Carol Dempster was a protégé of D.W. Griffith's and many people felt at the time she didn't help his career. She was just an ordinary actress, there was nothing special about her that made her memorable in the way of Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh and many critics of the time felt that Griffith was trying to turn her into another of his stellar creations but she just didn't have what it takes. She even appeared in a mediocre retelling of "Broken Blossoms" entitled "Dream Street"(1921). At the time she really divided critics with most not warming to her at all and regarding "The Love Flower", her first starring role as a film unworthy of the Griffith name.
The film's theme is that peace and tolerance are only possible away from the madding crowd and love will "forgive these deeds done for it's sake". Carol plays Stella Bevan who, along with her father Thomas, lives on a beautiful island. A typical Griffith title designed to show the lengths Carol will go to, to support her father - "How many deeds have been committed by women in the name of love". Clara Bevan's (Florence Short) ideal life does not include the humdrum existence of a Caribbean island village or the care of a lovely step daughter, even though the step daughter is prone to leaping about and dancing at the drop of a hat ("stop jumping around and behaving like an idiot"). Clara has her hands full but she still has time to "turn to follies that are not unseen by the servants" - namely a lover!!
Bevan is tipped off, there is a scuffle and soon father and daughter are on the run, chased by a private detective (Anders Randolph, in a solid part) who has been told by hysterical Clara that the victim was killed without cause. Always being pursued, with wanted posters following them whenever they try to moor at big ports. Bevan and Stella finally arrive at a small South Sea island. There are some provocative shots of a graceful Miss Dempster high diving into the water with some very interesting under water swimming sequences. Meanwhile wealthy Jerry Treverton (Richard Barthelmess)is following in the footsteps of R. L. Stevenson in exploring the South Seas. He meets Stella and it is love at first sight for both of them but he is the accidental means of putting the detective on the fugitive's tail - and Stella can't forgive that.
The film has some beautiful location shooting (Florida, the Bahamas) which is the highlight, with the beaches and the rocky crags, along with the very attractive Miss Dempster. But even the presence of Randolph and Barthelmess is not enough to save the film from the big minus of over acting!! When Florence Short realises her lover is dead she tears out her hair and behaves like a crazy person but Dempster is the one who doesn't seem to have been given any acting guidance apart from being told to look searchingly into the camera!! In one scene she tells her father "I've seen a man", the father looks worried and says "did he look like an officer" to which she giggles, gives him a hug and then dances off!!
Once the officer arrives on the island Stella feels, to save her father, she must kill the officer - making it look like an accident of course!! Using her swimming skills, she attempts to drown him by dragging him under the water - he is convinced it is an octopus!! As a last resort she tries to persuade him to cross a rickety foot bridge that she has already tampered with - the girl definitely needs psychiatric help!!
It was only towards the end of her career that Carol Dempster really found her acting feet. With solid roles in "Isn't Life Wonderful" and "The Sorrows of Satan", unfortunately it was too late with Griffith almost at the end of his career and Carol not caring enough about acting to carry on without him.
The film's theme is that peace and tolerance are only possible away from the madding crowd and love will "forgive these deeds done for it's sake". Carol plays Stella Bevan who, along with her father Thomas, lives on a beautiful island. A typical Griffith title designed to show the lengths Carol will go to, to support her father - "How many deeds have been committed by women in the name of love". Clara Bevan's (Florence Short) ideal life does not include the humdrum existence of a Caribbean island village or the care of a lovely step daughter, even though the step daughter is prone to leaping about and dancing at the drop of a hat ("stop jumping around and behaving like an idiot"). Clara has her hands full but she still has time to "turn to follies that are not unseen by the servants" - namely a lover!!
Bevan is tipped off, there is a scuffle and soon father and daughter are on the run, chased by a private detective (Anders Randolph, in a solid part) who has been told by hysterical Clara that the victim was killed without cause. Always being pursued, with wanted posters following them whenever they try to moor at big ports. Bevan and Stella finally arrive at a small South Sea island. There are some provocative shots of a graceful Miss Dempster high diving into the water with some very interesting under water swimming sequences. Meanwhile wealthy Jerry Treverton (Richard Barthelmess)is following in the footsteps of R. L. Stevenson in exploring the South Seas. He meets Stella and it is love at first sight for both of them but he is the accidental means of putting the detective on the fugitive's tail - and Stella can't forgive that.
The film has some beautiful location shooting (Florida, the Bahamas) which is the highlight, with the beaches and the rocky crags, along with the very attractive Miss Dempster. But even the presence of Randolph and Barthelmess is not enough to save the film from the big minus of over acting!! When Florence Short realises her lover is dead she tears out her hair and behaves like a crazy person but Dempster is the one who doesn't seem to have been given any acting guidance apart from being told to look searchingly into the camera!! In one scene she tells her father "I've seen a man", the father looks worried and says "did he look like an officer" to which she giggles, gives him a hug and then dances off!!
Once the officer arrives on the island Stella feels, to save her father, she must kill the officer - making it look like an accident of course!! Using her swimming skills, she attempts to drown him by dragging him under the water - he is convinced it is an octopus!! As a last resort she tries to persuade him to cross a rickety foot bridge that she has already tampered with - the girl definitely needs psychiatric help!!
It was only towards the end of her career that Carol Dempster really found her acting feet. With solid roles in "Isn't Life Wonderful" and "The Sorrows of Satan", unfortunately it was too late with Griffith almost at the end of his career and Carol not caring enough about acting to carry on without him.