For His Son (1912)

A father, anxious for his son's financial well being, develops a special soda pop called Dopokoke which is laced with cocaine. Dopokoke is advertised as relief "for that tired feeling." The... See full summary »

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

Emmett C. Hall

Stars:

Charles Hill Mailes, Charles West, Blanche Sweet

Cast

Credited cast:
Charles Hill Mailes	...	The Father, a Physician
Charles West	...	The Son
Blanche Sweet	...	The Son's Fiancée
Dorothy Bernard	...	The Secretary
Alfred Paget	...	Office Clerk
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Bechtel	...	In Office
Christy Cabanne	...	One of the Son's Friends / At Soda Fountain (as W. Christy Cabanne)
Edward Dillon	...	At Soda Fountain
Edna Foster	...	At Soda Fountain
Robert Harron	...	At Soda Fountain
Dell Henderson	...	In Office
Grace Henderson	...	The Landlady
Harry Hyde	...	One of the Son's Friends
J. Jiquel Lanoe	...	At Soda Fountain
Gus Pixley	...	At Soda Fountain

Storyline

A father, anxious for his son's financial well being, develops a special soda pop called Dopokoke which is laced with cocaine. Dopokoke is advertised as relief "for that tired feeling." The drink is a success, but the son becomes addicted to it, much to his father's regret. Loosely based on the allegations that the Coca-Cola company and other soft drink manufacturers laced their soda with dope.

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Plot Keywords:

father son relationship | drug addiction | drugs | drug addict | cola

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1912 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pour son fils

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

"The awful result of criminal selfishness"

One of the more bizarre entries in the DW Griffith canon, For His Son is a moralist, social-evil cause-and-effect cautionary tale, in a similar vein to 1909's What Drink Did?, although not quite so ridiculous as that earlier film, and certainly far more skilfully made. It attempts to draw a line from the spoiling of greedy children to drug addiction, and ends up as an only moderately entertaining social drama.

Despite its odd subject matter, by 1912 there really was no longer such a thing as a bad Griffith picture, because by now he had his method honed down to an effective formula – particularly in the composition within the frame, and the ordering of shots. He favours, perhaps a bit too much here, shots with a figure seated in a chair in the screen-left foreground, balanced with something like a bookshelf or a doorway on screen-right. In fact many of the shots tend to look a little too samey, although this does emphasise a common thread, and creates a more distinct contrast in the very differently arranged bar set.

What makes For His Son in one respect stronger than an earlier "issue" film, What Shall We Do with Our Old?, and more reminiscent of the incredible Corner in Wheat, is that it uses cross-cutting to contrast the personal experience with the social. So we see customers in a bar flocking to buy the new drink, and then cut to the established characters succumbing to addiction. It's a very effective way to get a message across. Where For His Son loses points however is in the hammy acting performances, the general silliness of its subject matter, and the fact that in spite of these flaws it takes itself absolutely seriously.