The Adventures of Ruth
1919 film by George Marshall
The Adventures of Ruth is a 1919 American film serial directed by George Marshall. It is now considered to be a lost film. The serial was advertised as written, produced and directed by Ruth Roland. Roland was the producer, but it was written by Gilson Willets and directed by George Marshall.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Daniel Robin has become mixed up with a band of criminals known as "the 13," and is shot when he refuses to do their bidding. His daughter Ruth, brought home from boarding school, reaches his bedside before he expires. He tells her that she will be given thirteen keys. Instructions will be provided with each key and, if she follows the instructions, she will eventually fully learn of her birthright. Many adventures then follow as Ruth attempts to solve the puzzle of each key and establish her true birthright.
“The Adventures of Ruth” enters the record as 1919 film by George Marshall. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Adventures, Ruth and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The Adventures of Ruth” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Adventures, Ruth and film provides the most credible route into that argument.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q10381140. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1919.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Adventures of Ruth”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Adventures of Ruth primary sources, The Adventures of Ruth archive and Adventures research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Adventures of Ruth”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Adventures of Ruth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.