SYNOPSIS: A trapeze artist (Dolores Costello), marries a wealthy playboy (Jason Robards) despite opposition from the lad's father (David Torrence) who hires the lover (Rockliffe Fellowes) of the girl's mother (Louise Dresser) to bring the marriage to an end.
NOTES: Curtiz's first American film and the first time he used the now commonly accepted spelling of his surname. This film has been preserved by the American Film Institute. Remake of a 1919 Vitagraph film directed by Tom Terriss, starring Alice Joyce. The stage play opened at the Hudson on Broadway on 1 February 1909 and ran a satisfactory 168 performances. Author Klein himself directed Edmund Breese, Helen Ware and Wallace Eddinger. The producer was Henry B. Harris.
COMMENT: If the screenwriter had stayed with the theme of the original play (namely a murder confession forced from an innocent man by police brutality), far more satisfactory screen entertainment may well have emerged. Instead we have a rather turgid melodrama. True, the circus setting does provide Curtiz with some characteristic opportunities for bravura visuals.
However, despite Curtiz's successes with the staging and the camera, his handling of the players is heavy-handed. Fortunately the pace is fast, the film editing -- certainly in the climactic reel - sharply inventive.
NOTES: Curtiz's first American film and the first time he used the now commonly accepted spelling of his surname. This film has been preserved by the American Film Institute. Remake of a 1919 Vitagraph film directed by Tom Terriss, starring Alice Joyce. The stage play opened at the Hudson on Broadway on 1 February 1909 and ran a satisfactory 168 performances. Author Klein himself directed Edmund Breese, Helen Ware and Wallace Eddinger. The producer was Henry B. Harris.
COMMENT: If the screenwriter had stayed with the theme of the original play (namely a murder confession forced from an innocent man by police brutality), far more satisfactory screen entertainment may well have emerged. Instead we have a rather turgid melodrama. True, the circus setting does provide Curtiz with some characteristic opportunities for bravura visuals.
However, despite Curtiz's successes with the staging and the camera, his handling of the players is heavy-handed. Fortunately the pace is fast, the film editing -- certainly in the climactic reel - sharply inventive.