Tale the Autumn Leaves Told
About Tale the Autumn Leaves Told
In the Moving Picture World synopsis of 11 May 1908, Mistress Dorothy of Elmhurst Manor meets Squire Douglass while gathering autumn leaves. Her father, Lord Ravenhood, has promised her to Sir Varney. The lovers are caught at a tryst, Varney challenges the squire, and Dorothy is wounded when she reaches the duel. Ravenhood shuts her in a tower. Douglass sends a dove with a note, she sends back an autumn leaf, and she escapes on a rope made from her gown. They marry at a blacksmith's over the Scottish border at Gretna Green, and her father forgives them.
Cast & crew
More about Tale the Autumn Leaves Told
AFI credits Edwin S. Porter as director and cameraman. Some cast lists also name J. Searle Dawley. Edison released it on 11 April 1908 and copyrighted it on 10 April 1908 (H108661 through H108665). AFI lists 805 feet and 820 feet. Florence Turner, Laura Sawyer, Mr. Barry, Phineas Nairs, Miss Sullivan, and William Sorrelle are the names on the cast list.
Themes
Look
Edwin S. Porter is the credited cameraman.
Preservation
A short copy is what viewers describe, about a minute and a half, against an original length of about 800 feet.
Notes
- Moving Picture World printed the scene-by-scene synopsis on 11 May 1908, a month after the release.
- The published scenes include "Gathering Autumn Leaves," "The Trysting Place," "The Duel at Early Dawn," "Love's Messenger," and "The Gretna Green Marriage.
- A viewer of a short circulating copy writes that about a minute and a half remains.
- Wikidata's two-minute timing matches a fragment, not the 800-foot release length.
Scenes
- Douglass picks the leaves Dorothy cannot reach.
- She is shot in his place at the dawn duel.
- A dove carries his note, and she answers with an autumn leaf.
