Maude Muller (1909)

Synopsis
From the Essanay film factory of Chicago, Illinois came the one-reel domestic drama Maude Miller. The film's storyline was based on a popular poem of the era, which presumably was well known to most of the viewers. For those not familiar with the source material, the Essanay people helpfully inserted subtitled quotes from the poem preceding each new scene. It was a technique "borrowed" from D.W. Griffith's Pippa Passes -- and, from all accounts, it was most successful. Incidentally, the "S" and "A" in Essanay stood for George Spoor and G. M. Anderson, the latter best known as cowboy star "Broncho Billy". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide