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Mary Pickford and Owen Moore.
Photograph: Silent Era image collection.
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In Old Madrid
Also known as [In Sunny Spain]
(1911) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Thomas H. Ince
Cast: Mary Pickford [Zelda], Owen Moore [Jose Gomez]
Independent Moving Pictures Company, Incorporated [IMP] production; distributed by Motion Picture Distributing & Sales Company. / Released 20 March 1911. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot in Cuba. The film was rereleased in the USA [?] as In Sunny Spain? by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, on 21 December 1914.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Don Gomez writes a letter to the parents of Zelda, a young Spanish girl, regretting his inability to pay them a visit, but sends his son, Jose, instead. Jose arrives and is immediately smitten by the charms of Zelda. Zelda indulges in a little flirtation. Her mother inaugurates a system of espionage that is very inconvenient for the lovers. They are surprised by the duenna-like mother and are driven to desperation. Zelda has a girlfriend about her age who resembles her and is attired to represent a clever counterpart of Zelda. The mother walks in the garden accompanied by Zelda. Seating herself on a bench, she commands the girl to repose beside her. Finding the vigil rather tiresome, the elder woman lapses into a state of drowsiness, and the companions of Zelda beckon her to join them. So clever is the disguise of Rosa that Jose is deceived and he kisses her. The father of Zelda discovers the act and hastens to the mother to inform her only to see Zelda yawning beside his wife on the bench. Exhausted, the guardian falls asleep, and Rosa exchanges places with Zelda, who joins her lover. Jose induces Zelda to accompany him to the seashore. He gathers the girl in his arms, and wades across a stretch of water, and they take a perilous position on the rocks. A search is instituted and Zelda and Jose are discovered on the rocks. Jose has a scheme which he quickly imparts to Zelda and she acquiesces. The irate parents see the daughter and her lover. Jose is firm and threatens to throw Zelda into the roaring torrent, unless the parents consent to their immediate marriage. The agonized parents relent. The obdurate parents have been outwitted by the scheming lovers.
Survival status: Prints exist in the Library of Congress film archive [35mm positive]; and elsewhere.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Cuba - Spain: Madrid
Listing updated: 4 November 2022.
References: Edmonds-BigU p. 28; Eyman-Pickford p. 325 : Website-IMDb; Website-Legacy.
Home video: VHS.
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