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The Drummer’s Day Off
(1908) United States of America
B&W : 250 feet
Directed by (unknown)
Cast: (unknown)
The Vitagraph Company of America production; distributed by The Vitagraph Company of America. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The film was first advertised in trades or reviewed in May 1908.
[?] Drama?
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? From the stage entrance of a theater a number of musicians are emerging, all carrying their instruments and engaged in friendly conversation. In the midst, and well to the front, is a funny little uniformed fellow with a very large bass drum. A fellow musician takes a bottle from his pocket and he and the little drummer have a drink. The little chap then waves good-bye and a little further along the street meets a cop. who is also a friend. The officer is provided with a flask, from which the drummer takes a good stiff pull. By this time the little fellow is quite under the weather, and his progress is rather slow and shaky. He staggers off beating his drum and waving his hands wildly. On turning a corner be comes across an Italian organ grinder dispensing popular airs, while the little urchins about him are dancing. A happy inspiration seizes him. He assists the Italian, much to the delight of the children and to the corresponding discomfiture of the organ grinder, who gives his unwelcome assistant a kick sending him on his way. Four men are having a quiet little talk as the drunken drummer comes along and almost scares them to death by suddenly pounding on his drum. The four men pound him unmercifully, and he goes on his way blithely. The next moment a horse runs away and the driver gives the drummer another beating. A dashing young man is making strenuous love to his sweetheart on a park bench. In the midst of his declarations the drummer whacks his drum furiously, sending the lovers firing away in terror. The next victims are two ladies returning from a shopping expedition. They meet, greet each other effusively, and one of them tells her companion a choice morsel of gossip, and is whispering it, when our drummer friend gets busy. The ladies immediately faint, and fall upon the man. A servant girl, washing windows, is also frightened, and falls head first through the sash. A noted pianist is entertaining a number of friends in a drawing room. All are listening intently, greatly affected by the music. The drummer stops directly under an open window and pounds on his drum unmercifully. Upstairs the professor and his listeners start with horror, rush to the window and throw everything they can lay their hands on at the disturber. Totally exhausted by this time, the drummer falls asleep on a corner with the instrument of torture beside him. He is there accidentally discovered by the people he has so much abused. The cop, the shoppers, the lovers, the pianist and his friends, all pounce upon him, wake him up rudely and break in the top of his drum and push it over his head.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 29 October 2022.
References: Slide-BigV p. 179: Website-IMDb.
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