Nell and her child struggle in poverty. Nell begs her mother-in-law for aid, but the woman is enraged and drops dead. Her property goes to the young boy who saves the financial future of the family by finding a hidden fortune with a lucky shot while playing 'Indian'. Released on July 12, 1910, the film received positive attention and saw an international release. The film is presumed lost.
Though the film is presumed lost, a synopsis survives in The Moving Picture World from July 16, 1910. It states: "A shot that found a fortune! Jack Hunt, the son of a wealthy woman, falls in love with Nell Horsley, who is in the chorus of a musical comedy. They are married, but when Jack's mother is informed she declares she'll have nothing to do with Nell, although she is willing to forgive her son. But Jack sticks to his wife, and for a time they are very happy. Then Jack, who is in the militia, is called out on strike duty, and meets his death during a fight with strikers. The widow takes the news to her mother-in-law, who nevertheless retains her hatred for Nell, despite the tragedy. As time passes, Mrs. Hunt becomes a miser. She disposes of all of her property, receiving in exchange money and jewels which she hides in a secret place in her room. In the meantime Nell has a hard time to get along and keep a roof over her head and that of her little boy. So desperate are her circumstances that she finally sinks her pride and appeals to her mother-in-law. The old woman repulses her again; her fit of rage brings on a stroke of apoplexy and she drops dead after Nell leaves. All her property goes to little George, as the woman left no will, but search fails to locate anything except the family homestead. Nell is about to sell that, when she makes a discovery. Playing 'Indian' with her boy, she shoots arrows aimlessly about the room. One of them hits the secret spring of the treasure vault, and the accident puts the boy and his mother beyond want for the rest of their lives."[1]
The synopsis is at odds with the reviewers of the film who state that the arrow which reveals the hidden cache is shot by the little boy and not the mother.[1] The image still shows the woman with a large bow, but further details by the reviewers state that the boy used a toy bow and arrow to make the shot.[1]
Productionedit
The writer of the scenario is unknown, but it was most likely Lloyd Lonergan. Lonergan was an experienced newspaperman employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions.[2] The film can be seen as having another loose aspect to labor issues. The film directly followed first Thanhouser film to address the subject: The Girl Strike Leader.[3] The film loosely refers labor relations when Jack Hunt is killed in a riot while on strike duty and the young widow is struggles to make ends meet.[1] Thanhouser subjects would deal with other pressing social issues in The Girls of the Ghetto, another July 1910 release.[3] The plot of The Lucky Shot employed the deus ex machina technique to resolve the financial needs of the widow and her child. Another plot of a needy family suddenly finding a concealed fortune within their house would be reused in The Thunderbolt.[3] The film director and the cameraman are unknown and the only credits known for the cast is that of Marie Eline as the little boy and Mrs. George W. Walters in the role of the miserly woman.[1] Other members cast may have included the other leading players of the Thanhouser productions, Anna Rosemond, Frank H. Crane and Violet Heming.[4][5][6]
Release and receptionedit
The single reel drama, approximately 1000 feet long, was released on July 12, 1910.[1] The film minor praise from The Morning Telegraph for an interesting story and plot and another review in The Moving Picture World liked the novelty of the film's premise. Though The New York Dramatic Mirror gives the most detailed review because it recognizes that the film is not as appealing as other Thanhouser films and recognizes that an obvious error in the production when Marie Eline picks up a seemingly weightless bag of gold.[1] The film had a wide release in the United States with known advertisements appearing in Pennsylvania,[7]Kansas,[8] and Indiana.[9] The film looks to have made its way into Canada with the Province making a series of advertisements for The Lucky Shot, but one states the film is a comedy in and another contains only a partial summary.[10][11] The film saw its United Kingdom release on January 1, 1911.[12]
^ abcdefgQ. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 2: Filmography - The Lucky Shot". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). . Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
^ abcQ. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 1: Narrative History - Chapter 3: 1910 Shakespeare on the Screen". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Heming, Violet". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Rosemond, Anna". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Volume 3: Biographies - Crane, Frank H.". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
^"Lyric". Mount Carmel Item (Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania). July 22, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved February 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Province". Vancouver Daily World (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). October 13, 1910. p. 6. Retrieved February 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Province". Vancouver Daily World (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). October 14, 1910. p. 8. Retrieved February 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^Q. David Bowers (1995). "Thanhouser Films - British Releases Thanhouser-Princess-Falstaff". Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
April 10, 2024
