Starring Hal Skelly, Zita Johann, Charlotte Wynters
Produced by D.W. Griffith Productions
It's the early 1920s and Jimmie is in love with Florrie. There's only one problem: Jimmie enjoys drinking. Florrie does not approve so right then and there, Jimmie resolves to never drink again.
Flash forward a few years. Jimmie and Florrie are married and have a child. He has apparently managed to remain sober. One day, Jimmy's coworker is laid off and the husband decides to have a drink with him. And another. And another.
Jimmy's alcoholism is back now stronger than ever and threatens to destroy his entire family. Can Jimmie pull out of the tailspin his life has become? Or will he continue to live as the most stereotypical drunk that has ever graced the silver screen?
I hated this movie. There is literally almost nothing this film does well.
First, it starts with this pointless jumping through time. Seemingly the only point of these scenes is to make jokes about stuff from history that the audience knows the result of. So we get one scene with people expounding upon how Woodrow Wilson would be a terrible President because he's a college professor, immediately followed by someone commenting in the early 1920s that they should keep all of their money in stocks because by 1930 they'll be rich. Get it? Wilson was actually a good President! And the stock market crash happened in 1929 so that woman would have no money! Isn't that great stuff?
We then get into the main story which revolves around Jimmy's alcoholism. This basically means it's an hour of Hal Skelly as Jimmie, stumbling around and slurring his words. There is no moderation in his performance. He's either sober or completely hammered.
Fortunately, he has Florrie to support him. And by "support him," I mean she alternates between blank stares and repeating "Jimmie! Oh, Jimmie! Jimmie!" ad nauseum.
The film is shot by Griffith as though he recording a play. He's making a talkie, but it still looks and feels like a silent from 12 years earlier. Hell, his own Broken Blossoms was more compelling than this.
Griffith used to have an ear and an eye for melodrama, but he also used to have actors like Richard Barthelmess and Lillian Gish helping him out. No one is going to confuse anyone involved with this for actors of that character.
Griffith's work has always had a bit of self-importance, but it seems like his career has been a decade-long slow decline to this absolute nadir. The only thing that may help this film is adding a laugh track and trying to make it a comedy.
Which is a damn shame. This was Griffith's last feature. I wanted to see him go out on top.
* out of *****
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