The Little Spreewald Maiden (1910)

Romantic comedy | 21 December 1910

Director:

Sidney Olcott

Writer:

Gene Gauntier

Production Company:

Kalem Co.
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HISTORY

The 24 Dec 1910 Film Index called The Little Spreewald Maiden Kalem Co.'s second in a series of "two continents" films, following The Lad from Old Ireland (1910, see entry). The company shot part of the film "in the Kalem New York studio and part in Germany, on the River Spree, a picturesque section of Germany, where the country folks still wear a characteristic peasant garb." An item in the 17 Dec 1910 Film Index further noted, "The Spreewald country is south of Berlin, and life in that region is quite primitive. Quaint manners and customs of the people are interesting in the extreme." Some scenes were filmed in New York City's Riverside Park. The name of the character "Freda" was spelled "Frieda" in at least one review.
       The 31 Dec 1910 Moving Picture World ran the following review: “The picture will please, first with the sympathetic acting of Miss Gauntier and next by the picturesque scenery along the Spree. The American scenes are characteristic and typical and will be recognized as accurate. Wherever there are Germans this film should be popular.”
       For more information about the Kalem stock company's visit to Europe during the autumn of 1910, see The Lad from Old Ireland. ...

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The 24 Dec 1910 Film Index called The Little Spreewald Maiden Kalem Co.'s second in a series of "two continents" films, following The Lad from Old Ireland (1910, see entry). The company shot part of the film "in the Kalem New York studio and part in Germany, on the River Spree, a picturesque section of Germany, where the country folks still wear a characteristic peasant garb." An item in the 17 Dec 1910 Film Index further noted, "The Spreewald country is south of Berlin, and life in that region is quite primitive. Quaint manners and customs of the people are interesting in the extreme." Some scenes were filmed in New York City's Riverside Park. The name of the character "Freda" was spelled "Frieda" in at least one review.
       The 31 Dec 1910 Moving Picture World ran the following review: “The picture will please, first with the sympathetic acting of Miss Gauntier and next by the picturesque scenery along the Spree. The American scenes are characteristic and typical and will be recognized as accurate. Wherever there are Germans this film should be popular.”
       For more information about the Kalem stock company's visit to Europe during the autumn of 1910, see The Lad from Old Ireland.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Film Index
17 Dec 1910
p. 4, 21
Film Index
24 Dec 1910
p. 24
Moving Picture News
24 Dec 1910
p. 19tl
Moving Picture World
24 Dec 1910
p. 1487ts, 1489tl
Moving Picture World
31 Dec 1910
p. 1536tr
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT

NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
WRITER
DETAILS
Release Date:
21 December 1910
Production Date:
fall 1910
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in feet):
985
Length(in reels):
1
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

"Two American ladies touring through Germany happen on this little Spreewald girl and offer her a job in America. She consults with Hans, her sweetheart, and though he objects at first, he soon consents when Freda tells him of the large amount of money she is to earn and to bring back to him. So Freda goes to America and we are shown her departure where she leaves on the queer little Spree boat, accompanied to the water's edge by her family and half the inhabitants of the village. The story then transfers to America, where Freda has her job as a nurse girl. But it is apparent that she has higher ambitions, for she is learning the language with the assistance of a good-natured Irish cop, who has the beat in the section on Riverside Drive, New York, where Freda goes to give her little ward his daily outing. Quick to learn and full of ambition. Freda goes to night school and learns stenography and typewriting. Soon she has a good job and has thoroughly ingratiated herself with her employer, not only because of her careful work, but because of her winsome ways as well, and so it turns out one day that her employer proposes marriage. Freda, however, thinks that she is bound in honor to Hans on the other side, and furthermore she has long been afflicted with home sickness for the familiar scenes of her fatherland. So she says 'no' to her employer and starts back to Germany, but alas, like most Germans who come to America, she has become so thoroughly Americanized that she is a much better American than a German, and when ...

More Less

"Two American ladies touring through Germany happen on this little Spreewald girl and offer her a job in America. She consults with Hans, her sweetheart, and though he objects at first, he soon consents when Freda tells him of the large amount of money she is to earn and to bring back to him. So Freda goes to America and we are shown her departure where she leaves on the queer little Spree boat, accompanied to the water's edge by her family and half the inhabitants of the village. The story then transfers to America, where Freda has her job as a nurse girl. But it is apparent that she has higher ambitions, for she is learning the language with the assistance of a good-natured Irish cop, who has the beat in the section on Riverside Drive, New York, where Freda goes to give her little ward his daily outing. Quick to learn and full of ambition. Freda goes to night school and learns stenography and typewriting. Soon she has a good job and has thoroughly ingratiated herself with her employer, not only because of her careful work, but because of her winsome ways as well, and so it turns out one day that her employer proposes marriage. Freda, however, thinks that she is bound in honor to Hans on the other side, and furthermore she has long been afflicted with home sickness for the familiar scenes of her fatherland. So she says 'no' to her employer and starts back to Germany, but alas, like most Germans who come to America, she has become so thoroughly Americanized that she is a much better American than a German, and when she sees the primitive life of her own people, and finds that Hans has been courting another German lassie, she decides that America is good enough for her, and back she goes to her old job in the office, which, however, she does not hold very long, for her employer again makes his offer of marriage and is this time heartily accepted."—24 Dec 1910 Film Index

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.