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At the Gringo Mine
Also known as [The Strike at the Gringo] : {At the Gringo’s Mine}
(1911) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by [?] Gaston Méliès and/or Robert Goodman?
Cast: Francis Ford, [?] Henry Stanley?
G. Méliès production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. / Released [?] 13 or 27? July 1911. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was releassed in the United Kingdom by [?] J.F. Brockliss, Incorporated? on 20 March 1912.
Drama: Western.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? The workingmen were discontented. They had read how trades had secured an increase in wages by striking, and decided to use the same tactics if necessary. A committee was chosen and went before the owner of the mine, but he would not grant their demands. Then the foreman was chosen to intercede for the men, and his failure to obtain the raise in salary led to a tragedy, for it was known that he cherished a secret love for the mine owner’s daughter, and his failure was mistaken for false play. Accordingly, the foreman was made a prisoner and the men instigated a hunt for the owner, who by the way, had refused his consent to the marriage of his daughter and the foreman, believing that the latter was in leagued with the workingmen. The owner was dragged from his home and both he and the foreman were taken to a lonely spot in the woods. They were bound and gagged and tied to a stake. A powder keg was placed beneath them with wires running to a battery, by which it was to be set off. Meanwhile the mother, who had passed her husband on the road in the hands of the villainous miners, rushed to her house and arrived exhausted, only able to tell Edith the daughter, what was happening before fainting. The plucky little girl knew what well to do. She mounted hastily and rode with all speed to save her lover and her father. On the hill the men were drawing lots to determine which of them should set off the dynamite. Bill Ford drew the marked paper, but was not overzealous about his task. He delayed, delayed. His hand was clutching the igniter, but still he delayed. A drink of whiskey, he asked, but the men refused, and soon there was a fight. Edith rode like mad, and had just untied and released the prisoners when the charge exploded. The men, in their struggle, had fallen upon the battery. They fled. In his flight, Ford came upon the foreman and the owner. He was stupefied. He could not believe his eyes, but when finally convinced of their reality, begged forgiveness. The men were pardoned their villainous acts, for the father had learned that the foreman was a square man and as such, deserving of his daughter. If not of salaries, there was a raising of hats at the Gringo Mine at news of the betrothal.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 19 August 1911, page ?] The photography of this picture is not up to the standard; there is not enough detail. The picture seems largely black shadow and white light. It is an exciting melodrama and in its tense scene, four rough miners, during a strike, have tied the owner and foreman back to back and placed a heavy charge of dynamite under them. Meanwhile, they struggle with each other around the electric battery that will discharge it. The heroine, the owner’s daughter and the foreman’s sweetheart, is meanwhile on her way galloping to save them. In the struggle of the miners, the dynamite is exploded accidentally and they think that the deed, so horrible that it started them fighting, is done. The girl, however, has cut the men lose in time and they are safe. The incident has made all hands tolerant and the miners ask for pardon which the owner grants. The love story ends as usual. The acting was largely conscious of the camera, but the picture gets over fairly well.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: USA: California
Listing updated: 27 May 2024.
References: Sloan-Loud pp. 66, 146; Thompson-Star p. 230 : ClasIm-226 p. 55 : Website-IMDb.
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