European rest cure / motion picture

"On the gangplank of one of the large ocean liners leaving New York is shown an old gentleman kissing his wife and daughter good-bye before leaving on a tour abroad for a much needed rest from business cares and troubles. A great crowd of people are next shown waving farewells to departing friends and relatives as the big steamer leaves the pier. We now accompany our old friend on his trip and show in succession his varied experiences. As the steamer glides down the Hudson River a panorama is shown of the lower section of New York, with its numerous sky-scrapers, Battery Park, and the Aquarium. Next the pilot is shown leaving the ship at Sandy Hook and the course is now clear for a run across the Atlantic. The scene now changes to a view of the ocean and the bow of the vessel, taken from the bridge. It shows the way a modern ocean greyhound plows her way through the water, and the spray dashing over the deck. The seas are high during the voyage and as our tourist is a poor sailor he suffers severely from the rolling of the ship, and is compelled to keep in his stateroom most of the time. Our next scene shows him rolling around the floor of his room in dreadful agony. He finally gets on his feet and by holding on to anything within reach he finally manages to reach his berth. After reaching the berth a monstrous wave strikes the ship and the unfortunate man is thrown out on the floor. Suddenly the porthole cover is thrown open by the force of a wave and our friend gets a ducking. Landed in Europe, he makes several new acquaintances, and decides to pay his first visit to Ireland. He reaches Blarney Castle and the guides show him where the Blarney Stone is located. Having heard a great deal of this wonderful stone, he wishes to be one of the party to kiss it, and arranges with a couple of Irish attendants to lower him over the roof of the castle. They take hold of him by the heels, and swing him down along the side of the building, head first. As he is about to kiss the stone, the Irishmen's grip on his feet relaxes and they let him drop. Eventually he gets over his injuries and leaves Ireland for France. Reaching Paris, he leaves his friends and starts to do up the concert halls. We now show him in one of the gayest of these resorts. Upon entering the place, he takes a seat at a table and orders a drink. His attention is soon attracted by a couple of gay young women at another table, and he soon joins them. The wine begins to flow and soon the women and the old tourist become very gay, and they all start to dance and have a good time. Suddenly the old fellow is surprised by his friends, who, having missed him, started to search for him. They soon hurry him out of the place and upbraid him for getting into such questionable company. Leaving Paris, the party go to Switzerland, and visit the Alps. Of course these famous mountains must be climbed, so guides are engaged to point out the paths and give assistance. The party manages to reach a great height without mishap, but the trip must be spoiled by our seeker for rest. One treacherous section of the mountain is reached, and climbing is quite difficult. The guides assist each of the tourists over the great rocks, but when our friend's turn comes the inevitable happens, and he drops into one of the great crevices of the mountain. The guides lower ropes and haul him up. He gets a bad shaking up but comes around all right, with the assistance of stimulants administered by one of the party. From Switzerland they travel to Italy and view the ruins of ancient Rome. In some way the old tourist is left behind by his party, and as he stands alone wondering what has become of his friends, he is pounced upon by a couple of Italian bandits and relieved of all his valuables. His next stop is in Egypt. The party view the Pyramids and Sphinx, and are finally induced by the natives to climb one of the pyramids. Two of the black guides take care of our friend and aid him to climb, but as usual something happens. When near the top down he comes, landing in a heap at the bottom. To get over his injuries takes a little time, but hearing of the wonderful curative powers of Germany's mud baths, he sets off for that country. He is next seen in the care of two corpulent bath attendants. They help him into a tub and soon cover him with mud, which gets into his eyes and almost blinds him. The attendants scour him with the mud until the skin peels off and then clean him off by throwing ice water on him. By the time they get through with him he is hardly able to move and decides that he has had enough rest and that home is the best place. The trip across the ocean is made, and he finally lands back in New York. A cab is waiting outside the pier shed and the old fellow is assisted into it by his wife and daughter and two porters. He is driven home, where his final rest is taken"--Edison films catalog.
H49807 U.S. Copyright Office
Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 1Sept1904; H49807.
Joseph Hart.
Includes footage from other Edison films: S.S. "Coptic" running against the storm (1898), Pilot leaving "Prinzessen Victoria Luise" at Sandy Hook (1902), and Sky scrapers of New York City, from the North River (1903).
Paper print shelf number (LC 2384) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
Most of footage taken on August 31, 1904 in New York City.
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Musser, C. Before the nickelodeon, 1991, p. 285-86; Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 92; Edison films catalog, no. 222, September supplement 1904, p. 12-13 [MI]; Kino Lorber WWW site (film notes for Edison--invention of the movies), viewed June 3, 2013.