A Rude Hostess
The film ends as the police arrive and take the handsome burglar into custody....[3][b]The screenplay for this short is credited to D. W. Griffith, who also directed the picture at Biograph's main studio, which in 1909 was located inside a large renovated brownstone mansion in New York City, in Manhattan, at 11 East 14th Street.[6] In addition to summarizing this release's plot, the previously noted 1985 reference Early Motion Pictures: The Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress provides a basic description of Bitzer's camerawork in shooting the production:...The film ends as the police arrive and take the handsome burglar into custody.[3]Bitzer collaborated with Griffith for many years, and his extensive experience behind the camera made him an expert at gauging not only the "screen presence" or photogenic qualities of actors but also, respectively, their strongest attributes on film."[12] That news item also informs filmgoers that for the price of ten cents they can purchase a poster from Biograph on which the names and respective portraits of 26 of the company's principal actors were featured.Shortly before the release of A Rude Hostess on April 8, 1909, an anonymous reviewer for The Moving Picture World in New York saw a preview of it and succinctly reported, "The subject is most cleverly acted and sumptuously staged."[13] Most published comments about A Rude Hostess and other printed references to the short in 1909 and during the first half of 1910 are not independent, non-biased assessments of the Biograph production; they are instead from newspaper advertisers or theater owners who simply had commercial interests in attracting audiences."[15] Elaborating on those points in promoting the short as a "ladies" comedy, the Honolulu newspaper in the same issue states:The patrons of the Art Theater will find in the picture serial entitled, "The [sic] Rude Hostess," chosen for the feature of today's change of program, an exceedingly clever story and, incidentally, an illustration of how a smart and pretty woman can outwit a rogue of the sterner sex.[3][d] Submitted by Biograph to the United States government in 1909, shortly before the film's release, the roll is part of the original documentation required by federal authorities for motion picture companies to obtain copyright protection for their productions.
Film stillD. W. GriffithAmerican Mutoscope and Biograph CompanyManhattanG. W. Bitzersplit-reelsilentMarion LeonardArthur V. Johnsonsplit reelSchneider's Anti-Noise Crusadecontact-printsafety-stockLibrary of CongressFrank PowellAnita HendrieJeanie MacPhersonOwen MoorefootmanMack Sennettbrownstonecinematographersausage-makerCambridge University Presstrade journalMotographytrade publicationsThe Barre Daily TimesBrunswick, GeorgiaE. W. HornungRafflescracksmancatchphrasesPacific Commercial Advertisersuffragettescopyrightsafety film stockD. W. Griffith filmographyMuseum of Modern ArtThe Moving Picture WorldInternet ArchiveAmerican Film InstituteHathiTrustChronicling AmericaNational Endowment for the HumanitiesAFI Catalog of Feature FilmsThe Adventures of DollieThe Fight for FreedomThe Tavern Keeper's DaughterThe Black ViperThe Red Man and the ChildDeceived Slumming PartyThe Bandit's WaterlooA Calamitous ElopementThe Greaser's GauntletThe Man and the WomanThe Fatal HourFor Love of GoldBalked at the AltarFor a Wife's HonorBetrayed by a HandprintMonday Morning in a Coney Island Police CourtThe Girl and the OutlawBehind the ScenesThe Red GirlThe Heart of O'YamaWhere the Breakers RoarA Smoked HusbandThe Stolen JewelsThe DevilThe Zulu's HeartFather Gets in the GameIngomar, the BarbarianThe Vaquero's VowThe Planter's WifeRomance of a JewessThe Call of the WildConcealing a BurglarAfter Many YearsThe Pirate's GoldThe Taming of the ShrewThe GuerrillaThe Song of the ShirtThe IngrateA Woman's WayThe Clubman and the TrampMoney MadThe Valet's WifeThe Feud and the TurkeyThe ReckoningThe Test of FriendshipAn Awful MomentThe Christmas BurglarsMr. Jones at the BallThe Helping HandOne Touch of NatureThe Maniac CookMrs. Jones EntertainsThe Honor of ThievesLove Finds a WayThe SacrificeA Rural ElopementThose Boys!The Criminal HypnotistThe Fascinating Mrs. FrancisMr. Jones Has a Card PartyThose Awful HatsThe Welcome BurglarThe Cord of LifeThe Girls and DaddyThe Brahma DiamondEdgar Allen PoeA Wreath in TimeTragic LoveThe Curtain PoleHis Ward's LoveThe Joneses Have Amateur TheatricalsThe Hindoo DaggerThe Politician's Love StoryThe Golden LouisAt the AltarThe Prussian SpyHis Wife's MotherA Fool's RevengeThe Wooden LegThe Roue's Heart