Lon Chaney is dealt the wrong card in Wallace Worsley's Ace of Hearts,an Anti-Red thriller written by Govuenor Morris who scripted the brilliant film 'The Penalty'. It's tough to really say what is wrong with Ace of Hearts other than the fact it has interesting set-ups but doesn't go through with them. The movie screams it's subject matter of the Red scare to the viewers but this society never lets it's plans be known to the audience. The pieces are there and we are able to put a loose version of their grand scheme together in our mind but it just doesn't work. I wanted to know what these people were up to and why Chaney, John Bowers, and Leatrice Joy believed in this cause. It is kind of a let down to see these characters as stereotypical looking Communists with unkempt goatees. Chaney's character Farallone is one of the most poorly developed he ever played. I imagine that on the shooting script there was next to nothing written in terms of character description. With a few rewrites the picture could have eliminated him entirely and just had Bowers but Lon is able to make this character interesting and compelling and that is a testament to his great skill.
There are no small parts, just small actors. Lon Chaney was as large as they come. Farallone is given depth which he really doesn't deserve. Chaney plays him as a desperately lonely man trying to fill his life with this cause and who wants to win the love of Leatrice Joy's character Lilith. He could have been a stern and unwelcoming but Chaney doesn't play him as that. He is hopelessly shy and can never love but from a far. Unrequited love is the glue that held Chaney's career together but each character who experienced it is never the same as the one before. Farallone is a tragic being and in looking at the picture even in this silly Anti-Red scenario he is very human.
Wallace Worsley offers fine direction to the picture. He is able to establish the mood of the secret meetings pitch perfectly and utilizes the camera to build tension in ways you all most don't expect from an early movie. I think he complimented Chaney quite well in the pictures they worked together on. The Penalty and Hunchback are obviously two of his finest works but Ace cannot be completely ignored. The scenes in the rain and where Farallone waits the night on the stairs with the dog are exceptional.
Again the thing that brings this movie down is the lack of information we get about this secret society. I realize that the studio was skating on thin ice with the sensors but they can't just give us a plot about a secret society and have undertones about the ways of ancestors without giving us the full picture. These characters have strong beliefs to this cause but we don't know what the cause is and thus the characters are somewhat weakened.
There are no small parts, just small actors. Lon Chaney was as large as they come. Farallone is given depth which he really doesn't deserve. Chaney plays him as a desperately lonely man trying to fill his life with this cause and who wants to win the love of Leatrice Joy's character Lilith. He could have been a stern and unwelcoming but Chaney doesn't play him as that. He is hopelessly shy and can never love but from a far. Unrequited love is the glue that held Chaney's career together but each character who experienced it is never the same as the one before. Farallone is a tragic being and in looking at the picture even in this silly Anti-Red scenario he is very human.
Wallace Worsley offers fine direction to the picture. He is able to establish the mood of the secret meetings pitch perfectly and utilizes the camera to build tension in ways you all most don't expect from an early movie. I think he complimented Chaney quite well in the pictures they worked together on. The Penalty and Hunchback are obviously two of his finest works but Ace cannot be completely ignored. The scenes in the rain and where Farallone waits the night on the stairs with the dog are exceptional.
Again the thing that brings this movie down is the lack of information we get about this secret society. I realize that the studio was skating on thin ice with the sensors but they can't just give us a plot about a secret society and have undertones about the ways of ancestors without giving us the full picture. These characters have strong beliefs to this cause but we don't know what the cause is and thus the characters are somewhat weakened.