The Leopard's Foundling (1914)
The scene opens on the road to Kingsley as Peter Herman and his wife, Anna, are trekking slowly along, she holding the baby in her arms while Balu, their idolized seven-year-old daughter, is on the seat beside her father, holding a line. The little family reach a lone clearing a distance from the roadway, and decide to camp for the night. Away from the dusty veldt, little Balu feels the joy in her young life that demands freedom, so she runs about exploring. Then is flashed in the picture a leopard that has awakened from his long day's napping and is out prowling for prey. Peter starts the camp fire and the mother busies herself about with preparations for the evening meal. In the meantime, little Balu has wandered farther and farther away, gathering flowers, that leads her into the depths of the forest. The leopard is now between her and the friendly campfire. The father misses the child and calls, but she is too far away to hear. Balu now shows her own confusion, is evidently lost, but wildly wanders on. By the shifting light that comes through a clearing, she sees the mouth of a cave, which welcomes the weary one. The father and mother, thoroughly alarmed, have begun a search, but their knowledge of the locality avails them little. They return to their camp exhausted. In the interim, Balu, thoroughly tired out, enticed by the warmth of the cave, goes in, lies down and falls asleep. It is the leopard's den, but the cubs strangely do not resent her as an intruder. In fact, they lie all about her and her head is pillowed among them. In the morning she awakens and seems to sense danger in the presence of the mother leopard, but the great cat looks at her indifferently and does not attempt to harm her as she pets the kittens. The father and mother in their distant camp have found the child's apron, and conclude she has been carried away by the wild beasts. They have done all they can, so they sadly break camp and go on. Fifteen years intervene. Balu, a child of the forest, is now twenty-two years of age. She has been raised with the leopards, and is as wild and resourceful as the big felines themselves. Stanley, a young American, who is hunting in that neighborhood, comes on the scene accompanied by a party of native beaters. Night comes on and it shows the hunters making camp. The next morning they decide to separate, stalk game individually and report to Stanley, their chief. Stanley and his guide, Wamba, then go to another part of the jungle near Balu's cave. He dismounts and tells Wamba to hold his horse. He next walks forward and observes Balu, who is sitting near a pool. She sees him and springs away like a frightened deer. Stanley returns to Wamba and cautiously asks him if he has ever seen or heard of a white woman living in that locality. The latter looks at him in fear and terror, and says, "Yes, she is the Great White Spirit. If she looks upon you, you will die." On the rock ledge beyond the leopard's cave Balu is seen playing with the leopards, and after a time she tires of the game and goes down to the jungle pool to drink. Bold Stanley has concealed himself in the neighborhood, watching and waiting. Presently his patience is rewarded. Balu comes stealthily to the pool, leans over, drinks deeply and then rolls into the warm shadows and goes to sleep. Stanley, waiting until she is fast asleep, creeps toward her and slips a noose over her feet. His companion, Wamba, is almost paralyzed with fear at this action, but is forced to come in and help hold the struggling goddess, who drops divinity and breaks into savagery when she finds that she is bound. The natives, called upon by Wamba, look upon this act of indiscretion with horror, but they are forced to obey Stanley at the point of his rifle, so they bind the screaming Balu to the back of an elephant and carry her triumphantly back to their camp. Time passes quickly, and Stanley is now manifesting something more than a curious interest in his captive; in fact, love has come into his lonely life, and the wild girl has quickly become reincarnated with human emotions. He teaches her how to read and write as his hunters scour the country for game. His popularity, however, has not gone apace, and his capture of the White Spirit has prejudiced the natives against him. He is himself captured and threatened with death; in fact, is bound and placed upon the ledge of the leopards' cave. The natives have designed to leave him there helpless, a prey to the savage beasts. Balu comes upon the scene; the natives flee, then the leopards come, but they obey her every behest, and do not harm Stanley. The upshot of all this is that Stanley and Balu eventually find their way to the coast, and he brings her overseas to his own home where he purposes to make her his wife. A series of comedy scenes follow in which the girl from the wilds of Africa has strange experience getting accustomed to the garments and habits of civilization. Finally things come to a pass, so that the girl wearying of it all, dons her robe of leopard's skins, and paces her lonely room in anger and deep mortification. Stanley finds her there, and observing her pondering the great step, asks her if she will stay with him in the new life, or go back to the jungle. She sees a vision of herself back in the leopards' cave, and declares in favor of the new life, and the scene fades as she drifts into his arms.
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GenresDrama
Short
IMDbPro
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| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Francis J. Grandon | Director |
| Kathlyn Williams | Director |
| Maibelle Heikes Justice | Writer |
| Kathlyn Williams | Writer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Santschi | |
| Emma Bell Clifton | |
| Kathlyn Williams | |
| Baby Lillian Wade |
