| The Gibson Goddess | |
| Director: | D. W. Griffith |
| Producer: | American Mutoscope and Biograph Company |
| Starring: | Marion Leonard |
| Cinematography: | Billy Bitzer |
| Distributor: | Biograph Company |
| Runtime: | 6 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Silent |
The Gibson Goddess is a 1909 short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith.[1] It stars Marion Leonard.[2] [3] [4]
“Oh! Why do they call me the Gibson Girl?” These lines of a popular song were uttered with a sigh by the heroine of this Biograph comedy, for beauty is sometimes an annoying possession. Nanette Renfrae, after an arduous season of society’s whirl, decides to spend a quiet Summer at a secluded seaside resort. Te place selected is one frequented by the middle class, where she feels she will he free from the tormenting attentions of the male sex that her beauty has induced in the past. She arrives without ostentation accompanied only by her maid, but her extreme pulchritude and graceful bearing soon enraptured the male contingent of the place to the jealous rage of the other women folks who find themselves deserted. She cannot stir but what there is a score of admirers present. A walk on the beach, a stroll through the park is invariably attended by a regiment of gallants, until to her they become positive pests, is destined to pass time in the seclusion of her room. The maid, however, is ingenious and suggests a, new way to get rid of the troublesome pests. She attires her mistress in a bathing suit and puts on her a hideous pair of stockings line with raw cotton, which gives her a Gargantuan appearance, at least as to her nethers. Of course, the persistent tormenters flee in a panic when they behold; but, you know “one but the brave deserve the fair,” and Commodore Fitzmorris sticks, thereby making a decided impression upon Nanette. You may imagine the chagrin of the others when they learn of the hoax. Fitzie is now the favoured one. As for the others, they are a disgruntled bunch, for the other girls, slighted before, turn cold shoulders on them.[5]