''Young Lord Stanley'', possibly re-issued as ''His Only Son'', is a 1910 American silent short

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

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 Thanhouser, Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New Yo ...

. The film focuses on Jack Stanley who is disinherited by this father, Lord Stanley, for refusing to marry his cousin. Jack heads to America and takes a job as a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...

. He is dismissed from his position after his employer learns of Jack's affections for his daughter, Ann. Meanwhile, Lord Stanley decides to reinstate Jack in his will and then promptly dies, giving him his entire fortune. Jack reads of his father's death in the newspaper and learns of his father's will. The film concludes with the lawyer bringing Jack to a dinner party as "Lord Stanley". Ann's father wishes for her to earn his affections, but she is defiant and does not even look at him. Once she learns it his Jack, they kiss. The scenario was written by

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 base ...

and the only known actor is

Justus D. Barnes Justus D. Barnes (October 2, 1862 – February 6, 1946), named George Barnes in some sources, was an American stage and film actor. He is best known for his role in the 1903 silent Short film, short ''The Great Train Robbery (1903 film), The Gre ...

as Ann's father. A surviving print of the film exists in 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 ...

and it shows the improvement of the Thanhouser interior sets over films from months prior. The film was released on October 25, 1910, and was met with mixed reviews.

Plot

Jack Stanley is disinherited by his father, Lord Stanley, because he refuses to marry his cousin, Lady Maude. Jack emigrates to America, but has no money and has no job upon which to sustain himself. While pondering his actions, he witnesses a trio of riders approach and speak to him. He accepts a position as a

for a wealthy American, but he falls in love with his daughter, Ann. When her father learns of this, he dismisses Jack and Ann says she will never marry anyone but him. Meanwhile, Lord Stanley has come to forgive his son and decided to reinstate him in his will. No sooner has the task been completed does Lord Stanley suddenly dies. Upon reading the paper, Jack sees an advertisement about the heir of the late Lord Stanley. He heads to

Hotel Astor Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 4 ...

and learns that he has received his father's entire fortune. The lawyer accepts a dinner invitation at the wealthy American's house and brings along Jack. The father urges his daughter to win the affections of the rich, handsome and unmarried young Lord Stanley. Upon his arrival, the father who had shunned him is taken aback and greets him, but Ann refuses to even look at the guest. She ignores him, and refuses to face him even as they head towards the dining room, but Jack attempts to kiss her and she pulls away. Suddenly, Ann sees it is Jack and embraces him with a kiss.

Cast

*Jack (Young Lord Stanley) - Unknown actor *Lord Stanley - Unknown actor *Ann (the girl) - Unknown actress *

as Ann's father *Snaith the lawyer - Unknown actor

Production

The script for the production was written by

, 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 publ ...

'' while writing scripts for the Thanhouser productions. The film director is unknown, but it may have been

Barry O'Neil Barry O'Neil (1865 – 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, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He went on to work for Lubin and ...

. 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 professional football linebacker. 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. Early ca ...

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 other cast credits are unknown, but many 1910 Thanhouser productions are fragmentary. In late 1910, the Thanhouser company released a list of the important personalities in their films. The list includes G.W. Abbe,

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

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 - ...

Martin J. Faust Martin Faust (January 16, 1886 – July 19, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1910 and 1944. He was born in Poughkeepsie (city), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York and died in Los An ...

, Thomas Fortune, George Middleton,

Grace Moore Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898January 26, 1947) was an American operatic lyric soprano and actress in musical theatre and film.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', January 29, 1947, page 48. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee N ...

, John W. Noble,

Anna Rosemond Anna Rosemond (February 16, 1886 – 1966) was one of the earliest American film actresses of the early silent film era. Biography Rosemond was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 16, 1886. Her father was an Austrian immigrant, he ...

Mrs. George Walters Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title or rank, such as ''Doctor'', ''Profess ...

. The production of the film shows the continuing improvement of Thanhouser works, specifically for more realistic interior scenes, over those shot in the months prior. The progress referred to here is the improvement from works like '' The Two Roses''. The interior sets are still very small, but the exterior shots show strength in their variety. Bowers believes that the uncommon surname, Snaith, is of some importance to Lonergan because of its reoccurring usage, including the titled works '' Miss Arabella Snaith'' and '' Professor Snaith''. An analysis of the frame showing the newspaper advertisement shows that it was from a real newspaper dated from September 21, 1910. The title of the film might possibly be a reference to "Lord Stanley", the courtesy title of the heir apparent of the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

. At the time of the production Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley, was "Lord Stanley".

Release and reception

The single reel drama, approximately 1,000 feet long, was released on October 25, 1910. The film was originally released a ''Young Lord Stanley'', but the surviving print from the

has "His Only Son" as what appears to be the title of the print. Bowers notes that this first card is in a different format from the other inter-titles which follow and may have been a replacement or alternate name for the print. The surviving print is 928 feet long, and its shown length is 13 minutes and 35 seconds. The film likely had a wide national release, advertising theaters are known in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Walton of ''

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 ...

'' said the film was, "A bright, clean, human interest tale. It holds the attention from beginning to end. A thoroughly commendable reel - in every way." ''

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. ...

'' offers a summary of the work and was more or less neutral in its review of the film. The reviewer states, "It is a romantic picture, affording ample opportunity for the imagination to run riot in a number of different directions. ... Much of human nature is disclosed in this film, even though it is, in a way, a travesty upon the way wealthy girls often fall in love with stablemen or others employed about their fathers' places." ''The New York Dramatic Mirror'' was not very critical, but not offering any praise either. The reviewer highlighted the "common fault of actors" by throwing things on the floor and how Ann's refusal to even look at the titled guest was overdone.

References

{{reflist, 30em 1910 films 1910 drama films Silent American drama short films American black-and-white films Thanhouser Company films Films set in New York City 1910s American films 1910s English-language films English-language drama short films

Plot

Cast

Production

Release and reception

See also

References