The Mad Hermit (1910)

Directed by

Barry O'Neil

Genre

drama film, silent film

Country

United States

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A man becomes a hermit after his wife and daughter leave him. Decades later he rescues a baby from a runaway carriage and learns the child belongs to his now grown daughter.

tragicmelodramaticdesolatetenseserenetwistnostalgicbleak

What happens

The Mad Hermit is a 1910 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The story focuses on Harry Willard, who becomes a hermit after his wife and daughter leave him. He spends a quarter of a century in isolation, but he stumbles across a runaway carriage and the woman tosses her baby to him. He runs into the wilderness and prepares to kill it, but he stays his hand when he sees the baby's locket. The parents survive the carriage crash and seek out the hermit, and it is revealed that the baby's mother is the daughter of Harry Willard. Created by a staff of twenty, it was the first film to be produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film was released on August 9, 1910, after the success of the company was ensured, and met with positive reception by critics. The film is presumed lost. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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