Only the 5-reel KodaScope version survives, and even that is missing around 20 minutes. The splendid, digitally remastered Alpha DVD runs 63 minutes. (Superbly toned and tinted outdoor scenes look absolutely fabulous, but some of the dark interiors have odd, pixilated effects).
SYNOPSIS (You'll need to keep this handy when you watch this movie, otherwise you won't have a clue what's going on): Everyone in a small North Carolina town except Ezekiel Whaley knows that Liz Trott is a prostitute. When he eventually finds out the true social status of his daughter's mother-in-law, Ezekiel forces Tilly back to his own home, but doesn't bother to tell his handsome son-in-law, John Trott, who assumes that Tilly has deserted him of her own accord. So John leaves town to seek his fortune in Charlotte. Oddly, he takes with him a runaway child slavey, Dora Boyles. During a wild storm, the train carrying John and Dora plunges into the Haw River. John tells an investigator that he and Dora are dead. When the news reaches Ezekiel Whaley, he persuades Tilly to marry evil-looking Joel Eperson. Years later, John re-visits his home town...
COMMENT: When a director stages a spectacular train wreck in the middle of a movie, I always wonder what on earth he's going to do for a climax. Vidor's obscurely puzzling narrative and motiveless characterizations may be somewhat challenging, but he sure knows how to direct a movie. The climax (which director Henry Hathaway tried vainly to imitate in Niagara - it wasn't Henry's fault: the studio's stuntmen and special effects were not up to it) is my nominee as the most breathtaking ever seen in any motion picture! Although the film was released by First National, it seems that King Vidor spent his own money on this one, and was able to make it as he pleased, free from studio interference.
SYNOPSIS (You'll need to keep this handy when you watch this movie, otherwise you won't have a clue what's going on): Everyone in a small North Carolina town except Ezekiel Whaley knows that Liz Trott is a prostitute. When he eventually finds out the true social status of his daughter's mother-in-law, Ezekiel forces Tilly back to his own home, but doesn't bother to tell his handsome son-in-law, John Trott, who assumes that Tilly has deserted him of her own accord. So John leaves town to seek his fortune in Charlotte. Oddly, he takes with him a runaway child slavey, Dora Boyles. During a wild storm, the train carrying John and Dora plunges into the Haw River. John tells an investigator that he and Dora are dead. When the news reaches Ezekiel Whaley, he persuades Tilly to marry evil-looking Joel Eperson. Years later, John re-visits his home town...
COMMENT: When a director stages a spectacular train wreck in the middle of a movie, I always wonder what on earth he's going to do for a climax. Vidor's obscurely puzzling narrative and motiveless characterizations may be somewhat challenging, but he sure knows how to direct a movie. The climax (which director Henry Hathaway tried vainly to imitate in Niagara - it wasn't Henry's fault: the studio's stuntmen and special effects were not up to it) is my nominee as the most breathtaking ever seen in any motion picture! Although the film was released by First National, it seems that King Vidor spent his own money on this one, and was able to make it as he pleased, free from studio interference.