| A Beast at Bay | |
|---|---|
_title_card.jpg) Title card | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | George Hennessy |
| Produced by | Biograph Company |
| Starring | Mary Pickford |
| Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer |
| Distributed by | Biograph Company |
Release date |
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Running time |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (Englishintertitles) |
A Beast at Bay is a 1912 Americanshortsilentdrama film directed byD. W. Griffith and starringMary Pickford. It was produced and distributed by theBiograph Company. A paper print is preserved in theLibrary of Congress.[1]
Four armed guards hunt an escaped convict. The fugitive overpowers a lone guard, forces him to exchange clothes, and steals his rifle.
Meanwhile, a young woman and her boyfriend go for a drive. When they stop, a stranger challenges the boyfriend to a fight, but he refuses. The woman calls him a coward to his face, and they part ways.
Later, the convict forces the woman to drive him away in her car. The boyfriend witnesses this through binoculars. Two guards arrive at the train station. Knowing the railroad tracks run parallel to the road, the boyfriend commandeers a train. He and the guards board it and give chase. When the road diverges from the tracks, they continue on foot, splitting up to cover more ground.
The convict abandons the car and takes his captive to an isolated shack. Inside, he menaces her. The boyfriend finds the abandoned car and charges the shack despite gunfire. He breaks in and fights the convict but starts losing. The guards arrive in time to capture the escapee. The woman reconciles with her boyfriend and kisses him.
According to a source, theBiograph Bulletin synopsis names the hero and heroine Jack and Edith;[2] these same names appear in theLibrary of Congress summary.[3]
The film was shot in Los Angeles in March 1912.[3] Another source says it was shot in Southern California and completed in March.[2]
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