The House of Cards
About The House of Cards
A rancher gives his cowboy, Tom, a bag of gold to deposit at the bank in Cedar Gulch. Tom arrives after the bank has closed. He meets the daughter of the gambling-house keeper and sits in on a card game with the rancher's money. He loses it. A warrant charges him with embezzlement. He tries to rob the house at night and the girl finds him. Sheriff Rattlesnake Jim, who also wants her, gets the warrant.
Cast & crew
More about The House of Cards
Edwin S. Porter directed, wrote, and photographed this Western for Edison. Mary Fuller, Marc McDermott, and Herbert Prior are the leads. It was released in December 1909. A viewing copy has been timed at 16 minutes. The title uses 'house of cards' for the gambling house. The Internet Archive identifier is silent-the-house-of-cards.
Themes
Making
Porter staged the town as one stretch of street, so the pan can carry Tom from the bank door to the card house.
Look
Porter photographed the arrival himself, including a pan from the bank to the gambling house.
Preservation
A print survives and is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- The camera pans from the closed bank to the gambling house as Tom arrives in Cedar Gulch.
- The sheriff and the cowboy are both after the same girl.
- Porter is credited as director, writer, and cameraman.
- A print is on the Internet Archive.
Scenes
- Tom finds the bank shut and walks into the card game with the rancher's gold.
- At night the girl discovers him inside the gambling house.
- The sheriff who loves her receives the warrant.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-house-of-cards)
