Hobart Bosworth's first self-produced film (through Ince), Blind Hearts, tells the story of two friends who make their fortune in the Alaskan gold fields but are driven apart when Bosworth suspects his buddy (Wade Boteler) with unbecoming affections for his wife when they both have their children on the same day but Hobart's daughter (Madge Bellamy) shares the same birthmark as Boteler. Unfortunately the doting maid has switched the children at birth in an effort to please both men's gender preferences for their kids and complications inevitably arise.
As contemporary reviews noted the story was hoary even back then and it hasn't really gotten any better with age but director Rowland V. Lee and cinematographer J. O. Taylor present the action quite effectively, including the opening scenes when the men and their wives are stranded in the ice on their way to Alaska. Cast does what they can although the acting styles are still rooted more in the '10s and less evolved than what it would be in a couple of years, still it's great to see young Madge Bellamy not being a white zombie.
Print viewed had Italian intertitles and appears to have about a reel missing, leaving out (according to those old reviews) scenes where Bosworth forbids 'his' daughter to marry Boteler's son and also the murder of their mining company's director who was about to confront Bosworth's skeevy assistant for skimming the accounts. Even with the gap the story still flows nicely, perhaps that where the cliched plot came in handy.
As contemporary reviews noted the story was hoary even back then and it hasn't really gotten any better with age but director Rowland V. Lee and cinematographer J. O. Taylor present the action quite effectively, including the opening scenes when the men and their wives are stranded in the ice on their way to Alaska. Cast does what they can although the acting styles are still rooted more in the '10s and less evolved than what it would be in a couple of years, still it's great to see young Madge Bellamy not being a white zombie.
Print viewed had Italian intertitles and appears to have about a reel missing, leaving out (according to those old reviews) scenes where Bosworth forbids 'his' daughter to marry Boteler's son and also the murder of their mining company's director who was about to confront Bosworth's skeevy assistant for skimming the accounts. Even with the gap the story still flows nicely, perhaps that where the cliched plot came in handy.
