Modern Prodigal, The (1910)
*** (out of 4)
Winning drama from Griffith has him doing what he does best and that's telling two separate stories and then bringing them together. We see a convict (Guy Hedlund) breaking free from jail but being too ashamed to go to his mother's house. We then see a protective father (George Nichols) walking with his son (Jack Pickford). Away from his father, the boy goes swimming with some friends but drowns only to be saved and brought back to life by the convict. All is well except the boy's father happens to be the Sheriff who then has a decision to make. The story here isn't anything overly special but fans of early cinema and Griffith will certainly find plenty here to enjoy. Once again the best stuff is seeing Griffith handle both stories and how he edits them together to really bring the story to life (or at least a lot better than your typical 1910 film). I think Griffith spent the perfect amount of time to both stories before bringing them together and the actual chase of the convict has some nice drama as well. Hedlund, Nichols and Pickford are all good in their roles as is Kate Bruce as the boy's mother. Griffith regular Mack Sennet would "borrow" quite a bit from this film as would Chaplin in their film THE ADVENTURER.
*** (out of 4)
Winning drama from Griffith has him doing what he does best and that's telling two separate stories and then bringing them together. We see a convict (Guy Hedlund) breaking free from jail but being too ashamed to go to his mother's house. We then see a protective father (George Nichols) walking with his son (Jack Pickford). Away from his father, the boy goes swimming with some friends but drowns only to be saved and brought back to life by the convict. All is well except the boy's father happens to be the Sheriff who then has a decision to make. The story here isn't anything overly special but fans of early cinema and Griffith will certainly find plenty here to enjoy. Once again the best stuff is seeing Griffith handle both stories and how he edits them together to really bring the story to life (or at least a lot better than your typical 1910 film). I think Griffith spent the perfect amount of time to both stories before bringing them together and the actual chase of the convict has some nice drama as well. Hedlund, Nichols and Pickford are all good in their roles as is Kate Bruce as the boy's mother. Griffith regular Mack Sennet would "borrow" quite a bit from this film as would Chaplin in their film THE ADVENTURER.