Success admonishing Might, with Evil (left) and Justice (background)
In a prologue, the mythical figure of Ambition seeks to attain the position currently held by Success. Success has reached the pinnacle of his desire, and sits looking over his kingdom. Having achieved his success, Success decides to take a break and goes off with Pleasure, leaving Might in control of the land. Might, under the influence of Evil, along with Might's wife Extravagance, as well as by his daughter Vanity, begins to abuse the land's occupants, including Toil, Age, Strength, Innocence, Happiness, and Ambition. Spurred on by Evil, who says that Justice is blind and cannot see what he is doing, Might whips the laborers. However, Justice is not blind, and she learns of the situation, informing Success, who returns and sets the situation right again.
The first riotThe final confrontation
In current time, Nathaniel Crosby (who is the embodiment of Success in the prologue) is the sole owner of a prosperous factory. After receiving a letter from his general manager telling him that he needs to take a vacation, and can trust him to take care of things while he is away, he decides to take a holiday. Leaving his general manager, Sampson Rhodes (the personification of Might) in charge, he starts out on an extended pleasure trip. Rhodes is influenced by his wife (the personification of Extravagance) and Genevieve, his daughter (the personification of Vanity), to take advantage of his position to increase their wealth and social position. Rhodes lowers the workers' wages, so he can take a bigger cut of the profits. The workers retaliate by going on strike, and the police are called in to protect the plant. Tom Burke (the embodiment of Ambition) can no longer financially support his ill mother since he is striking. Neither can he go through with plans to marry David Lee's (the embodiment of Contentment), the foreman's, older daughter Happiness. Lee, along with several other laborers, become more and more discontent as the strike continues, and they eventually turn the strike into a riot. In the first assault several of the workers, as well as one of the policemen, are killed.
As the violence continues to escalate, Rhodes realizes that it has gone beyond the abilities of the police to handle, and calls in the militia to put down the riot. However, Rhodes secretary, Ruth Farwell (the embodiment of Justice), tracks down Crosby and tells him of the situation. When he is reticent to return, telling her that Rhodes can handle the situation, she explodes at him, letting him know that over a dozen have been killed in the riots and that their blood will be on his head. She then runs from the room, dropping one of her gloves. Rhodes returns to the plant in order to defuse the situation, but when Ruth recognizes him as he approaches the factory, the rioters turn their ire on him, beginning to beat him. Ruth, along with Burke, manage to get him away from the crowd and into a nearby boarding house.
Recovering from his daze, he asks Ruth what is happening, she simply points out the window, where they can see the mob approaching the militia, which is standing in a line, weapons at the ready. They have been given the authority by Rhodes to fire on the crowd if necessary to protect the factory. Crosby rushes out of the room, followed by Ruth. In the ruckus which follows, Ruth is shot when she steps in front of a bullet meant for Crosby, fired by Lee. Crosby ends the riot by telling them men to come back to work at their prior wages, which is what they wanted. The militia is dismissed, and Crosby fires Rhodes.
With the plant returned to its former status, Crosby goes to visit Ruth in the hospital, where she has been convalescing. She assures him that she can return to work soon, telling him that she's been practicing her shorthand, showing him her pad and pencil. He asks her to take a letter for him, thanking someone for opening his eyes, and asking her to marry him. When Ruth asks him to whom she should address the letter, he takes out the glove she left behind when she came to tell him of the riots, and says simply, "To the owner of this glove".
Cast list
Arthur Paget as Evil
Charles Lee as Age
Otto Lincoln as Toil
Robert Edeson as Nathaniel Crosby, the Absentee/Success
In early April 1915 it was announced that Cabanne was working on allegorical film titled The Absentee which he also co-wrote with Frank E. Woods.[3] At one point during filming, Robert Edeson forgot that he was acting and broke up a mob during filming. However, the script had called for the mob to turn him back, so the scene had to be re-shot.[3][4] Cabanne had completed filming by April 1915.[5] On May 1, it was announced that the film would be released that week, on May 3.[6]
Reception
Variety gave the film a lukewarm review. They lauded Cabanne's direction as well as the script and plot, especially the mob scenes. However, they felt the movie was too slow, stating "... the film lags until the final reel."[7]The Saturday Evening Post gave the film a positive review, saying "It gives you a mental Turkish bath, then rubs your conscience down with a rough towel. It's a great picture to see. Full of very beautiful scenes —– interspersed with some that have prongs in them."[8]Motion Picture News gave the picture an overall favorable review, although they felt the epilogue in which all the resolutions are shown was too long. They particularly enjoyed the allegorical prologue, then projected into the main story: "Yet this knowledge furnished to the onlooker is by no means a dampener to his interest. It is most attractive to watch the development of the main plot after seeing the same characters in the allegorical prologue. It is fascinating to see the similarity of the abstract and the specific, as conceived by the authors and to note the truth of both versions of the themes."[1]Motography gave the film a positive review, being particularly impressed with the cinematography.[9]Moving Picture World also gave the film a positive review, enjoying the symbolism employed by the allegory, although they did voice displeasure in the decision to have Evil as a real person, instead of simply a presence. They praised the teamwork of Woods and Cabanne, and gave good reviews to the entire cast, highlighting the work of Edeson and Gray.[10]
Notes
At least one source, Picture-Play Weekly, had notes of different character names. They have John Marxham instead of Nathaniel Crosby; Alma Ward instead of Ruth Farwell; Robert Thornley instead of Sampson Rhodes; and Tom Carrol instead of David Lee.[11]
Related Research Articles
Scared to Death is a 1947 American gothic thriller film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Nat Pendleton and Molly Lamont. The picture was filmed in Cinecolor. The film is historically important as the only color film in which Bela Lugosi has a starring role. Lionel Atwill was originally slated to appear in the film, but he was too ill to work, so George Zucco replaced him in the cast. Christy Cabanne completed the film in early 1946, but it wasn't screened until 1947.
