''Matrimony's Speed Limit'' is a 1913 silent short film produced and directed by pioneering female film maker

Alice Guy-Blaché Alice Ida Antoinette Guy-Blaché ( Guy; ; 1 July 1873 – 24 March 1968) was a French pioneer film director. She was one of the first filmmakers to make a Narrative film, narrative fiction film, as well as the first woman to direct a film. From ...

. It was produced by

Solax Studios Solax Studios was an American motion-picture studio founded in 1910 by executives from the Gaumont Film Company of France. Alice Guy-Blaché, her husband Herbert, and a third partner, George A. Magie. It was established as the Solax Company. G ...

when it and many other early film studios in

America's first motion picture industry Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 40,191, an increase of 4,8 ...

were based in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, at the beginning of the 20th century. It is one of only about 150 films surviving out of the more than one thousand produced and/or directed by Guy-Blaché. The film's preservation, along with a few others by Guy-Blaché, was initially financed by the Women's Film Preservation Fund upon its inauguration in 1995. It was selected for the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

in 2003. In December 2018,

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...

released a six-disc box, ''Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers'', made in cooperation with the Library of Congress, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and others. The first disc of the set is devoted to the films of Guy-Blaché and includes ''Matrimony's Speed Limit'' (1913).

Plot

The story concerns a young man ( Fraunie Fraunholz) who refuses to accept financial assistance from his wealthy girlfriend (Marian Swayne) in favor of earning his fortune on the stock market. She concocts a plan to convince him that he will collect an inheritance from a wealthy aunt if he marries before noon. While he desperately proposes to every female he meets, she is trying to reach him before he finds a girl who will say yes. One veiled woman seems willing to accept his proposal, but (in a racist turn) she turns out to be African American (actually, a white actress in

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

). With only minutes to go before the deadline expires, he gives up his search and intends to commit suicide under the wheels of the next passing car. However, the vehicle contains both his fiancée and a minister who marries them on the spot.

Cast

* Fraunie Fraunholz as Fraunie * Marian Swayne as Marian

Commentary

In a brief essay written for a program at the

, Professor Margaret Hennefeld remarks that the protagonist's encounter with the Black woman reveals that "the speed limit of matrimony is, in fact, racial

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is marriage or admixture between people who are members of different races or ethnicities. It has occurred many times throughout history, in many places. It has occasionally been controversial or illegal. Adjectives describin ...

(in 1913 American culture)," and that the film "represents a crucial historical text that comically meditates upon the gendered, class, and racial fantasies and anxieties of early twentieth century American culture."

References

External links

''Matrimony's Speed Limit'' essay
by Margaret Hennefeld on the

website * *
Speed Limit'' essay by Daniel Eagan in ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry''
A&C Black, 2010 , pages 28–29 1913 films Silent American romantic comedy films American black-and-white films United States National Film Registry films Films about marriage Films directed by Alice Guy-Blaché Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey 1913 comedy films 1913 short films Silent American comedy short films 1910s American films Articles containing video clips {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub