text: ten nights in a bar room ( 1910 film ) ten nights in a bar room is a 1910 american silent short drama produced by the thanhouser company . adapted from the novel ten nights in a bar - room and what i saw there by timothy shay arthur , the production focuses on joe morgan after he has become a hopeless drunkard . often morgan 's young daughter , mary , comes to beg her father to return home . one day , she appears during a fight between the two men and is fatally struck by a bottle thrown by the saloon - keeper . before mary dies she asks her father to promise to swear off alcohol and he accepts . he is reformed and becomes successful , while the saloon - keeper is killed in a fight in an irony of fate . the film was released on november 4 , 1910 and met with mixed reviews . the film is presumed lost . plot the work was an adaptation of timothy shay arthur 's novel ten nights in a bar - room and what i saw there . the moving picture world synopsis states : " despite the fact that he is a loving husband and father , joe morgan ruins his life by his fondness for drink and finally becomes a seemingly hopeless drunkard . he spends his time and money in the saloon kept by slade , the man who took away joe 's mill and largely caused his financial ruin . slade 's saloon , when he first opened it , was well furnished , the landlord courteous and well groomed , and the customers happy and seemingly unaffected by their surroundings . but as time passed , a change for the worse was noted in everything . probably this escaped joe 's notice , for a sharp shot , indeed , was needed to reform him . that shock came . joe 's only daughter , mary , was in the habit of going to the saloon and urging her father to come home . she knew that no matter how intoxicated he might be , he would never harm her . but one evening when she appeared her father and slade had been quarreling , and the saloonkeeper threw a bottle at morgan , who dodged . the missile struck the child , entering . the blow resulted fatally , but before mary died , she extracted a promise from her grief - stricken father that he would never drink again , a promise which he ever - afterward kept . in later years joe became wealthy and respected , and influenced by the thought of his daughter in heaven he kept in the straight and narrow path . the saloon keeper who killed mary was never punished by the law - but through the irony of fate his taking off was much like that of joe morgan 's helpless child . " cast frank h. crane as joe morgan marie eline as little mary production the production was based on ten nights in a bar - room and what i saw there by timothy shay arthur . the plot focused on the dangers of alcoholism and the downfall of those taken in by its effects . in the 1850s , sales of the novel were second only to harriet beecher stowe 's uncle tom 's cabin . the production was adapted for the stage in 1858 and while it did not perform well on broadway , it proved to be a lasting success . dozens of productions would cross the united states for the next sixty years and the play proved to be a major influence on the temperance movement , resulting in the passage of temperance laws . it is likely that the writer of the scenario was lloyd lonergan . the film director is unknown , but it may have been barry o 'neil or lucius j. henderson . cameramen employed by the company during this era included blair smith , carl louis gregory , and alfred h. moses , jr. though none are specifically credited . the role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions . only the roles of frank h. crane and marie eline are known . the other cast credits are unknown , but many 1910 thanhouser productions are fragmentary . in late 1910 , the thanhouser company released a list of the important personalities in their films . the list includes g.w. abbe , justus d. barnes , frank h. crane , irene crane , marie eline , violet heming , martin j. faust , thomas fortune , george middleton , grace moore , john w. noble , anna rosemond , mrs. george walters . release and reception the single reel drama , approximately 1 , 000 feet long , was released on november 4 , 1910 . the film was released outside of the planned order due to a scheduling conflict . originally the american and the queen was planned to be released on this date , but it was instead pushed back to november 11 . the film received mixed reviews from critics , h. of the moving picture news stated that the costuming and lace curtains on the windows of the home betrayed the supposed poverty of the morgan family . walton , also of the moving picture news , stated , " this title would be completely misunderstood by the majority of moving picture show attendants . some sporadic ' reformer ' who does not know the original and who has never seen the film will fill ' space ' on the iniquity of moving pictures founded on this title . if he did see the film it has not the necessary power to grapple with the terrible reality of a too common incident in daily life . " the new york dramatic mirror was more picky in its wording and praise , stating : " it was to be supposed that some company would finally present this familiar drama in pictorial form , and a reviewer must feel glad that it is over , for the film doesn 't materially exalt the level of film output . " the review found the acting to be good , but found fault in the shadows of the actors fell towards a lamp instead of away from it . the new york dramatic mirror was not a neutral party for reviews and took a shot at the thanhouser company by running an article that stated : " the selig company announces the production of ten nights in a bar room will not be confined to one reel , but will be given all the film that it requires for proper production . this departure from the restrictive limit of 1 , 000 feet gives promise that the drama will have adequate treatment . " bowers states that the paper " was acting the role of a spoiler , for the selig version was not released until a half year later , in june 1911 , and , except for spite , there was no reason to mention it now . " thomas s. hischak , author of american literature on stage and screen : 525 works and their adaptations , claims that the thanhouser production is the earliest known film adaptation of the novel . this is an error because lubin would produce an adaptation , 700 feet in length , by october 1903 .