Arthur Edeson, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. Born in New York City, his career ran from the formative years of the film industry in New York, through the silent era in Hollywood, and the sound era there in the 1930s and 1940s. His work included many landmarks in film history, including The Thief of Bagdad (1924), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Frankenstein (1931), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942).
Rosewood is a 1997 American historical drama film directed by John Singleton, inspired by the 1923 Rosewood massacre in Florida, when a white mob killed black people and destroyed their town. In a major change, it stars Ving Rhames as an outsider who comes into Rosewood and inspires residents to self-defense, wielding his pistols in a fight. The supporting cast includes Don Cheadle as Sylvester Carrier, a resident who was a witness, defender of his family and victim of the riot; and Jon Voight as John Wright, a sympathetic white store owner who lives in Rosewood. The three characters become entangled in an attempt to save people from racist White people attacking the Black residents of Rosewood.
Robert Edeson was an American film and stage actor of the silent era and a vaudeville performer.
William Christy Cabanne was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor.
Heroes for Sale (1933) is an American pre-Code drama film directed by William Wellman, starring Richard Barthelmess, Aline MacMahon, and Loretta Young, and released by Warner Bros. and First National Pictures. The 76-minute original is considered lost; a 71-minute version is available from Turner Entertainment.
Enoch Arden is a 1915 American short drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It is based on the 1864 poem Enoch Arden by Tennyson. Prints of the film exists at the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Falling Down is a 1993 American crime drama thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on February 26, 1993.
Flight Command is a 1940 American U.S. Navy film from MGM, produced by Frank Borzage and directed by J. Walter Ruben and Frank Borzage (uncredited), starring Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, and Walter Pidgeon. It has the distinction of often being credited as the first Hollywood film glorifying the American military to be released after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, a year before the U.S. entered the conflict.
Birth of the Blues is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy.
Criminal Lawyer is a 1937 American drama film directed by Christy Cabanne from a screenplay by G. V. Atwater and Thomas Lennon, based on a story by Louis Stevens. The film stars Lee Tracy, Margot Grahame and Eduardo Ciannelli. RKO produced the film and premiered it on January 26, 1937, in New York City, with a national release a few days later on January 29. It was the second time Stevens' story had been used for a film, the first being 1932's State's Attorney, starring John Barrymore and Helen Twelvetrees, directed by George Archainbaud, and also produced and released by RKO.
Cinderella Swings It is a 1943 American comedy-drama film directed by Christy Cabanne from a screenplay by Michael L. Simmons, based on short stories by Clarence Budington Kelland about small-town philanthropist Scattergood Baines. Produced and Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it was released on January 22, 1943, and stars Guy Kibbee and Gloria Warren. It was the last of the six films in the Scattergood Baines series and the only one without the word “Scattergood” in the title. Originally called Scattergood Swings It, the picture was renamed because the franchise was declining in popularity.
The Stealers is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Christy Cabanne.
Cyclone Higgins, D.D. is a 1918 silent American comedy-drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Baby Ivy Ward, and was released on May 13, 1918.
The Barricade is a 1921 silent American melodrama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars William H. Strauss, Katherine Spencer, and Kenneth Harlan, and was released on October 2, 1921.
At the Stage Door, also known by its working title Women of Conquest, is a 1921 silent American romantic drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Billie Dove, Huntley Gordon, and Miriam Battista, and was released on December 11, 1921. The film gives a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes reality of life in the New York theater, as seen by a small town girl trying to make it in the big city. The picture received mixed reviews. This was Dove's first time on film, having moved over from the Ziegfeld Follies.
The Average Woman is a 1924 American silent melodrama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Pauline Garon, David Powell, and Harrison Ford. It was released on March 1, 1924.
The Failure is a 1915 silent American drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars John Emerson, Wahnetta Hanson, and A. D. Sears, and was released on May 27, 1915.
Burnt Wings is a 1920 American drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Josephine Hill, Frank Mayo, and Rudolph Christians. It was released on March 29, 1920.
Daring Daughters is a 1933 American pre-Code melodrama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Marian Marsh, Kenneth Thomson, and Joan Marsh, and was released on March 25, 1933.
References
1 2 "The Absentee". Motion Picture News. May 15, 1915. p.64. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
↑ "The Absentee". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
