Clara Kimball Young is under the thrall of criminal Van Brooke Dyke. She lifts an old man's pocket watch, but Maurice Costello sees her doing it. He is not a cop, but a doctor who looks upon crime as a disease. He thinks Miss Young can be cured in this Vitagraph short subject.
Criminology and psychology aside, this is a well-played short subject, with three of Vitagraph's best dramatic performers in it. Costello was Vitagraph's matinée idol, and so elevated in his standards that he refused to help out the crews by doing stage carpentry. Mr. Dyke was not only a good performer, he was the lead director for Vitagraph's dramas in this era. Miss Young's career would advance and peak in the middle and late teens, when she starred in a production of TRILBY.
A copy of this film has been posted to the Eye Institute site on Youtube. It is nicely colored, using the toning process, although the print from which it is drawn has suffered some wear and tear.
Criminology and psychology aside, this is a well-played short subject, with three of Vitagraph's best dramatic performers in it. Costello was Vitagraph's matinée idol, and so elevated in his standards that he refused to help out the crews by doing stage carpentry. Mr. Dyke was not only a good performer, he was the lead director for Vitagraph's dramas in this era. Miss Young's career would advance and peak in the middle and late teens, when she starred in a production of TRILBY.
A copy of this film has been posted to the Eye Institute site on Youtube. It is nicely colored, using the toning process, although the print from which it is drawn has suffered some wear and tear.
