The most carefully prepared scenario will fail without talented production. Director Oscar Eagle has excelled all his former efforts in this fine war drama. Mr. Eagle has handled the large masses of men in the opposing armies with great skill and effectiveness. There is no sign of the "tin'' soldier here. The men were crack companies from the Illinois National Guard infantry, and troopers from the same source. The batteries were composed of ten pieces of artillery, and they were handled in the production with the skill and dash of veteran service. Indeed, the evolutions of the men, and the fine soldierly bearing of the officers throughout, impress us with all the realism of grim war itself. The selection of Miss Winnifred Greenwood, leading woman of Selig's Eastern stock company, for the titular role was very happy, in more ways than one. In the first place. Miss Greenwood absolutely loses herself in Pauline Cushman. One is fascinated by her daring, her coolness amid danger, and the swiftness and cautiousness of her movements. Not once is there displayed a sign of self-consciousness. That interview with the Confederate officers, in the hotel lobby, Louisville, is just as natural as if the Union spy herself were present. The scene in Wood's theater. Louisville, where Pauline toasts the Confederacy, and throws the dregs in her wine glass on the Stars and Stripes, is positively thrilling. And here, by the way, Director Eagle is given a hearty hand-shake for a magnificent interior scene, which shows most of the audience seated in the theater and also a good view of the stage. The excitement following the toast shows up finely on the screen, as the spirited contest on the stage between Copperheads and loyal Unionists is the real thing, and has been excellently worked up. Miss Greenwood looks well on horseback, and her dashing "get- aways" in the saddle, as Pauline Cushman, are full of spirit and create, enthusiasm. Good photography marks the production, which consists of two reels. – The Moving Picture World, March 22, 1913
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