''The Mermaid'' 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 ...

comedy produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on John Gary, a hotel owner, who wants to revitalize his business. After reading about a reported mermaid sighting, he has his daughter Ethel pose as a mermaid and gets a newspaper reporter to witness and photograph the mermaid. The publicity results in the hotel becoming famous, but Ethel eventually discloses the joke to the guests of the hotel in her mermaid suit. The film was released on July 29, 1910 and was met with mostly positive reviews. The film is presumed

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Plot

Though the film is presumed

, a synopsis survives in '' The Moving Picture World'' from July 30, 1910. It states: "John Gary runs a summer hotel at a charming spot on the seashore, but he has been unable to induce people to stop there, and at the opening of the picture he is seen lamenting the fact that there is not a single guest name on his hotel register. At this juncture his daughter Ethel returns from school. Ethel is an expert swimmer, and on reading in the paper the rumor that a mermaid has made several appearances in the water of the Atlantic, he decides to have his daughter pose as the mysterious lady of the sea. He wisely conjectures that a handy mermaid will bring guests. With Ethel clad in appropriate costume, and seated upon the rocks in true mermaid fashion, her father persuades the reporter of the local paper to take a look at the phenomenon. The newspaper man is greatly impressed with the spectacle and obtains a photo of the mermaid, which he publishes. The mermaid gains wide publicity - and vacationists arrive from near and far to see her. Tom, Dick and Harry, a trio of city sports, jump into bathing suits and the water, each bent on capturing the mermaid. She eludes them all, however, and the mystery is not cleared up until Ethel, in a pre-tailored suit, presents herself to the guests and explains the joke. By this time Gary's hotel is famous and the owner is certain of a big summer business."

Cast

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 ...

as Ethel Gary *

Frank H. Crane Frank Hall Crane (January 1, 1873 – September 1, 1948) was an American stage and film actor and director.

as John Gary *

Marie Eline Marie Eline (February 27, 1902 – January 3, 1981) was an American silent film child actress and sister of Grace Eline. Their mother was an actress. Eline acted on stage for three years before she acted in films. Nicknamed "The Thanhouser ...

Production

The writer of the 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 ...

. He 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. 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 ...

. Film historian

Q. David Bowers Quentin David Bowers (born October 21, 1938) is an American numismatist, author, and columnist. Beginning in 1952, Bowers’s contributions to numismatics have continued uninterrupted and unabated to the present day.

does not attribute a cameraman for this production, but at least two possible candidates exist.

Blair Smith Blair Smith (born September 25, 1990) is a Canadian football linebacker who is a free agent. He attended Angelo State University where he played college football for the Angelo State Rams. He played for the Edmonton Eskimos from 2015 to 2020. E ...

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. '' The Moving Picture World'' announced that the film would feature Heming and Crane, but Bowers also credits the "Thanhouser Kid" Marie Eline in an unknown role. It is unknown, but possible, that Eline may have played the role of the young boy usher. By this time, Eline had proven herself capable of handling male characters, with the first such credit as a young Italian boy in '' The Two Roses''. Eline would also star as Hans in ''

The Little Hero of Holland ''The Little Hero of Holland'' is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. It is an adaptation of the short fictional story popularized in ''Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates'', about a boy who plugs a leaking dik ...

''. It is unknown if Anna Rosemond, the other leading lady of Thanhouser, had a role in this film. As reviewers would note, the production was not without its faults. One error occurred with the photographer improperly taking pictures of the mermaid. The developed photographs of the mermaid were also impossible given the distances involved. A more minor error in the operation of the hotel was given by the office boy who handled the arriving guests with remarkable speed. Despite these errors, the company was at the forefront of the Independent producers and given great praise by

Frank E. Woods Frank E. Woods (1860 – May 1, 1939) was an American screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. He wrote for 90 films between 1908 till 1925. He first became a writer with the Biograph Company. Woods was also a pioneering film reviewer. As a w ...

of the American Biograph Company in '' The New York Dramatic Mirror''.

Release and reception

The one reel comedy, approximately 1000 feet long, was released on July 29, 1910. The film likely had a wide release, but another film of the same name was released by Società Anonima Ambrosio. The Ambrosio film was released on November 16, 1910, but several theater advertisements are ambiguous as to the film being shown. It is known that Ambroiso and Thanhouser films were sometimes shown together, as one Maryland theater advertisement shows, further complicating identification. The film received mainly positive reviews from critics. ''

The Morning Telegraph ''The Morning Telegraph'' (1839 – April 10, 1972) (sometimes referred to as the ''New York Morning Telegraph'') was a New York City broadsheet newspaper owned by Moe Annenberg's Cecelia Corporation. It was first published as the '' Sunday ...

'' found the story to have a novel way of advertising a hotel, but noted the error in the photographer's attempt and result to photograph the mermaid. ''The Moving Picture World'' found the film to be an effective production, but spared few details and a short summary of the film. The most critical review came from '' The New York Dramatic Mirror'' which was neutral in its assessment of the production, but it provided a list of faults with the production that focused on continuity issues with action.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mermaid, The 1910 films 1910 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Thanhouser Company films Lost American comedy films 1910 lost films English-language comedy films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films