Fantasy was central in RUMPELSTILTSKIN--A FAIRY STORY, "a Mutual Master Picture" in four reels with Raymond B. West directing. RUMPLESTILSKIN sought to prove that virtue always wins against wiles, according to a concluding title card, with a narrative centering on Rumpelstiltskin=s magical deeds that make life difficult for two young lovers, who overcome him with the aid of a beneficent wood nymph. The production was imaginative and captivating, although such effects as a flying carpet, filmed through a double exposure, must have been unsatisfying even at the time.
There was strong characterization, with an ugly, grasping king (Louis Morrison) and a grotesque Clyde Tracy as Rumpelstiltskin, seeking by foul means to compel the miller's lovely and innocent daughter (Elizabeth Burbridge) to marry him, or, failing that goal, to turn over her first born daughter to him. RUMPELSTILTSKIN had a special appeal to children, and exhibitors noted its appeal, advertising in schools, bringing not only children but the parents or elder siblings accompanying them who equally enjoyed it. Nonetheless, as I outline in my biography of Thomas Ince, it was not a pattern he would follow in future productions.
There was strong characterization, with an ugly, grasping king (Louis Morrison) and a grotesque Clyde Tracy as Rumpelstiltskin, seeking by foul means to compel the miller's lovely and innocent daughter (Elizabeth Burbridge) to marry him, or, failing that goal, to turn over her first born daughter to him. RUMPELSTILTSKIN had a special appeal to children, and exhibitors noted its appeal, advertising in schools, bringing not only children but the parents or elder siblings accompanying them who equally enjoyed it. Nonetheless, as I outline in my biography of Thomas Ince, it was not a pattern he would follow in future productions.