The premise here is of less appeal nowadays: an evangelist tells his past story of a dissolute life and false imprisonment to turn a young man on to the straight and narrow. But there’s a nice formal balance at work, the best examples being the opening and closing shots. At the beginning, the camera shows John Redmond preaching in the open air on top of a large rock, then tilts down to the young man; at the end, after saving the young man’s wife(?) from a suicide attempt in the nick of time, the camera movement is completely reversed. (Except, as an interesting supplement on this print reveals, the versions for Russia and Sweden never ended in this way. Instead, for Russia, the film ends gloomily on the successful suicide; for Sweden, the two men cut down the body and revive her as the evengelist raises his eyes to the ceiling in thanks to the Lord. Obviously Denmark was the fun place to be in 1915.)
by Ian Johnston | Source: 35mm print
25 Jun 2007 2:31 PM | Submit Comment