Over the Hills to the Poor House
About Over the Hills to the Poor House
A widow splits her property among two sons and a daughter and leaves the wild, kind son Charles only a little. She moves in with her married son. His wife drives her out after a fight about a granddaughter. A cheap room follows, then eviction when she cannot pay, and her daughter tells her to go to the poorhouse. Charles finds her in the laundry there and takes her home.
Cast & crew
More about Over the Hills to the Poor House
Stanner E. V. Taylor directed, and G. W. Bitzer and Arthur Marvin photographed the 790-foot reel, released 26 June 1908 (copyright H112129, 20 June). The AFI Catalog lists D. W. Griffith, with a question mark, as scenarist. The source is Will Carleton's poem Over the Hill to the Poor House, in Farm Ballads (1873).
Themes
Background
Carleton's 1873 ballad was already a recitation piece about an old woman sent to the poorhouse by her children.
Look
G. W. Bitzer and Arthur Marvin shared the camera on the 790-foot reel.
Preservation
A paper print survives in the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.
Notes
- Florence Auer, Edward Dillon, Wallace McCutcheon Jr., Anthony O'Sullivan, and Robert G. Vignola are in the cast.
- Mack Sennett appears as a bartender.
- The poem's title uses Hill, singular. The film title uses Hills.
- A paper print is in the Library of Congress.
Scenes
- The married son's wife throws the mother out after the quarrel over the granddaughter.
- The daughter refuses her and names the poorhouse.
- Charles finds her at the laundry tubs and takes her away.
Influenced by
- Will Carleton's poem Over the Hill to the Poor House (1873)