A madman adopts the daughter of the dead woman who rejected him and forces her to marry a crook.A madman adopts the daughter of the dead woman who rejected him and forces her to marry a crook.A madman adopts the daughter of the dead woman who rejected him and forces her to marry a crook.
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- ConnectionsFeatured in Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (1995)
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Who Says Hepworth Made Primitive Films?
This is one of the rarely seen features produced and directed by Hepworth in the 1920s. It puts to the lie the claim that his later work, like the short subjects he produced during the War years, was primitive. It's a rural melodrama about how James Carew is rejected by the woman he loves. When she dies with her infant daughter in her arms, he agrees to adopt her, but decides on revenge. When the child grows up to be Alma Taylor, he drives away George Dewhurst, whom she loves, and tricks her into marrying cruel John MacAndrews, all to punish a dead woman.
Now, normally, at this point in the story, I would raise my eyebrows and wander off. I can see holding a grudge for a few decades, but I can't see many people devoting their lives to it. However, given the level of acting, the details of the storytelling, and the overall excellence of the camerawork -- a lot of the movie is shot outdoors in beautifully verdant, mountainous country -- the fate of the unhappy Miss Taylor held my attention for the full movie.
Given this level of movie-making, what happened to Hepworth? I suspect the 1920s. In the Post-War era, the capital to modernize and keep up with the American film makers wasn't available; and the taste for this sort of bucolic story lost the public attention. People didn't want to see rustic maids, they wanted to see flappers, and Hepworth, like D.W. Griffith in America, lost his way.
If, however, you have a taste for this sort of story, or you wish to see if all the "experts" who claim that the British couldn't make good films in the silent era were right -- they weren't -- this is one for you.
Now, normally, at this point in the story, I would raise my eyebrows and wander off. I can see holding a grudge for a few decades, but I can't see many people devoting their lives to it. However, given the level of acting, the details of the storytelling, and the overall excellence of the camerawork -- a lot of the movie is shot outdoors in beautifully verdant, mountainous country -- the fate of the unhappy Miss Taylor held my attention for the full movie.
Given this level of movie-making, what happened to Hepworth? I suspect the 1920s. In the Post-War era, the capital to modernize and keep up with the American film makers wasn't available; and the taste for this sort of bucolic story lost the public attention. People didn't want to see rustic maids, they wanted to see flappers, and Hepworth, like D.W. Griffith in America, lost his way.
If, however, you have a taste for this sort of story, or you wish to see if all the "experts" who claim that the British couldn't make good films in the silent era were right -- they weren't -- this is one for you.
helpful•10
- boblipton
- Feb 8, 2018
Details
- Runtime1 hour 4 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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