''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 (née Guy; ; 1 July 1873 – 24 March 1968) was a French pioneer filmmaker. She was one of the first filmmakers to make a narrative fiction film, as well as the first woman to direct a film. From 1896 to 1906, s ...

. It was produced by Solax Studios 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 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

were based in

Fort Lee, New Jersey 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 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

, 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 to 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, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by 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 ...

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 house films, ...

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 film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

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 Fraunie Fraunholz (1876–1938) was a Canadian film actor active during the silent era. He starred in a number of films directed by the pioneer Alice Guy.McMahan p.335 Selected filmography * '' Matrimony's Speed Limit'' (1913) * '' The Pit and t ...

) who refuses to accept financial assistance from his wealthy girlfriend (Marian Swayne) in favor of earning his own 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). 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.

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 the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

(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 American silent short films Films about marriage Films directed by Alice Guy-Blaché Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey 1913 comedy films 1913 short films American comedy short films 1910s American films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub