....so crisp and clear and beautifully presented. And Blanche Sweet - what an amazingly naturalistic actress. Interesting that Linda Arvidson (D.W. Griffith's wife at the time) said that he hardly expected her to set the acting world on fire yet by the time Lillian Gish came to Biograph, Blance Sweet was the actress she aspired to be like.
The story is simple. Sweet plays the daughter of the Lonedale telegraph operator who is given the job for a day while her father goes home with an illness. The train that delivers the payroll also drops off (unseen) a couple of disreputable tramps (one is Del Henderson, so memorable as the father in both "Show People" and "The Patsy") who lurk around the station building until they finally break into the office with the help of a bench seat!!! Fortunately Blanche has already been able to rouse a sleepy railway worker by means of a telegraph machine and with the aid of a spanner she holds like a gun, manages to have the hoboes cowering until help arrives. Sweet was not like a lot of the Griffith heroines - she did not simper or quake in fear of a fate worse than death. She was more than capable of holding her own and making things happen - she was a very plucky girl in this film who while initially harassed, soon had the situation in hand.
The seamless cross cutting between the robbers, the unsuspecting girl and the day to day life of the railway workers make it seem as though Griffith had already perfected the last minute rescue back in 1911. As well, the beautiful tinting not only blue for night but crimson indicating the engine cabin make this small film a visual feast.
Highly Recommended.
The story is simple. Sweet plays the daughter of the Lonedale telegraph operator who is given the job for a day while her father goes home with an illness. The train that delivers the payroll also drops off (unseen) a couple of disreputable tramps (one is Del Henderson, so memorable as the father in both "Show People" and "The Patsy") who lurk around the station building until they finally break into the office with the help of a bench seat!!! Fortunately Blanche has already been able to rouse a sleepy railway worker by means of a telegraph machine and with the aid of a spanner she holds like a gun, manages to have the hoboes cowering until help arrives. Sweet was not like a lot of the Griffith heroines - she did not simper or quake in fear of a fate worse than death. She was more than capable of holding her own and making things happen - she was a very plucky girl in this film who while initially harassed, soon had the situation in hand.
The seamless cross cutting between the robbers, the unsuspecting girl and the day to day life of the railway workers make it seem as though Griffith had already perfected the last minute rescue back in 1911. As well, the beautiful tinting not only blue for night but crimson indicating the engine cabin make this small film a visual feast.
Highly Recommended.