The First of Lionel: 1912, Friends and The New York Hat

Day 1: 1912, wherein Mr. B appeared in a whole lot of films, some of which are classics. A year with two of my favorite films ever, both available to view online!

Friends/ NY Hat (1912) Both directed by DW Griffith

             In FRIENDS: Grizzley Fallon Released September 23, 1912. 

           Lionel Barrymore had appeared in only 2 films for Griffith when he was given a significant role in FRIENDS, as the friendly, somewhat befuddled prospector Fallon, back in the local town after some time away prospecting. He becomes enamored of Mary Pickford’s Dora, who is bored in the mining town but generally in love with Henry B Walthall’s “Dandy Jack”. Fallon awkwardly woos Dora after meeting her—he’s stumbling and shy and in some ways rather cheesy—a terrific contrast to his bulk; at 5’10”, he seems to stand out in the film and of course was much bigger than Walthall.  But he seems to know how to use his size and body well to communicate on film—an invaluable skill for silent films!

By the time he made this film, Mr. B was 34 years old and had not been tremendously successful in his recent past on the stage. In spite of his age and relative film inexperience, though, he manages to make Fallon a youthful, flop-haired man-boy enamored of Dora, who blows him off initially. He is also a “man’s man”, as seen in the bar scenes and his entrance, where he is greeted enthusiastically by other prospectors. Walthall’s Jack is indeed a dandy and, while handsome, also seems a little potentially boring. But Fallon insists he and Jack will still be friends even though Dora has chosen the goofball Fallon for her love.

A fun film, lovely camera work, and beautiful acting by the film neophyte Lionel Barrymore. You might also make a note—the hat he wore here appeared several more times on him in other Biograph films! 

In THE NEW YORK HAT: Preacher Bolton Released December 5, 1912.

Color by me

THE NEW YORK HAT has long been acclaimed a wonderful film, with a great plot, great acting, and a swift pace. In this Griffith film, Lionel Barrymore plays a very young-looking Preacher Bolton, the fresh-faced shepherd of a somewhat gossipy and judgmental flock. He is first met at the deathbed of one of his flock, an old lady whom we discover has not enjoyed life. She dies leaving a daughter (played by a fantastic Mary Pickford) under the thumb of a sour old father and asks the preacher to spend some money the woman managed to save on her daughter, to buy her the pretty little things girls seem to like.

Needless to say, things go south, but the interplay between Pickford and Barrymore is both sweet and sensitive. It’s a great performance from a man who had played a burly goof in FRIENDS and had been in several action/Westerns the same year prior to this. And yes, in this film he wears the same hat he wore in FRIENDS and other films of 1912, including THE CHIEF’S BLANKET.

Mr. B played a few sensitive and thoughtful parts, and even a couple of “Lover” roles in 1912, but his preacher here is different; though he ends up with the girl here, his method of attracting her to him seems tangential to trying to help her feel her mother’s death less. Always a good “hand” actor, he uses his body and hands to great effect here, gesturing gently when speaking to Pickford, in contrast to the bull-in-a-china shop gesticulations of the old man and the gossipy townsfolk. He also has this amusingly sweet look on his face when he seems to conceive the idea of asking for Mary’s hand in marriage now that the dead woman’s intentions are made clear to the old man who was about to smack the preacher upside the head for buying the expensive hat for his daughter. Mr. B’s ability to make himself seem a little vulnerable, young, and sensitive in this film is a wonder and a thing to behold. Among my favorite of all his films!

Happy 1st of Lionel!