The First Violin

The First Violin

NR 1912 · 20 min · Drama

Old Von Shultz, the first violin, finds as he grows older a longing for companionship. Hurrying from the theater the old musician finds little Helen sleeping on the steps of the stage door. He picks her up and takes her to his comfortably furnished home. The old man even grows childish, he is so pleased with the little tot's presence and he gives her the love with which his heart abounds. The next day he learns from the morning papers that Helen's mother and father were lost in a fire. He spends many happy hours with her, playing with her toys. He takes her to rehearsals with him, where she is the pet of the musicians. One year later Helen shows an aptness for the stage. This delights the old musician and the child grows nearer and dearer to his heart. A sad blow, however, comes to him when the Children's Society take the little girl away from him and once more he finds himself a lonely old man.

Directed by Van Dyke Brooke

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

32m together

The First Violin

The Spider's Web

Both from Van Dyke Brooke.

More from Van Dyke BrookeSee all →

The Spider's WebThe Spider's Web · 1912
The Spider's Web
★ 10.01912
MovieHorrorCrime
Banker Graham Lawlor is convinced to invest in Silver Shield Mines and becomes president, unaware that promoters Harris, Brennen, and Lester are frauds. He asks his son, Trevor, a small-town lawyer, to join as secretary. Trevor suspects foul play, warns his father, and returns to his practice after a disagreement. Lester, one of the promoters, woos and abandons his stenographer, Brenda Wray. When rumors surface about the mine’s instability, the promoters attempt to place blame on Lawlor. Knowing he holds documents to clear his name, they bribe his servant to steal them. Brenda, seeking justice from Lester, overhears the plan and informs Trevor. Lawlor’s servant, Thompson, is caught, confesses, and clears Lawlor’s name, leading to the arrest of Harris, Brennen, and Lester.
The Fortune HunterThe Fortune Hunter · 1920
The Fortune Hunter
★ 10.01920
MovieComedy
When perpetual failure Nathaniel Dunham is fired from yet another job, his successful friend Harry Kellogg offers him $500 if Nat will move to a small town, change his ways and marry a rich heiress.
Lights of New YorkLights of New York · 1916
Lights of New York
★ 9.01916
MovieDrama
The story of two small-town barbers, Eddie and Gene, who are tricked into fronting a speakeasy for bootleggers in New York City. Eddie reconnects with his sweetheart, Kitty, now a perfor
The Reincarnation of KarmaThe Reincarnation of Karma · 1912
The Reincarnation of Karma
★ 9.01912
MovieDrama
In India, Leslie Adams dreams of a priestess who is turned into a snake by Karma, the high priest. While touring a ruined temple, he finds the snake, who is said to resume human form every 100 years. Assuming her human form, Qunitreea give Leslie's fiancée an amulet, causing her to fall into a permanent sleep. Leslie realizes he is the high priest Karma reincarnated, and that Qunitreea has had her revenge.
The Moonshine TrailThe Moonshine Trail · 1919
The Moonshine Trail
★ 9.01919
MovieDrama
After her father and two brothers are killed, Cynthia and her mother go to New York, where Cynthia gets a job in his office working for a wealthy stockbroker who's attracted to her.
Captain Jinks' BabyCaptain Jinks' Baby · 1917
Captain Jinks' Baby
★ 9.01917
MovieComedy
Short comedy
The Tiger LilyThe Tiger Lily · 1913
The Tiger Lily
★ 8.01913
MovieDramaRomance
Thinking that her husband is paying more attention to his work and to their little daughter, Nina, than to her, Cleo Morin runs away with Henri Mordan. On the afternoon of their elopement, Morin, who is a ballet master, is seriously injured on the stage, and the doctor tells him that his spine is so affected that he will never be able to walk again.
The Passionate PilgrimThe Passionate Pilgrim · 1921
The Passionate Pilgrim
★ 8.01921
MovieDrama
An innocent man goes to prison for obstruction of justice when his wife refuses to reveal that her father was killed by her mother (and it wasn't suicide). When he is finally released, he meets and becomes involved with a young woman who belongs to the town's influential elite. Once again, he finds himself caught up in intrigue - which eventually leads to his exposing the mayor of the town as corrupt.
Straight Is the WayStraight Is the Way · 1921
Straight Is the Way
★ 7.31921
MovieComedyDrama
Bob Carter and "Loot" Follet, are two thieves who locate themselves in the unused part of the New Hampshire home of Aunt Mehitable and her niece Dorcas. Loan shark Jonathan Squoggs presses Mehitable for payment of the mortgage, and the two crooks decide to help the ladies when they consult their Ouija board to find a hidden treasure. Finding the treasure reveals a surprise thief and a chance for new lives for the crooks, Dorcas, and Mehitable.
The Son of WallingfordThe Son of Wallingford · 1921
The Son of Wallingford
★ 7.01921
MovieCrimeComedy
A young man's journey into adulthood, love, and ambition, inspired by a serial by George Randolph Chester exploring themes of love, ambition, and self-discovery, set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties.
It Happened to AdeleIt Happened to Adele · 1917
It Happened to Adele
★ 7.01917
MovieDrama
Adele has grown up in a tenement, but she longs for greater things. She gets her chance at the stage when her mother runs into an old friend, Blanche. Blanche has been working steadily in the theater, and she helps Adele get work. The young girl finds romance with Vincent Harvey, an aspiring composer. One day Adele suffers an accidental fall out of a window.
What Women WantWhat Women Want · 1920
What Women Want
★ 7.01920
MovieDrama
During World War I, Francine D'Espard, a young French woman, meets William Holliday, a U.S. Army officer at the front, and they become engaged. Returning to America, William finds his father at the mercy of his business rival, Ezekiel Bates. Shortly after, when Francine arrives in America to marry her fiancé, she is informed that her lover is about to marry Bates's daughter Susan. Her love now turning to hate, Francine devotes herself to the task of destroying her former suitor.
The Show GirlThe Show Girl · 1911
The Show Girl
★ 7.01911
MovieDramaRomance
Audrey, a charming actress, but classed among the show girls, is invited with some of her stage companions, to have lunch with an old friend, by the name of Dr. Renfrew. The doctor and Audrey, eating together, talk over old times and renew their friendship; she takes his attentions seriously and becomes very much impressed with his pleasant companionship. Night after night the doctor attends the performance in which she appears as the "headliner," and never fails to greet her with generous applause and a bouquet of flowers as marks of admiration. To emphasize his friendship or infatuation he sends her a string of pearls, begging her to accept it as a souvenir of happy days gone by. Through a member of the company in which she is playing, she learns that Dr. Renfrew is married, and at her friend's suggestion redirects his note back to his wife.
Jerry's Mother-in-LawJerry's Mother-in-Law · 1913
Jerry's Mother-in-Law
★ 6.81913
MovieComedy
Using hypnosis and two agents, Jerry manages to get rid of his mother in law.
Father's HatbandFather's Hatband · 1913
Father's Hatband
★ 5.01913
MovieComedy
A short comic film in which Sam and Doris use the hat of Doris’ father (a manager) to send letters to each other.
The Helpful (?) SisterhoodThe Helpful (?) Sisterhood · 1914
The Helpful (?) Sisterhood
★ 5.01914
MovieDrama
Mary is forced into shoplifting to keep up with her rich sorority sisters.

