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Buried Alive
(1909) United States of America
B&W : Short film
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
The Selig Polyscope Company, Incorporated, production; distributed by The Selig Polyscope Company, Incorporated. / Produced by William N. Selig. / Released 27 December 1909. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Two old prospectors, John Hanford and Jim Rowe, do their best to accumulate a fortune by digging for gold. Rowe’s son, Simon, is in love with Lucy, daughter of Hanford, but she is, as yet, undecided as to the status of her feelings towards her ardent lover. After months of work, the old partners strike a rich claim, and in connection thereto are two men of dissolute habits, who believe in the axiom that “the end justifies the means.” By name they are Pete Horner and Jake Rooney. Their mode of living has been by the robbing of sluice boxes of poor Chinese prospectors. They hear of this “strike,” and proceed to scheme whereby they may secure some right or title to it. Horner makes love to Lucy, thinking that thereby be may locate just where the claim lies, and she almost reciprocates his pretended affection. We see Horner and Rooney following the two miners. On their way they meet a Chinaman “washing gold.” Desiring possession of that gold a fight ensues in which the Chinaman is bested. Thinking him “hors du combat” for good and all, the two men proceed farther until they reach the mine. Seeing the entrance they set dynamite and fuse in hopes of entombing the men within. This done they turn to leave and find that the “Chinee” has followed them. Another struggle ensues in which the Celestial is thrown over a cliff, and the two men proceed to their cabin in hopes that Hanford and Rowe will die within the confines of their own claim. The next day Pete goes to the cabin of the two miners. There he meets Lucy and while endeavoring to assure her of his love for her, is confronted by the Chinaman with axe in hand. Now Lucy learns of the treachery and deceit of her pretended lover, and while the Chinaman holds Pete at his mercy, Lucy speeds her way for the rescue of her father. We find her meeting campers nearby; she explains her predicament. At once they go to the mine and after much labor succeed in rescuing the miners, who, bewildered and almost suffocated, proceed back to their cabin with Lucy, to behold the cowardly Pete still subjugated by the Chinaman. During the attempted robbery of this claim, a Deputy United States Marshal has been searching for Horner and Rooney on other charges. He comes and Horner and Rooney are both made prisoners, the Chinaman is given a small interest in the mine, and Lucy, made wiser by experience, gives hand and heart to Simon, who has never failed to be constant as well as persistent in his love for her.
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 8 January 1910, page 16] A mining picture supposed to represent that section of the country in the forties. There is an attempt to steal gold, fake love making on the part of a wily miner who wants to secure possession of the rich claim of one miner who has a pretty daughter, a Chinaman who is variously abused, but turns up at the right time and holds a miscreant at bay with an axe until help arrives, an explosion which throws down huge piles of rock, closing the mouth of a mine and entombing the miners inside, their rescue and various other characteristic scenes which help to make the story interesting. The picture is very exciting and holds the audience from beginning to end. It is remarkable because it permits a Chinaman to play a decent role. The picture is worked out with careful attention to details and the photographic quality is quite satisfactory.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 22 January 2025.
References: MovPicWorld-19100108 p. 16 : Website-IMDb.
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