Matrimony's Speed Limit
Encyclopedia
Matrimony's Speed Limit is a 1913 silent
comedy
short film produced and directed by pioneering female film maker Alice Guy-Blaché
.
The story concerns a young man (Fraunie Fraunholz) who refuses to accept financial assistance from his wealthy girlfriend (Marian Swayne) in favor of earning his own fortune on the stock market
. She concocts a plan to convince him that he will collect an inheritance
from a wealthy aunt if he marries before noon. While he desperately proposes to every female he meets, she is trying to reach him before he finds a girl who will say "yes". With only minutes to go before the deadline expires, he gives up his search and intends to commit suicide
under the wheels of the next passing car. However, the vehicle contains both his fiancee and a minister, who marries them on the spot.
One of only two of Guy-Blaché's films to survive out of her ouvre of more than 300, its preservation was initially financed by the Women's Film Preservation Fund upon its inauguration in 1995. Subsequently, it was selected to the National Film Registry
by the Librarian of Congress in 2003.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
short film produced and directed by pioneering female film maker Alice Guy-Blaché
Alice Guy-Blaché
Alice Guy-Blaché was a French pioneer filmmaker who was the first female director in the motion picture industry and is considered to be one of the first directors of a fiction film.-Early years:...
.
The story concerns a young man (Fraunie Fraunholz) who refuses to accept financial assistance from his wealthy girlfriend (Marian Swayne) in favor of earning his own fortune on the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
. She concocts a plan to convince him that he will collect an inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
from a wealthy aunt if he marries before noon. While he desperately proposes to every female he meets, she is trying to reach him before he finds a girl who will say "yes". With only minutes to go before the deadline expires, he gives up his search and intends to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
under the wheels of the next passing car. However, the vehicle contains both his fiancee and a minister, who marries them on the spot.
One of only two of Guy-Blaché's films to survive out of her ouvre of more than 300, its preservation was initially financed by the Women's Film Preservation Fund upon its inauguration in 1995. Subsequently, it was selected to the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Librarian of Congress in 2003.