User Reviews

Broken Locket, The (1909)

** (out of 4)

strange an uneven short from Griffith has a man leaving his wife (Mary Pickford) so that he can make them rich. Before he goes the two break a locket in half to remind each other of their love. The film doesn't make too much sense and it jumps all over the place making it rather hard to follow.

Strange Meeting, A (1909)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A woman is forced into robbing from a preacher but later she wants to repent so she goes to that same precher for forgiveness. Griffith does his usual moral job here with religion being looked at very highly. Nice but nothing overly good.

Frank Powell (as George Peabody) and Mary Pickford (as Ruth King) are a-courting. When Mr. Powell decides to venture out west, to make his fortune, Ms. Pickford is devastated. She promises to wait for his successful return, and gives him half of a locket; and, they pledge their eternal love. While Pickford pines away, Powell gets way-out-west drunk, and takes up with Mexican woman Marion Leonard.

Powell's descent is a little difficult to comprehend; perhaps it is the power of drink. He seemed to have very little use for "The Broken Locket" while in Ms. Leonard's company. Leonard writes one powerful letter, by the way; the mere reading of one may cause blindness!

** The Broken Locket (9/16/09) D.W. Griffith ~ Frank Powell, Mary Pickford, Marion Leonard

There is no way whatsoever that I would have known what this movie was about unless I would have watched next to the window with the sky and the fields and everything outside the great difficulty to understand what this movies about and of course that may come to see him realize that we almost even see one of her breasts plopping out one of Mary Pickford breast magnificent breasts they are but they just the juice is not from the story but it might be and of course that we can say what is it all about that we just don't know all we know is 2 BC we just don't know every Chesney to guess what the movies about that's the sad thing really about ew Griffith majority of of works we just don't know and that is a sad thing the only thing we can know it is good about to miss a birth of a Nation of course The birth of a Nation was a great thing to watch with education sisters and of course all of this began nothing either. Hugh Griffith was a great one but in his editing and explain about the movies was about read into it by Linda the techniques to the camera and it's cinematography is really a great thing to look at but still be born about the movies about we just don't know it and there it is good that we have not talkin movies in which we know what the movies about because otherwise what could it be about is it about Santa Claus is it about prostitutes in a hotel is it about whatsoever we don't know but then again we just need to know what the movie is about to it's good that we now know because of the internet with movies about because the internet can tell us at the movies about that we shouldn't see the movie while bonding with a movie truly is about that is the whole thing about a question about of water movies about and of course we cannot say anything else but to conclude that this movie is not about to decide it was about because we thought it was going to be about something but it wasn't the bottom of the movie was about because we didn't know about and it didn't show his ID and because of this the whole thing about this movie is that it's a failure because there is no explanation cards which is pretty much since because of course we don't know what is frequency and of course the whole thing in the matter is and that's of course and Morgan will be set the acting is good but unfortunately we don't understand the story points.

This eleven minute offering presents too many cardboard characters from the East Coast. It places a heavy emphasis on stage animation rather than focusing on narrative. The love interest between Frank Powell and Mary Pickford is contrived and unconvincing. Powell is not only an unlikeable character, he comes across as quite arrogant and unengaging. He didn't endear himself to me, although I still think that Pickford delivered a good performance. The 34 year old D.W. Griffith still cannot get out of the habit of presenting ethnic stereotype characters are simple, inferior and laughable. The film keeps changing viewpoint, making you uncertain of whose perspective this is being told from. Obviously the director's.

A Biograph picture that redeems their high standing in the producing field after the slip made in "The Children's Friend." In "The Broken Locket" we are introduced to the finesse of acting and staging which within the year has created a world-wide demand for Biograph subjects. The sad story of a young man's downfall through yielding to temptation, the consequent blighting of the life of a trusting sweetheart, the repentance that came too late, are all presented in a manner so convincing that as a moral lesson "The Broken Locket" ranks with any of the sermons in pictures ever issued by this company, which is the highest praise that can be given. Photographic excellence also prevails throughout. - The Moving Picture World, September 25, 1909