lucky, shot, 1910, american, silent, short, drama, produced, thanhouser, company, plot, follows, jack, hunt, wealthy, woman, weds, chorus, singer, nell, horsley, jack, mother, forgives, error, rejects, wife, then, jack, killed, while, strike, duty, local, mili. The Lucky Shot is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company The plot follows Jack Hunt the son of a wealthy woman who weds a chorus singer Nell Horsley Jack s mother forgives the son s error but rejects his wife Then Jack is killed while on strike duty in the local militia and the Nell and her child struggle in poverty Nell begs her mother in law for aid but the woman is enraged and drops dead Her property goes to the young boy who saves the financial future of the family by finding a hidden fortune with a lucky shot while playing Indian Released on July 12 1910 the film received positive attention and saw an international release The film is presumed lost The Lucky ShotA film still showing the hidden cacheProduced byThanhouser CompanyRelease dateJuly 12 1910 1910 07 12 CountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilent film English inter titles Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Release and reception 4 See also 5 ReferencesPlot editThough the film is presumed lost a synopsis survives in The Moving Picture World from July 16 1910 It states A shot that found a fortune Jack Hunt the son of a wealthy woman falls in love with Nell Horsley who is in the chorus of a musical comedy They are married but when Jack s mother is informed she declares she ll have nothing to do with Nell although she is willing to forgive her son But Jack sticks to his wife and for a time they are very happy Then Jack who is in the militia is called out on strike duty and meets his death during a fight with strikers The widow takes the news to her mother in law who nevertheless retains her hatred for Nell despite the tragedy As time passes Mrs Hunt becomes a miser She disposes of all of her property receiving in exchange money and jewels which she hides in a secret place in her room In the meantime Nell has a hard time to get along and keep a roof over her head and that of her little boy So desperate are her circumstances that she finally sinks her pride and appeals to her mother in law The old woman repulses her again her fit of rage brings on a stroke of apoplexy and she drops dead after Nell leaves All her property goes to little George as the woman left no will but search fails to locate anything except the family homestead Nell is about to sell that when she makes a discovery Playing Indian with her boy she shoots arrows aimlessly about the room One of them hits the secret spring of the treasure vault and the accident puts the boy and his mother beyond want for the rest of their lives 1 The synopsis is at odds with the reviewers of the film who state that the arrow which reveals the hidden cache is shot by the little boy and not the mother 1 The image still shows the woman with a large bow but further details by the reviewers state that the boy used a toy bow and arrow to make the shot 1 Production editThe writer of the scenario is unknown but it was most likely Lloyd Lonergan Lonergan was an experienced newspaperman employed by The New York Evening World while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions 2 The film can be seen as having another loose aspect to labor issues The film directly followed first Thanhouser film to address the subject The Girl Strike Leader 3 The film loosely refers labor relations when Jack Hunt is killed in a riot while on strike duty and the young widow is struggles to make ends meet 1 Thanhouser subjects would deal with other pressing social issues in The Girls of the Ghetto another July 1910 release 3 The plot of The Lucky Shot employed the deus ex machina technique to resolve the financial needs of the widow and her child Another plot of a needy family suddenly finding a concealed fortune within their house would be reused in The Thunderbolt 3 The film director and the cameraman are unknown and the only credits known for the cast is that of Marie Eline as the little boy and Mrs George W Walters in the role of the miserly woman 1 Other members cast may have included the other leading players of the Thanhouser productions Anna Rosemond Frank H Crane and Violet Heming 4 5 6 Release and reception editThe single reel drama approximately 1000 feet long was released on July 12 1910 1 The film minor praise from The Morning Telegraph for an interesting story and plot and another review in The Moving Picture World liked the novelty of the film s premise Though The New York Dramatic Mirror gives the most detailed review because it recognizes that the film is not as appealing as other Thanhouser films and recognizes that an obvious error in the production when Marie Eline picks up a seemingly weightless bag of gold 1 The film had a wide release in the United States with known advertisements appearing in Pennsylvania 7 Kansas 8 and Indiana 9 The film looks to have made its way into Canada with the Province making a series of advertisements for The Lucky Shot but one states the film is a comedy in and another contains only a partial summary 10 11 The film saw its United Kingdom release on January 1 1911 12 See also editList of American films of 1910References edit a b c d e f g Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 2 Filmography The Lucky Shot Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved February 9 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Lonergan Lloyd F Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Archived from the original on January 17 2015 Retrieved January 17 2015 a b c Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 1 Narrative History Chapter 3 1910 Shakespeare on the Screen Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved February 9 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Heming Violet Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved February 8 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Rosemond Anna Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved January 16 2015 Q David Bowers 1995 Volume 3 Biographies Crane Frank H Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved January 16 2015 Lyric Mount Carmel Item Mount Carmel Pennsylvania July 22 1910 p 1 Retrieved February 9 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Advertisement The Leavenworth Times Leavenworth Kansas August 7 1910 p 8 Retrieved February 9 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Vaudet Theatre The Daily Republican Rushville Indiana October 7 1910 p 5 Retrieved February 9 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Province Vancouver Daily World Vancouver British Columbia Canada October 13 1910 p 6 Retrieved February 9 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Province Vancouver Daily World Vancouver British Columbia Canada October 14 1910 p 8 Retrieved February 9 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Q David Bowers 1995 Thanhouser Films British Releases Thanhouser Princess Falstaff Thanhouser Films An Encyclopedia and History Retrieved February 9 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Lucky Shot amp oldid 1185913649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
