User Reviews

This is a pretty weird early D.W. Griffith feature. On the video version, it even has a bizarre (and seemingly anachronistic) soundtrack. The story does have some real suspense, but the whole thing is implausible, and some of it just doesn't make sense.

This is one of a number of features from around the same time in Griffith's career, in which he seemingly became pre-occupied with criminals who concoct weird ways of inflicting harm upon their victims. They are usually pretty odd, but they are at least interesting. This one concerns an angry tramp who decides to hurt a family who refuse to give him a handout.

The tramp character gesticulates wildly when no one else is around, so as to convince the audience of his ill intentions. Then he gives a demonstration of his plan, with the same panache that Batman's enemies used to display when showing off their latest unnecessarily complex way of eliminating their foe. While there is some real suspense that follows, the goofier aspects of the plot diffuse the tension too much. It is redeemed somewhat by some basic but effective cross-cutting, although if it had been edited more carefully, it would have been helpful.

While objectively not all that good, it's interesting enough to be worth seeing. A weak, bizarre feature is almost always more entertaining than a weak, routine feature.

George Gebhardt is tracking down Charles Inslee, looking to settle an old debt. Mr. Gebhardt finds Mr. Inslee in an old tenement building, living with his wife Marion Leonard, and their baby. Inslee explains he is as penniless as down-and-out Gebhardt, and has no money. The two men argue, and Gebhardt angrily marks the door to Inslee's apartment with a vengeful "X" as he leaves. Later, Gebhardt returns to rig a horrific plan; he'll have Ms. Leonard unwittingly kill their baby by hanging the bound baby in a basket from the apartment window; when mother opens the window, baby falls to a certain death!

Biograph's New York studio, and area location are helpful in story setting; in the set-up scenes, the extras are pleasing to watch - they include Biograph girls Linda Arvidson, Florence Lawrence, and Dorothy West. Director D.W. Griffith's story goes for the sure-fire suspense by putting an innocent baby's life in danger. There are some notable storytelling flaws - for instance, note that the baby is conveniently pre-bound, and Ms. Leonard's table cloth is certainly not her favorite! Still, there are some nice touches; like Gebhardt's marking, and later wiping of the "X" on his enemy's door.

"The Cord of Life" is the string which holds the basketed baby from the apartment window; the string is held in place by the closed window; when the window is opened, the string should loosen, and drop the baby, according to villainous Gebhardt's plan. For fun, try to figure out how father Inslee plans to solve the problem, and save the baby.

*** The Cord of Life (1/28/09) D.W. Griffith ~ George Gebhardt, Charles Inslee, Marion Leonard

By 1909, D. W. Griffith had only been going at filmmaking for less than two years, and just like 1908, his films lacked the complexity and innovative qualities his later ones would feature. "The Cord of Life" is no different, and unlike others like "Betrayed by a Handprint" (1908) there isn't even a trace of the type of film grammar Griffith would later develop during the 1910s. That being said, one can't necessarily dock the man for having neglected techniques that were already used rarely anyway - and regardless, the film is an interesting one with a plot that I have to give credit for being original despite how weird it is.

"The Cord of Life", which is already a weird title, involves a man who is refused a handout (though you wouldn't know this by watching the film) and seeks revenge by dangling the baby of the folks who refused him money outside the window by a cord. That way, when the window is opened, the baby will be killed without it technically having been murder on the part of the man. That's a pretty weird scenario, but at least it's original enough to where one can entertain the idea. Obviously, with Griffith's limited techniques, the suspense that could have been built as the man runs home to stop the window from being opened isn't really there, but the film manages to at least somewhat work. A rather strange drama from an early master.

Cord of Life, The (1909)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely intense film from D.W. Griffith. A man goes to a friend to borrow money but the friend refuses so the man takes his young baby and hangs it from a cord outside of five story building. Griffith does a great job building suspense from the very opening scene and the stunts at the end make for a wonderful climax.

Curtain Pole, The (1909)

** (out of 4)

Screwball comedy from D.W. Griffith features Mack Sennett who was a major influence on Chaplin and some of that can be seen here. A man (Sennett) accidentally breaks a curtain pole and must try to find a replacement, which starts all sorts of mishaps. I guess movie crowds back then loved big chases because every comedy from this era seems to have one. Sennett is worth watching but not too much here.