The Crystal Film Company began releasing its own films through the Universal Film Manufacturing Company on October 6, 1912. Its first release was a split reel comprising the comedies The Girl in the Next Room and The Man from the North Pole. Crystal initially followed a weekly release schedule, generally issuing two short comedies together on a single reel.
The first-listed subject in each of Crystal's documented 1912 programs featured Pearl White and forms part of the series catalogued as the “Pearl White Crystal Comedies.” Contemporary issues of The Moving Picture News published descriptions of most of the films. Condensed synopses are included below to document the contents of these early short subjects. The two films grouped under each release date were issued together on one split reel.
Films
1912
Release date Title Synopsis October 6, 1912 The Girl in the Next Room The Man from the North Pole October 13, 1912 Her Dressmaker's Bill An extravagant wife is frightened into reform when her husband disguises himself as a constable and arranges for two supposed bailiffs to seize her wardrobe. His joke backfires when he discovers that his own new dress suit was taken with her clothes. McQuirk the Sleuth After joining a fraudulent detective agency, McQuirk mistakes a young man's planned elopement for criminal activity. The bride's father captures McQuirk and accuses him of abducting her. October 20, 1912 Bella's Beaux Bella flirts with Percy in the hope of provoking the bashful John into declaring his love. When Percy becomes a nuisance, she hires a tough to frighten him away, but John learns of the scheme and arranges to appear as Bella's heroic rescuer. The Only Woman in Town Two men compete for the hand of a widowed restaurant owner. After one suitor tricks her into rejecting the other, he marries her expecting an easy life, only to be put to work as a waiter and porter. October 27, 1912 A Pair of Fools Two friends secretly compete for the attention of Pearl, a visitor at a Western hotel. After driving away a traveling salesman whom she favors, each man tries to resume his courtship, but Pearl rejects them both and returns to the salesman. The Blonde Lady When Mabel's father plans to confront her unwanted suitor, George disguises himself as a blonde woman and meets the father at a restaurant. George later threatens to expose the father's flirtation unless he consents to the marriage. November 3, 1912 Oh, Such a Night! Marriage a la Carte November 10, 1912 The Gypsy Flirt After Mabel sees Chester kissing Carlotta, a Romani woman, she pays Carlotta's companion Pedro to court her in front of Chester. The attempted lesson produces a fight between both couples before Pedro explains the deception. Man Wanted A traveling salesman finds a letter sent by a matrimonial agency and is mistaken for the prospective husband of an older woman. When the actual applicant arrives and is exposed as a bigamist, the police initially arrest both men before the salesman's identity is established. November 17, 1912 The Chorus Girl A doctor's wife finds a card apparently inviting her husband to a chorus girls' ball and attends in disguise. After an automobile accident, she is taken to a friend's house, where the doctor discovers her dancing with his unsuspecting friend before the misunderstanding is resolved. Her Old Love A married woman's former sweetheart returns from military service and surprises her at home. When her mother-in-law mistakes their greeting for evidence of an affair, a succession of hiding places and mistaken identities ends with the former suitor escaping through a window. November 24, 1912 The Quarrel A newly married couple quarrels during a poker game. Their friend disguises himself as a burglar and forces them to embrace before tying them together, but the arriving police accuse the couple of having staged the disturbance themselves. The Valet and the Maid A valet wearing his employer's clothes and a maid posing in her mistress's finery each mistakes the other for a wealthy member of society. Their pretenses collapse when they encounter their employers at a restaurant and later meet again in their ordinary roles. December 1, 1912 Locked Out A husband returning with medicine for his sick wife discovers that he has left his keys inside and is arrested while trying to enter through a window. His wife then locks herself out and is arrested in the same manner before a reporter confirms their identities. A Picnic in Dakota During a woodland outing, Kate exchanges clothes with a Native American woman as a practical joke. Their companions mistake each woman for the other, producing two confused pursuits before the women exchange their clothing again. December 8, 1912 A Tangled Marriage Chester must marry before the end of the day to receive an inheritance and persuades Pearl to reconcile with him. An escaped prisoner impersonates the minister and performs an invalid ceremony, leaving the real minister only a minute to marry the couple legally. The Black Prince A Black domestic worker employed by a fortune teller is mistaken for a wealthy visiting Indian prince when he falls asleep while wearing his employer's robes. After he is welcomed into a household and courts its daughter, his wife arrives and reveals his identity. December 15, 1912 The Mind Cure A professor tries to cure his flirtatious daughter Pearl of her interest in men through hypnosis, but she only pretends to be affected. When the professor treats her favored suitor for bashfulness, the newly emboldened young man elopes with her. Oh! That Lemonade After a widow inherits a fortune, numerous men begin courting her. A drunken practical joker spikes the lemonade served to her suitors, drives them from the house and presents himself to the widow as her rescuer. December 22, 1912 His Wife's Stratagem Pearl takes a position in the office of the uncle who dismissed her husband Chester for marrying without permission. After allowing the uncle to court her, she reveals that she is Chester's wife, but the offended uncle retaliates by announcing that he will leave his fortune to charity. Mixed Bottles A poet attempts to stop his maid from drinking his whiskey by transferring it into a bottle marked as carbolic acid and filling the whiskey bottle with crude oil. A series of accidental drinks sickens the poet, the maid and a policeman while ending the poet's romantic prospects. December 29, 1912 Her Visitor A highwayman robs Claude Belmont and visits the Burnham home in his place, where he steals Pearl's purse. When the disheveled Belmont arrives, Pearl mistakes him for the thief until her father returns and identifies him. The Elopement A father prevents his daughter Bessie from eloping by chasing away her suitor and then disguising himself as Bessie. He accompanies the suitor's friend to the minister's house before revealing the deception as the ceremony is about to begin.
1913
Crystal continued its weekly Sunday release of two comedies on a single split reel during the first five months of 1913. On May 27, the company expanded its output with Where Charity Begins, its first one-reel production and the beginning of a series of one-reel dramas released each Tuesday. The Sunday split-reel comedies continued alongside the new dramatic series.