''Tempest and Sunshine'' is a 1910 American silent

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

produced by the

Thanhouser Company The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, ...

. The film is an adaptation of

Mary Jane Holmes Mary Jane Holmes (April 5, 1825 – October 6, 1907) was an American author who published 39 novels, as well as short stories. Her first novel sold 250,000 copies; and she had total sales of 2 million books in her lifetime, second only to Harriet ...

's 1854 novel ''Tempest and Sunshine'', and features the devious Tempest and the benevolent Sunshine being wooed by a Dr. Lacey. Tempest and Bill Jeffreys conspire against Sunshine. By intercepting the lovers' letters the doctor instead decides to marry Tempest, but Jeffreys interrupts the ceremony to reveal the conspiracy. The doctor and Sunshine are reunited. The novel was a popular subject of plays and vaudeville, but the Thanhouser adaptation appears to be the first film version for it predates the adaptations in ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Released on June 28, 1910, the production received a favorable review in ''

The Moving Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

''. The film is presumed

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Plot

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 ...

'' synopsis states, "Planter Middleton, of Kentucky, has two beautiful daughters. One of them is known as Tempest and the other is Sunshine, because of their different dispositions. Sunshine is wooed by Bill Jeffreys, the village postmaster, whom she does not love and rejects. Later her heart is won by young Dr. Lacey from New Orleans. Soon after they become engaged, the doctor is compelled to return to his home city on business. During his absence, Tempest, who is in love with him, conspires with Bill Jeffreys to intercept the lovers' letters. They succeed in making Julia and the doctor each think the other is untrue. The doctor, in a spirit of pique, decides to marry Tempest. Sunshine remains true, and confides to no one the sorrow that she feels. Just as Tempest and the doctor are about to be married, the ceremony is interrupted by Jeffreys, who confesses the plot — having left a sick bed to do so. The guilty ones are forgiven and the lovers reunited."

Cast

The identification of the cast is uncertain, the only known credit attributed by Q. David Bowers is for

Violet Heming Violet Heming (27 January 1895 – 4 July 1981) was an English stage and screen actress. Her name sometimes appeared as Violet Hemming in newspapers. Biography Born Violet Hemming in Leeds, Yorkshire, she was the daughter of Alfred Hemming w ...

in a leading role. According to a response in ''

The Motion Picture Story Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'',

Anna Rosemond Anna Rosemond (February 16, 1886 – 1966) was one of the earliest film actresses of the early silent film era. Biography Rosemond was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was an Austrian immigrant, her mother a first generation Ame ...

played the role of Tempest and Heming played the role of Sunshine.

was the second leading lady of Thanhouser and worked for Thanhouser intermittently until her departure in the spring of 1911. Other cast members may have included the other leading players of the Thanhouser productions, possibly Frank H. Crane.

Production

The story for the production is an adaptation of

's 1854 novel ''Tempest and Sunshine''. The story is of two sisters, the deceitful Julia, nicknamed Tempest, and her benevolent sister Fanny, nicknamed Sunshine. The writer of the adapted scenario is unknown, but it was most likely

Lloyd Lonergan Lloyd Lonergan (March 3, 1870, Chicago, Illinois - April 6, 1937, New York City) was one of the most prolific scenario and screenwriters in American silent film. A brother-in-law of Edwin Thanhouser he worked for the Thanhouser Company based ...

. Lonergan was an experienced newspaperman employed by ''

The New York Evening World ''The Evening World'' was a newspaper that was published in New York City from 1887 to 1931. It was owned by Joseph Pulitzer, and served as an evening edition of the ''New York World.'' History The first issue was on October 10, 1887. It was pub ...

'' while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions. He was the most important script writer for Thanhouser, averaging 200 scripts a year from 1910 to 1915. The film director is unknown, but it may have been

Barry O'Neil Barry O'Neil (September 24, 1865 – March 23, 1918) was a film director and writer. His real name was Thomas J. McCarthy. He directed several Thanhouser films including the production company's first two-reeler,https://www.thanhouser.org/TCOCD/Nar ...

. Bowers does not attribute a cameraman for this production, but two possible candidates exist. Blair Smith was the first cameraman of the Thanhouser company, but he was soon joined by

Carl Louis Gregory Carl Louis Gregory (1882–1951) was an American cinematographer and director. Early life Carl Louis Gregory was born in Walnut, Kansas, in 1882. He ventured into photography while he was 11 years old. He grew up in Geneva, Ohio, the only boy am ...

who had years of experience as a still and motion picture photographer. The role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions.

Release and reception

The single reel drama, approximately 1,020 feet long, was released on June 28, 1910. ''

'' reviewed the film positively for its settings, photography and its acting. The reviewer added that the film is likely to please the audiences because of its happy ending with a wedding. The novel was a popular subject of stage productions; a production with Tom Lennon and his company was advertised to have broken many records in the 1909 season. Another production was put on by Gladys George and the Middle States Stock company in August 1910. The continued popularity of the novel would be evidenced by the future productions by other companies of the same subject with

Independent Moving Pictures The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged with ...

(IMP) making a two reel version in 1914. In 1915, Rialto for

Gaumont Film Company The Gaumont Film Company (, ), often shortened to Gaumont, is a French film studio headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Founded by the engineer-turned-inventor Léon Gaumont (1864–1946) in 1895, it is the oldest extant film company in ...

produced another version of the work under the title ''Sunshine and Tempest''. Other productions included a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

team of "Sunshine and Tempest". These records make identifying the stage, vaudeville and different film showings difficult. Theaters specifically advertising the Thanhouser production included those in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and two theaters in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The work is sometimes omitted in large reference works, such as ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film'' which includes the 1914 IMP production and a 1916 Dixie Film production. As a result, it appears that the Thanhouser production appears to be the earliest known film adaptation of the work, but it is presumed

References

External links