Five stars. I'm being generous. But that's all I can muster for a film in
which the only thing I can find that's praise-worthy is the acting of a white
guy in black-face. Because, other than Wilfred Lucas's performance, this is
just ghastly. The rest of the "acting" is rubbish, even for silent-era
acting. The story is dreadful, from any sort of ethical standpoint. It
doesn't even have the cool pyrotechnics that His Trust did. It's just a tale
of a man who sacrifices everything he has for the daughter of his former
owners. Who doesn't understand this, and who views him as something like a
family pet.
Something I've noticed, while watching this collection of Griffith's Civil War shorts, is that they were made before he had figured out that it's better not to break the line. These films are full of scenes in which someone approaches the door of a house, coming from (say) the left, and is then seen entering the house on the right. I've seen enough of Griffith's work that I can see the patterns of the evolution of film-making craft. This is one it looks like he didn't figure out until after 1911. But, unless you are really interested in watching that sort of technical evolution take place, you can take a pass on this one. 7 February 2025.
Something I've noticed, while watching this collection of Griffith's Civil War shorts, is that they were made before he had figured out that it's better not to break the line. These films are full of scenes in which someone approaches the door of a house, coming from (say) the left, and is then seen entering the house on the right. I've seen enough of Griffith's work that I can see the patterns of the evolution of film-making craft. This is one it looks like he didn't figure out until after 1911. But, unless you are really interested in watching that sort of technical evolution take place, you can take a pass on this one. 7 February 2025.