An old man accused of murder pleads for himself in this short subject. He tells the tale of how far he had fallen during a strike at the steel mill where he worked, and of a blow struck in anger.
I can certainly understand the anger that a strike can produce. One of my grandfathers was a union organizer; he was thrown into jail after he busted the head of a scab trying to cross the line. (The family story is that a friend came to tell my grandmother "Becky, Becky, your husband is lying in jail"; her reply was "He can lie in H**l for all I care.")
The acting is very broad in this movie, and the only known member of the cast and crew is director Alice Guy. She offers a couple of cinematic novelties. The titles in which the old man narrates the events are in non-rhyming couplets, which are occasionally clumsy. Of more interest is that the movie, except for the beginning and end in the courtroom, is told in flashback.
I can't think of an earlier film in which this was done -- which is probably more a statement about my leaky memory than film history. Still, it's murder and flashback structure. Add in the blank verse and you have, arguably, a very early precursor of the Poetic Realism roots of Film Noir.
I can certainly understand the anger that a strike can produce. One of my grandfathers was a union organizer; he was thrown into jail after he busted the head of a scab trying to cross the line. (The family story is that a friend came to tell my grandmother "Becky, Becky, your husband is lying in jail"; her reply was "He can lie in H**l for all I care.")
The acting is very broad in this movie, and the only known member of the cast and crew is director Alice Guy. She offers a couple of cinematic novelties. The titles in which the old man narrates the events are in non-rhyming couplets, which are occasionally clumsy. Of more interest is that the movie, except for the beginning and end in the courtroom, is told in flashback.
I can't think of an earlier film in which this was done -- which is probably more a statement about my leaky memory than film history. Still, it's murder and flashback structure. Add in the blank verse and you have, arguably, a very early precursor of the Poetic Realism roots of Film Noir.