''A Drunkard's Reformation'' is a 1909 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive in the film archive of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. The

American Mutoscope and Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...

advertised the feature as "The most powerful temperance lecture ever depicted".

Plot

In its March 27, 1909 issue, the New York-based trade journal ''

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

'' provides the following description of the film's plot:

Cast

* Arthur V. Johnson as John Wharton * Linda Arvidson as Mrs. John Wharton *

Adele DeGarde Adele DeGarde (born Adelaide De Gard, also credited Adele De Garde; May 3, 1899 – November 1972) was an American silent film actress, who performed in at least 114 productions between 1908 and 1918. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she init ...

as The Wharton Daughter * Charles Avery as In the Play * John R. Cumpson as In the Orchestra / In the Bar * Robert Harron as Theatre Usher * Anita Hendrie as In the Play / In the Audience * Florence Lawrence as In the Play *

Marion Leonard Marion Leonard (June 9, 1881 – January 9, 1956) was an American stage actress who became one of the first motion picture celebrities in the early years of the silent film era. Early career Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marion Leonard began her ...

as In the Play *

David Miles (actor) David Miles (c. 1871 – October 28, 1915) was an American actor and director. Born in Milford, Connecticut, he became a Hollywood actor, and he later owned David Miles, Inc., "a motion picture manufacturing company" based in Los Angeles, Californ ...

as In the Play *

Owen Moore Owen Moore (12 December 1886 – 9 June 1939) was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. Early life and career Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. Along with his ...

as In the Play * Tom Moore as In the Audience *

Herbert Prior Herbert Prior (2 July 1867 – 3 October 1954) was an English silent film actor. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1908 and 1934. He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and died in Los Angeles, California. Prior was married to actress ...

as In the Bar *

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

as In the Play / In the Orchestra / In the Bar *

Harry Solter Henry Lewis "Harry" Solter (November 19, 1873 – March 2, 1920) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter and director. Career Solter began his career as an actor in 1908 with Biograph Studios. That same year he met actress Florenc ...

as In the Play *

Herbert Yost Herbert Yost (also credited as Barry O'Moore and Bertram Yost; December 8, 1879October 23, 1945) was an American actor who in a career that spanned nearly half a century performed predominantly on stage in stock companies and in numerous Broadw ...

as In the Play

Production

The drama was filmed in four daysFebruary 25–27 and March 1, 1909in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

at Biograph’s studio, which was located in a converted brownstone mansion in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

at 11 East 14th.Graham, Cooper C.; Higgins, Steve; Mancini, Elaine; Viera, João Luiz. Entry fo
"A Drunkard's Reformation"
''D. W. Griffith and the Biograph Company''. Metuchen, New Jersey and London: The Scarecrow Press, 1985, p. 42. Internet Archive. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

Background

A moving picture house manager in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, George Dehl, promised to donate $500 to a local hospital if he could not produce films that have the best sermons beat. Dehl proposed "that they bring the Reverend

Billy Sunday William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Bo ...

to Moline and have him preach the best sermon in the list, and they bring a great temperance lecturer here and instruct him to make his best effort". Dehl said once they had left, he would put on two reels of film at his theater, and if the public does not vote one of them a greater temperance sermon than what the speaker had delivered, and the other a greater religious appeal than the sermon by Sunday, he would donate the money to a local hospital. The films he had referred for showing were ''The Drunkard's Reformation'' and ''The Resurrection''. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that Biograph had received a letter from an exhibitor in an

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

town, stating that when the film was shown there, it had caused the town to "go dry" at the election which occurred the week after it had been featured. The letter went on to say that the exhibitor had been visited by a delegation of "The Wets", asking for the picture not to be shown. The man refused and the town "went

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

by a big majority".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drunkards Reformation, A 1909 films 1909 drama films 1909 short films Silent American drama films American silent short films American black-and-white films Biograph Company films Articles containing video clips Films directed by D. W. Griffith 1900s English-language films 1900s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

Background

See also

References

External links