Wed 15 Jun 2011
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: THE DEVIL’S BAIT (1917).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews , Silent films[2] Comments
THE DEVIL’S BAIT. Balbao-General Film, 1917. Ruth Roland, William Conklin, Henry King, Ed Brady, Myrtle Reeves, Lucy Blake, Gordon Sackville. Scenario by Will M. Ritchey. Director: Harry Harvey. Shown at Cinecon 44, Hollywood CA, Aug-Sept 2008.
Another of those sentimental morality plays that I have an almost inordinate fondness for, which could be a lingering effect of my upbringing in a Southern Baptist church.
I was initially drawn to this film by the presence of Ruth Roland, a major chapter play star in the 1920s whom my mother still remembered with pleasure when I was a child. Here she was not required to exhibit any athletic prowess, but showed some skill at portraying an attractive young woman, brought up by a strict but loving father, whose checkered past almost helps bring about the downfall of his virtuous daughter, lured by an unscrupulous letch with jewels that captivate the eye and destroy the soul.
This agent of the devil is, of course, foiled and punished, but there’s some splendid melodrama along the way, with intermittent appearances by an actor clothed in a tight-fitting devil’s suit who should have spent more time working out before he took on the role.
June 16th, 2011 at 5:19 am
Haven’t seen this. But the same team of performers Ruth Roland and Henry King, and director Harry Harvey, made a series of 12 dramas in 1915 called WHO PAYS? Each film in the series was around half-hour in length, and some of them explored social issues.
The last film in the series TOIL AND TYRANNY is available on DVD, part of the TREASURES series of DVDs. It’s a powerful look at how working people were exploited by rich bosses.
Henry King would go on to a long career as a director. It is interesting to see him as a leading man.
June 21st, 2011 at 10:50 pm
But shouldn’t the devil be dissolute? Recall, for example, HAXAN…