It starts out with Lionel Atwill the co-owner of a steel mill where he eats lunchbox meals with the puddlers. Partner Jameson Thomas steals his wife and tries to have Atwill killed, but 'only' cripples him. He wanders the country in a wheelchair, and with the help of blind accordionist Henry B. Walthall, organizes the handicapped beggars into a huge self-help organization, to take over his company and gain his revenge.
It's a fine performance by Atwill, and a beautiful print to watch it on. There are several peculiarities about the film that make me think that the novel it was based on, by Esther Lynd Day, was far more polemical than the movie, and that extensive swaths and subplots were trimmed by editor Jack Ogilvie. Instead, we have sequences of motionlessness centered around Atwill that made me stare.... but from which I could garner nothing.
Even so, the essentially bizarre story kept me interested through the end, as did Atwill's calm and thoughtful performance. Plus any chance to see Walthall in a significant role is a treat for me. With Betty Furness, Astrid Allwyn, and a clean-shaven Gabby Hayes with his teeth in.
It's a fine performance by Atwill, and a beautiful print to watch it on. There are several peculiarities about the film that make me think that the novel it was based on, by Esther Lynd Day, was far more polemical than the movie, and that extensive swaths and subplots were trimmed by editor Jack Ogilvie. Instead, we have sequences of motionlessness centered around Atwill that made me stare.... but from which I could garner nothing.
Even so, the essentially bizarre story kept me interested through the end, as did Atwill's calm and thoughtful performance. Plus any chance to see Walthall in a significant role is a treat for me. With Betty Furness, Astrid Allwyn, and a clean-shaven Gabby Hayes with his teeth in.