The rather severe deterioration to the surviving print of this short drama makes it very hard to evaluate, especially since the key sequence shows some of the worst damage. The story in itself is melodramatic to the point of being implausible, and whatever dramatic value it may have had would likely have come from the sequence of the "Fireside Reminiscences".
The plot was adapted from a song that was popular at the time, which told of a man who lost his love over a misunderstanding. This movie version expands the story and makes the main characters married. After the conflict in the opening scene, the movie moves ahead to show the husband's sequence of memories as he sits by the fireplace. This is one of the sequences that has been badly damaged over time, so that only a few moments of footage are free of heavy blurring and other defects.
From the few frames that are still clear, it looks as if the reminiscence sequence was the result of some careful work, and it probably once looked very good for the era. If nothing else, it was clearly designed to pull at the viewer's emotions, and to make up for any implausibility in the main story line. The film-makers seem to have made good use of double exposures and the like, but unfortunately the results of their efforts have been too badly damaged by time for today's viewers to see what this movie was like originally.
The plot was adapted from a song that was popular at the time, which told of a man who lost his love over a misunderstanding. This movie version expands the story and makes the main characters married. After the conflict in the opening scene, the movie moves ahead to show the husband's sequence of memories as he sits by the fireplace. This is one of the sequences that has been badly damaged over time, so that only a few moments of footage are free of heavy blurring and other defects.
From the few frames that are still clear, it looks as if the reminiscence sequence was the result of some careful work, and it probably once looked very good for the era. If nothing else, it was clearly designed to pull at the viewer's emotions, and to make up for any implausibility in the main story line. The film-makers seem to have made good use of double exposures and the like, but unfortunately the results of their efforts have been too badly damaged by time for today's viewers to see what this movie was like originally.