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Uncle Jim
(1910) United States of America
B&W : One reel / 950 feet
Directed by Gaston Méliès
Cast: Francis Ford [Jim]
G. Méliès production; distributed [?] on State Rights basis? by G. Méliès. / Produced by Gaston Méliès. Cinematography by William Paley. / Released 20 October 1910. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama: Romance.
Synopsis: [The Film Index, 22 October 1910, page ?] Bill and Jim, two young miners, two pals, are in love with the same girl. They have been comrades ever since they were boys. Bill is the favored one, notwithstanding Nellie has extreme regard for Jim as a good man and a true friend. When she accepts Bill and consents to be his wife, poor Jim is almost heartbroken, but consoles himself in a consciousness that Nellie has chosen a good honest man who will do his best to make her happy. As the picture progresses, we cannot fail to see, as Jim gazes friendly at Nellie’s photograph, that he still loves her, although resigned to her preference for his chum. Bill marries Nellie; they go to housekeeping. In due course of time their union is blessed with a sweet little baby girl, who, as she grows older, is taught to call her papa’s good friend “Uncle Jim.” Every day Bill and Jim worked in the same mine, Jim on one shot, Bill on another. Jim, approaching the mine, notices great commotion at the mine shaft, rushes forward just as the bucket is brought to the surface bearing the bodies of Bill and his father-in-law, dead. Poor Jim is heart-broken, sends word to Nellie, and after seeing that his friends’ bodies are properly cared for, hurries to Nellie’s assistance as she falls fainting into the arms of some of the men when she beholds the bodies of her husband and father. / Six years have passed since Bill’s death and Nellie is still a widow, working very hard to support herself and her little girl. Jim tries in every way he can to bestow kindnesses and extend courtesies to Nellie and her child whenever possible. He brings the child a kite which he has made for her. The child goes out to fly her kite, running through the fields assisted by a boy friend. She falls over a precipice where she lies stunned and injured. The boy goes for help. Jim hears of the accident and goes to the child’s rescue. The men let him down the side of the cliff; Jim tenderly brings the child safe to the top where she is restored to her mother. “Uncle Jim” calls to see the little invalid while she is convalescing, and during one of his visits proposes to Nellie. She hesitates, but her little daughter, who dearly loves her “Uncle Jim,” intercedes with her mother in his behalf, and it is not long before he is made the happy protector and provider of the widow and child of his old pal and dearest friend.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 5 November 1910, page ?] This picture is sane. It represents what most men would do under such circumstances, and while it may not be so romantic and exciting, it is without question more nearly human in the way it works out. For this reason it is commended to those who want a picture that presents human nature in its ordinary daily phases.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Love triangles
Listing updated: 22 May 2024.
References: Thompson-Star pp. 134-135, 229 : ClasIm-226 p. 54 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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