
Acting
John R. Cumpson
Born 1866-08-30 · Buffalo, New York, USA
Acting credits
5.1It's a busy day at the office, and the stenographer is exhausted from trying to keep up with the demands on her skills. Even when she stays late, she cannot catch up with all of the work. But then a man comes into the office to demonstrate the many advantages of the Edison System, his company's new business phonograph.
The Stenographer's Friend; Or, What Was Accomplished by an Edison Business Phonograph
1910
A woman in love with an unsuccessful author tries to convince a publisher to accept his work.
The Mills of the Gods
1909
5.6Two members of a vigilante group known as 'The White Caps' post a warning sign on a man's home. When the man comes home, he tears down the sign, and then proceeds to abuse his wife both verbally and physically. As soon as she can get away from him, the wife leaves home with her child to find a place of refuge. When the vigilantes find out about this, they arm themselves with rifles and immediately go to confront the abusive husband.
The White Caps
1905
5.1Two lovers elope and expect to be pursued by her father. But the clever father has tricked them into running off, and celebrates their wedding when they return home.
They Would Elope
1909
A father wants to marry his daughter to a rich man, but she's in love with someone else. She borrows a tramp's wooden leg, pretending that it's hers, and the disgusted suitor rejects her.
The Wooden Leg
1909
NROne of the members of a suicide club learns he has inherited some money, but only after he drew the fatal lot and is expected to kill himself. Presumed to be a lost film.
The Suicide Club
1909
4.6A contest is being held in Cremona for the best violin, with Giannina's hand in marriage as the prize. Filippo is secretly in love with her, but is also ashamed of being a cripple, so he switches his superior violin with that of another apprentice, Sandro, whom Giannina loves.
The Violin Maker of Cremona
1909
3.8All the young men in the mining camp flirt with Lucy. Bud, the youngest of them, doesn't stand a chance. At a dance, Bud dresses as a woman and all the men flirt with him and abandon Lucy. When his disguise is revealed, the other men are too embarrassed to approach Lucy, and Bud dances the rest of the night with her.
Getting Even
1909
3.0Sisters guarding their house from a burglar set upon stealing their daddy's money.
The Girls and Daddy
1909
4.3Mary Rollins is torn between selfish depravity and righteous living. After she's coerced into helping with the burglary of her minister's apartment, she comes face to face with her misdeeds.
A Strange Meeting
1909
3.7After three years at sea, Edward returns home to find his sweetheart forced into an engagement with a much older man.
The Cricket on the Hearth
1909
In the third installment of the "Mr. and Mrs. Jones" series, Mrs. Jones hosts a luncheon for her Ladies' Temperance League chapter on the condition that her husband, Mr. Jones, stays out of the way, but he manages to secretly drink a decanter of alcohol. When the empty bottle is found, the attendees suspect one of their own is a secret drinker, leading to chaotic accusations before Mr. Jones is exposed as the culprit.
Mrs. Jones Entertains
1909
3.0Gertrude chooses Jim over Jack, which makes Jack very jealous. Later Jim dies, and Jack marries Gertrude. He finds himself once again very jealous of the late Lucky Jim.
Lucky Jim
1909
3.8The amateur dramatic society chooses the Joneses' residence as the location of its next meeting, and both Joneses catch 'the acting bug' in this split-reel subject.
The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals
1909
6.1A pair of young ladies cause trouble at the cinema with their lavish hats.
Those Awful Hats
1909
3.7Antonine, a worthless, good-for-nothing scoundrel, demands money of his cousin Galora, an energetic, provident husband and father. His demands are met with a positive rebuff, and when he becomes insistent be is forcibly ejected by Galora. As he leaves the tenement he vows to get even, and lies in wait until Galora has gone out on business. Climbing to the fifth floor, on which the Galoras live, he watches his chance, which comes when Mrs. Galora goes for an instant to visit a neighbor on the same floor. Darting into the apartment and raising the window he perceives the awful result of a drop to the ground, five stories below, and so evolves a plan that is dastardly in the extreme. Taking the infant child from the cradle, and placing it in a basket he lets it out with a short rope, the end of which he secures by letting the sash down on it, so that to raise the window would precipitate the baby to destruction.
The Cord of Life
1909
Sight unseen, a man buys a bag that turns out to contain burglar tools. He can't get rid of the bag, even when he's robbed. The thieves assume he's a colleague and return the bag and tools.
A Troublesome Satchel
1909
4.0At the Italian boarding house the male boarders were all smitten with the charms of Minnie, the landlady's pretty daughter, but she was of a poetic turn of mind and her soul soared above plebeianism and her aspirations were romantic. Most persistent among her suitors was Grigo, a coarse Sicilian, whose advances were odiously repulsive. The arrival at the boarding house from the old country of Giuseppe Cassella, the violinist, filled the void in her yearning heart. Romantic, poetic and a talented musician, Giuseppe was indeed a desirable husband for Minnie.
At the Altar
1909
Billy is out for a stroll when he spies a prepossessing-looking young woman. He follows and she enters the office of a spiritualist. Producing a tip, he is initiated into the mysteries of table rocking and other occult practices and becomes interested. In the séance he is impressed with the idea that he is out to mystify his friends, and the soothsayer sells him a book, which explains all about it. Repairing to the club he cons the book and engages in experiments. The results are magical and he hastens to announce the fact to his friends. They are skeptical and treat his efforts lightly. They make all manner of sport of his demonstrations and Billy waxes wroth. He is rudely disturbed and casts about for a method of revenge. Adjoining the room is the electrical apparatus and Billy enlists the services of the electrician by means of a generous bribe. A wire is strung to the table and the plans carefully made to humiliate the unbelievers.
Billy's Séance
1911
3.0A new bride has made a batch of biscuits. Her husband pretends to like them, so she delivers the rest to his office. But one bite of these biscuits makes you violently ill, and soon all his visitors (he runs a theatrical booking agency), plus the workmen at home, are ill; when she shows up at the office, they all go after her.
Her First Biscuits
1909
4.5A man leaves his wife and two daughters for work in a carpentry shop. At work, he initially refuses a beer with lunch, then gives in. After work, two friends take a little while to convince him to go for a refreshing malt beverage, then to have another and another....
What Drink Did
1909
4.9Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, is someone he once seduced and abandoned and that he himself bears responsibility for reducing her to crime. He sets out to redeem her and himself in the process.
Resurrection
1909
Oh, the woe of simultaneous birthdays, as were Mr. and Mrs. Hardlucks', and both being of a generous nature, were seized with an insatiable desire to make on this anniversary of their nativity suitable gifts, each to the other, Hardluck has a watch, but no fob. Mrs. Hardluck has a wealth of hair, but no decorative comb for her hair. What is worse, finances are low, or rather exhausted. An idea strikes Hardluck. He will pawn his watch and buy a comb; thus surprising her. Mrs. Hardluck's mind is also illumined by a bright thought. She will sacrifice her hair, and with the money buy him a fob. This they do, of course, unknown to each other. Well, here's the situation: He had no fob for his watch, and she no comb for her hair; but now he has no watch for his fob, and she has no hair for her comb.
The Sacrifice
1909
4.1Nellie flees her old life and goes east to become a nurse, where she marries a doctor. One of her old colleagues finds her and tries to blackmail her. When the blackmail plot is exposed, Nellie's husband expresses his complete faith in her.
Confidence
1909