More Like This

The Glass HouseThe Glass House · 2001
The Glass House
★ 6.02001
MovieDramaThriller
When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.
Turtles Can FlyTurtles Can Fly · 2006
Turtles Can Fly
★ 7.82006
MovieDrama
Turtles Can Fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iraq border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.
ViridianaViridiana · 1962
Viridiana
★ 7.71962
MovieDrama
Viridiana is preparing to start her life as a nun when she is sent, somewhat unwillingly, to visit her aging uncle, Don Jaime. He supports her; but the two have met only once. Jaime thinks Viridiana resembles his dead wife. Viridiana has secretly despised this man all her life and finds her worst fears proven when Jaime grows determined to seduce his pure niece. Viridiana becomes undone as her uncle upends the plans she had made to join the convent.
Anne of Green GablesAnne of Green Gables · 1985
Anne of Green Gables
★ 8.11985
MovieFamilyDrama
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Oliver!Oliver! · 1968
Oliver!
★ 7.01968
MovieDramaFamily
Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.
The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame · 1996
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
★ 7.11996
MovieDramaAnimation
Isolated in the bell tower of Notre Dame, Quasimodo longs to experience the world beyond the cathedral walls, despite the wishes of his stern guardian, the Judge of Paris Claude Frollo. His first venture into the city leads him to Esmeralda, a fearless Romani woman whose defiance of Frollo's tyranny draws her—and Quasimodo—into his dangerous obsession.
A Little PrincessA Little Princess · 1995
A Little Princess
★ 7.61995
MovieDramaFamily
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.
The Little Drummer BoyThe Little Drummer Boy · 1968
The Little Drummer Boy
★ 6.61968
MovieAnimationDrama
After being kidnapped and escaping, young drummer boy Aaron searches for his camel and finds him in the Nativity of the Baby Jesus. Aaron gives Baby Jesus the only gift he has, a song on his drum.
HorsemenHorsemen · 2009
Horsemen
★ 6.02009
MovieCrimeDrama
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter