A Wartime Sweetheart's primary photo
  • A Wartime Sweetheart (1909)
  • Short | Short, Drama
Primary photo for A Wartime Sweetheart
A Wartime Sweetheart (1909)
Short | Short, Drama
The opening scene occurs in Frederickstown, Md., at the home of Judge Danton. The Judge's pretty daughter is gathering fresh buds to decorate the parlors when a group of excited neighbors enter, newspapers in hand; the war so long dreaded ...See moreThe opening scene occurs in Frederickstown, Md., at the home of Judge Danton. The Judge's pretty daughter is gathering fresh buds to decorate the parlors when a group of excited neighbors enter, newspapers in hand; the war so long dreaded had come, the first shot had been fired at Fort Sumter, and the nation is in a turmoil. Laura has half a dozen admirers in her native town, among whom none are more persistent in their attentions than a violent tempered man of middle age, Gaston Jamison. Laura fears his nature, but because of his wealth and family, his suit is looked upon with favor by her father. Young Frank Colfax is Laura's choice, and as the war news breaks in upon their quiet home the two men in question arrive to press their claim, for both are determined to enlist in the Union Army. A stormy scene follows in which Laura declares her preference for Colfax, and the chagrined Jamison departs vowing vengeance. An opportunity soon offers, for he is appointed Colonel of Volunteers by his townsmen, and our next scene shows the interior of the Maryland Club. We find the new Colonel enlisting men for the Union side, Colfax enters and offers his services as a private soldier in the Colonel's regiment, and it is plain to be seen that his elderly rival enjoys the prospect, a private in the ranks, eh? "I'll make him regret he won her love," is Jamison's mental comment as Colfax signs his enlistment papers, thus placing himself at the beck and call of a man whose hatred he has incurred and the bitterness of which he has yet to learn. The bitter indignities Frank suffers, until, by sheer bravery, he elevates himself to the rank of officer, are innumerable. May, 1863, Battlefield near Frederickstown, Md. Hooker and Jackson, in battle array, are facing each other, each eagerly watching, waiting and fencing for strategic advantage; a scene that will make the heart of every patriotic American beat with exultation. Jamison sees an opportunity to rid himself of his rival. A Confederate battery, placed on the brow of a hill has, for several hours, been shelling the right wing of the Union position, when Frank Colfax receives an order from his Colonel, "Dismount your men and charge that battery. Silence it if you lose every man in your command," it reads. Frank is staggered by the order, for its purport dawns upon him: "The coward means to send me to my death. And my men, why does he doom them?" The movement is executed and the entire action faithfully presented in this wonderful reproduction of actual war happening. Then comes a scene at the Colonel's field quarters. Instead of dooming his rival to death, as he expected, the boy is the hero of the hour, complimented and lionized by every officer in the army corps. "I'll succeed yet." soliloquizes the Colonel. "I'll implicate the girl he loves, goad him into striking me, get him imprisoned for the offense." A letter, forwarded by courier to Laura, has led the poor girl to believe Frank is to be shot at sunrise, and she has come through the lines to bid her soldier lover farewell. The meeting takes place in an old church, now used by the Federals for a prison, and Laura goes on her knees to the Colonel to plead for her lover's life. Poor Frank, bound to the stairs, is forced to witness her humiliation, as well as suffer the indignity of seeing the cowardly Colonel attempt to force his drunken embraces on the woman he loves. But Laura is well able to protect herself, as the sequel proves, for she seizes a bayonet from a table and the Colonel finds himself hors de combat and his rival freed. All the fury of the girl's nature has been aroused, and in the scenes that follow she proves herself "A Wartime Sweetheart," for through her quick wit, she not only escapes from the maddened officer herself, but takes her lover with her through the lines, a hurried marriage service, then, after weeks of peril, the couple find themselves on the great American frontier, where the sturdy spirit of their forefathers enables them to carve out a future. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less
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Producer
William Nicholas Selig
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Status
Edit Released
Updated May 27, 1909
Release date
May 27, 1909 (United States)

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