Tol'able David (1921)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Joseph Hergesheimer (novel) and
Edmund Goulding (writer)

Release Date:

31 December 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Shooting | Death | Assault | Americana | Animal Killing

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Richard Barthelmess	...	David Kinemon
Gladys Hulette	...	Esther Hatburn
Walter P. Lewis	...	Iscah Hatburn
Ernest Torrence	...	Luke Hatburn
Ralph Yearsley	...	Saul 'Little Buzzard' Hatburn
Forrest Robinson	...	Grandpa Hatburn
Laurence Eddinger	...	Sen. John Gault
Edmund Gurney	...	Hunter Kinemon
Warner Richmond	...	Allen Kinemon
Marion Abbott	...	Mother Kinemon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patterson Dial	...	Rose Kinemon
Henry Hallam	...	The doctor
Lassie	...	Herself (a dog)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:17 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Staunton, Virginia, USA

Company:

Inspiration Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Girl Shy (1924)

David Battles Goliath in Blue Grass, Virginia

Although it starts off seemingly on the wrong foot with one of my favorite heroes, Richard Barthelmess, forced to take part in some embarrassingly farcical scenes with a rain barrel, the movie soon settles down into high drama once the Hatburns come to roost at a neighboring farm. A vicious threesome, ostensibly led by Walter P. Lewis, the Hatburns are in fact dominated by a towering sadist, unforgettably played by hulking Ernest Torrence.

Although director Henry King does a lot of admirable scene setting with both his well-chosen locations and his hand-picked cast, this is a movie in which the minor players are just that: Minor! All play their parts most convincingly, but only Marion Abbott makes a lasting impression. Otherwise, this is strictly (as the script itself makes plain), a David versus Goliath confrontation. Even the sweet little heroine is relegated to the background once the action really starts. But that is all to the good, as that climactic fight-to-the-finish still packs a wallop that is unmatched in the cinema.