This one reel drama produced by Vitagraph in 1914 is a study of an excellent story, excellent actors (with one or two miscast- more on that in a sec), good sets, but an absolutely terrible director.
Let's start with the positives. Norma Talmadge is as lovely as ever, and her acting, while a little broad, carries most of the film. The story itself has its heart in the right place, addressing an issue very much so prevalent in society in 1914, but that's where the good ends and the bad begins. Whoever directed this utterly botched it in execution. Truth be told, there were moments that were supposed to be serious that came off as comical. One minute, Norma tells her uncle to "go on with the show" while she waits for her horse to get better; the next title card reads, "Your horse has died miss." I literally laughed out loud at the meme-like quality of it all. Another title card (I understand that when viewed through my modern eyes it comes off differently, and that it might have hit audiences in the day differently) reads, "You have married a woman who has worn tights". Oh the melodramatic horror! How dare he!
The second aspect of this film that the director messed up is the pacing. Listen, I realize that he only had about ten minutes to cram in this story, but there were unnecessary scenes through out the film. While are important, they aren't integral to the storyline, and with such a short time slot, the director could have utilized the time he had better. For one, there were too many scenes in the first few scenes introducing us to Dorothy Lamarre, a society woman who the leading man was expected to marry. if this was a feature film, by all means introduce her and spend a few minutes on her character. But that was precious time being wasted. In the end, Lamarre is a character who never shows up again, has no more relevance to the plot, and is essentially a time vacuum. While other scenes, most notably *any and all* courting scenes between Leo Delaney's Walter and Norma are completely missing. One second they've just met, the next they're married. it takes a second for the audience to realize that too.
Speaking of the leading man, that is our third strike against the director. Leo Delaney, playing Walter Grey, is just too old for his part. It's obvious that the script called for a sort of handsome almost Douglas Fairbanks type swashbuckling young'un, but we're given Leo Delaney, who is well into his 40's, and would die but 6 years after "Sawdust and Salome" was produced. I wish the casting folks at Vitagraph went with someone else who was younger. Additionally, Walter is supposed to carry the audience's rapport and attention alongside Norma, but Leo Delany is just plain average. He wasn't good, but wasn't bad, he simply was there.
All in all, I would give this film a 6 out of 10. I know, I more or less just nit picked and found every single flaw with this little one reeler but it has heart and Norma Talmadge shines throughout. A decent film if watched without reading into it too much. Masterpiece it isn't, but its fun, and shows how society has changed since 1914.
Let's start with the positives. Norma Talmadge is as lovely as ever, and her acting, while a little broad, carries most of the film. The story itself has its heart in the right place, addressing an issue very much so prevalent in society in 1914, but that's where the good ends and the bad begins. Whoever directed this utterly botched it in execution. Truth be told, there were moments that were supposed to be serious that came off as comical. One minute, Norma tells her uncle to "go on with the show" while she waits for her horse to get better; the next title card reads, "Your horse has died miss." I literally laughed out loud at the meme-like quality of it all. Another title card (I understand that when viewed through my modern eyes it comes off differently, and that it might have hit audiences in the day differently) reads, "You have married a woman who has worn tights". Oh the melodramatic horror! How dare he!
The second aspect of this film that the director messed up is the pacing. Listen, I realize that he only had about ten minutes to cram in this story, but there were unnecessary scenes through out the film. While are important, they aren't integral to the storyline, and with such a short time slot, the director could have utilized the time he had better. For one, there were too many scenes in the first few scenes introducing us to Dorothy Lamarre, a society woman who the leading man was expected to marry. if this was a feature film, by all means introduce her and spend a few minutes on her character. But that was precious time being wasted. In the end, Lamarre is a character who never shows up again, has no more relevance to the plot, and is essentially a time vacuum. While other scenes, most notably *any and all* courting scenes between Leo Delaney's Walter and Norma are completely missing. One second they've just met, the next they're married. it takes a second for the audience to realize that too.
Speaking of the leading man, that is our third strike against the director. Leo Delaney, playing Walter Grey, is just too old for his part. It's obvious that the script called for a sort of handsome almost Douglas Fairbanks type swashbuckling young'un, but we're given Leo Delaney, who is well into his 40's, and would die but 6 years after "Sawdust and Salome" was produced. I wish the casting folks at Vitagraph went with someone else who was younger. Additionally, Walter is supposed to carry the audience's rapport and attention alongside Norma, but Leo Delany is just plain average. He wasn't good, but wasn't bad, he simply was there.
All in all, I would give this film a 6 out of 10. I know, I more or less just nit picked and found every single flaw with this little one reeler but it has heart and Norma Talmadge shines throughout. A decent film if watched without reading into it too much. Masterpiece it isn't, but its fun, and shows how society has changed since 1914.
