Fourteen-year-old Madeleine Fairbanks is an orphan. She dreams occasionally of her mother, and wishes that someone would adopt her. People who come to the orphanagae want small children. She is, however, adopted by a couple who live in a poorly-maintained house, make her do chores while they sit around and fan themselves,
, and refer to her as 'the orphanage brat.' Nearby lives a widow with a young child. The child gets lost in the woods.
Like many Thanhouser Company shorts, this one is a simple enough story with a middle-class, sentimental air to it. Unlike many of them, it has a nicely underwritten ending.
One peculiarity of casting: the widow has two black servants. One is a chauffeur, played by a Black actor. The rather scatter-brained maid, however, is played by a man in blackface. Clearly this company was not averse to hiring Black actors, but felt comic roles better played by Caucasians.
Like many Thanhouser Company shorts, this one is a simple enough story with a middle-class, sentimental air to it. Unlike many of them, it has a nicely underwritten ending.
One peculiarity of casting: the widow has two black servants. One is a chauffeur, played by a Black actor. The rather scatter-brained maid, however, is played by a man in blackface. Clearly this company was not averse to hiring Black actors, but felt comic roles better played by Caucasians.
