I went to see this film solely for the presence of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. But there are four characters who dominate and make this effort a character-based film.
Betty Compson was effervescent and convincing as a performer who is at ease on stage at a carnival, poised and beautiful and able to connect with the audience. Her vivaciousness reminded me of Clara Bow. But her character turned out to be more nuanced than the typical vamp with a heart of gold. She was a little edgier, maybe craftier. It was a little dispiriting to see her want to return to a man, who treated her in a less than gentlemanly fashion, to say the least. But I guess such undertones of sexism in a relationship and a woman being unable to resist an abusive boyfriend were accepted in films of this era.
Milton Sills was convincing as a man born to be a barker at a carnival, someone who will convince people they want to spend money for nothing. I thought maybe Fairbanks had this title role, but he actually plays the unexpectedly kind son of the rather brutish Sills. The Sills character is somewhat redeeming in that he does, at least, look out for his son and wants nothing to jeopardize his son's professional future.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s role was much more substantial than I expected. I thought maybe I had read in his autobiography that he was placed in this film primarily because he had had some possibly successful exposure in some other picture as a teenager. So I expected him to have a rather throwaway, idiotic part, but he is actually one of the leads and he acquitted himself well. His character was young but not immature; earnest, sensitive, and intelligent but not cloying or unbelievable. He must have been only around eighteen when he made this one. He comes off as extremely likable for those DFJ fans who would like to see him in a role in which he was rewarded with decent screen time and a well-developed nice-guy character.
I found it sort of amusing that he wants to be a lawyer because his father is a 'barker' at what sometimes looks like a rather sorry carnival. I should not judge; I was just not expecting that level of ambition in the barker's family. It was also a surprise to find out with whom DFJ winds up having a relationship. A lot of the drama takes place on a train, like one of those you see the female band travel on in Some Like it Hot, and that is where this relationship begins.
Lastly, I agree with the other reviewer that Dorothy Mackaill (and for me DFJ) made this film worthwhile. Her character was wise for her years, probably had to work to stay alive, and at the film's beginning seems like she is only in the cast to be Compson's independent, indestructible sidekick. But her character, Lou, is something other than endlessly unflinching. She is vulnerable: she is capable of being moved by the right fellow traveler who just happened to come along. So we find out that beyond her blonde extremely bobbed haircut and knowledge about the real world, she has a soul and she is even feminine.
As a character-driven movie, I would like to see this again for the two warm-hearted souls of DFJ and Mackaill.
Betty Compson was effervescent and convincing as a performer who is at ease on stage at a carnival, poised and beautiful and able to connect with the audience. Her vivaciousness reminded me of Clara Bow. But her character turned out to be more nuanced than the typical vamp with a heart of gold. She was a little edgier, maybe craftier. It was a little dispiriting to see her want to return to a man, who treated her in a less than gentlemanly fashion, to say the least. But I guess such undertones of sexism in a relationship and a woman being unable to resist an abusive boyfriend were accepted in films of this era.
Milton Sills was convincing as a man born to be a barker at a carnival, someone who will convince people they want to spend money for nothing. I thought maybe Fairbanks had this title role, but he actually plays the unexpectedly kind son of the rather brutish Sills. The Sills character is somewhat redeeming in that he does, at least, look out for his son and wants nothing to jeopardize his son's professional future.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s role was much more substantial than I expected. I thought maybe I had read in his autobiography that he was placed in this film primarily because he had had some possibly successful exposure in some other picture as a teenager. So I expected him to have a rather throwaway, idiotic part, but he is actually one of the leads and he acquitted himself well. His character was young but not immature; earnest, sensitive, and intelligent but not cloying or unbelievable. He must have been only around eighteen when he made this one. He comes off as extremely likable for those DFJ fans who would like to see him in a role in which he was rewarded with decent screen time and a well-developed nice-guy character.
I found it sort of amusing that he wants to be a lawyer because his father is a 'barker' at what sometimes looks like a rather sorry carnival. I should not judge; I was just not expecting that level of ambition in the barker's family. It was also a surprise to find out with whom DFJ winds up having a relationship. A lot of the drama takes place on a train, like one of those you see the female band travel on in Some Like it Hot, and that is where this relationship begins.
Lastly, I agree with the other reviewer that Dorothy Mackaill (and for me DFJ) made this film worthwhile. Her character was wise for her years, probably had to work to stay alive, and at the film's beginning seems like she is only in the cast to be Compson's independent, indestructible sidekick. But her character, Lou, is something other than endlessly unflinching. She is vulnerable: she is capable of being moved by the right fellow traveler who just happened to come along. So we find out that beyond her blonde extremely bobbed haircut and knowledge about the real world, she has a soul and she is even feminine.
As a character-driven movie, I would like to see this again for the two warm-hearted souls of DFJ and Mackaill.