This movie is based on the Dion Boucicault play that, in turn, was based on the 1819 murder of Ellen Scanlan. Upper-class J.P. McGowan secretly marries poor Gene Gauntier. Some time later, his mother wants him to marry his rich cousin, Alice Hollister, who will raise the mortgage on the family home. McGowan waffles, while hunchback Sidney Olcott (who also directed) keeps offering to kill Miss Gauntier in return for his master's glove.
It's the third O'Kalem, one of the movies that Olcott did for Kalem with a company sent to Ireland. It's a very ambitious movie, being three reels in length, and the titles constantly note that a particular scene was filmed at the historical location.
On the down side, it's shot in the "Illustrated Title" mode, with the events being explained, then shown, and George Hollister's usually solid camerawork is marred by rather eccentric lighting. I suspect the issue was partially a desire to not disturb important tourist sites, and partly haste; Olcott was paid based on how much film he shot, and he probably pushed his staff to get the scene in the can as quickly as possible.
It looks like an important movie to me, even though its antiquated themes and authentic locales that look generic fail to impress. Certainly there are many similarities in techniques used when the company went to Palestine the next year to shoot FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS.
It's the third O'Kalem, one of the movies that Olcott did for Kalem with a company sent to Ireland. It's a very ambitious movie, being three reels in length, and the titles constantly note that a particular scene was filmed at the historical location.
On the down side, it's shot in the "Illustrated Title" mode, with the events being explained, then shown, and George Hollister's usually solid camerawork is marred by rather eccentric lighting. I suspect the issue was partially a desire to not disturb important tourist sites, and partly haste; Olcott was paid based on how much film he shot, and he probably pushed his staff to get the scene in the can as quickly as possible.
It looks like an important movie to me, even though its antiquated themes and authentic locales that look generic fail to impress. Certainly there are many similarities in techniques used when the company went to Palestine the next year to shoot FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS.