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The Story of the Bell
(1913) United States of America
B&W : Short film
Directed by Walter Edwin
Cast: Mabel Trunnelle [Mrs. Fairfax], Yale Boss [the grandson], Benjamin F. Wilson (Ben Wilson) [Colonel Fairfax, retired], Marion Weeks [the granddaughter], Robert Brower [the mayor of the village], May Abbey [Mrs. Fairfax], Augustus Phillips [Corporal Fairfax]
Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated, production; distributed by The General Film Company, Incorporated. / Released 30 June 1913. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / Edison production number 7358.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Colonel Fairfax, in answer to his grandson’s question as to why he does not like to hear the bell in the old church tower ring, tells the young man that nearly forty years ago he had ascended the old tower to remove the muffling that had been placed on the huge clapper for a funeral when the sexton began to pull the rope frantically in order to warn the countryside of the approach of British soldiers. Fairfax goes on to tell his grandson how he was imprisoned underneath the swinging bell, the roar of which drove him almost crazy. His cries for help were drowned by the clanging of the clapper, and he lay that way until one of the young girls, who had seen him go into the belfry in the morning, ordered the sexton to stop ringing the bell while she ascended the steps to the bell tower, where she rescued Fairfax, whose hair had turned snow white from fright, rage and exhaustion. In the meantime the villagers had succeeded in routing the Britishers and the countryside soon became as peaceful as it ever had been.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 7 October 2023.
References: Spehr-American p. 4 : Website-IMDb.
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