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The Pasha's Daughter: One reel of approximately 1,000 feet, January 3, 1911

A young American man in trouble is assisted by the daughter of the pasha to escape in woman's clothes from Turkey.

Print source: Museum of Modern Art, 13 minutes 39 seconds.
Cast: William Garwood.
Original music composed and performed by Ben Model (silentfilmmusic.com/).

The elements of an adventure-romance are dressed in an exotic setting. (Ottoman Turkey was hot in the news as the empire was on the verge of collapse and the European powers were preparing to carve up the Near East and Middle East into colonies.) An American visitor somewhere in the Ottoman Empire, is mistakenly arrested, escapes, is aided by the local Pasha’s daughter, they fall in love, and they find each other later in America. The vivid exoticism in emphasized (1911 viewers must have wondered, is that a depiction of a real harem?), and the brisk, dashing pace of the story again shows Thanhouser’s deft touch.

This film is available on DVD from Thanhouser Film Company Preservation, Inc. at thanhouser.org