Mrs. Jones' Lover; or, 'I Want My Hat' (1909)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

D.W. Griffith (writer)

Release Date:

19 August 1909 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Mr. Jones jumps to the wrong conclusions when he sees a bouquet of flowers and a man's hat in the parlor. |

Cast

John R. Cumpson	...	Mr. Jones
Florence Lawrence	...	Mrs. Jones
Anthony O'Sullivan	...	The Repairman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Bernard
Mack Sennett

Also Known As:

I Want My Hat
Mrs. Jones' Lover (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

5 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Biograph Company

Murder-Mystery

There was a kind of murder-mystery feel to this short offering. I got the impression that the 34 year old D.W. Griffith wasn't quite sure what sort of a short film this was going to be. It ends up being a hybrid of all sorts of things, and leaves the audience at a loss as to how to label it. Once again, the cinematographer collaborates the classical composer to tell the story, forcing Griffith into the shadows. It's not a work of art but an experiment stating the growing potential of this moving image medium. The editing is quite rustic, but the scenes seem to segue in and out of each other fairly smoothly.