Whoso Findeth a Wife (1916) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
1 Review
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
The theme is a familiar one
deickemeyer3 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
In a cast which includes Jean Sothern, Leo Delaney, William O'Neill, Kirk Brown, Eldine Stuart, Ina Brooks, George Henry Trader and J. H. Fury, may be found names that stand for honorable achievement in connection with the screen; and Frank Hall Crane has directed the picture carefully and made the most of his material. It is fair to suppose the play follows the original story with fidelity and endeavors to transfer its salient points to the screen. The theme of "Whoso Findeth a Wife" is a familiar one, the history of the young girl who marries to save her family from poverty and learns finally to love the man whose name she bears has been told many times. Ohnet's "The Iron Master" being the most prominent example. This, in itself, is not a fault, but either the novelist or the scenario writer has failed to make the story convincing. The incidents used to develop the plot have given long and faithful service in the cause of the drama and, as a consequence, possesses but little of the element of surprise. Even that "supposedly" surefire bit of business, where a man puts a loaded pistol to his head and expresses his readiness to blow out his brains and thus secure the happiness of the woman he loves, is employed at the climax. All this, however, would not prevent the drama from being a faithful reflex of life, if the character of the millionaire who marries the heroine bore the stamp of truth. Psychology, evidently, is not one of Mr. Putnam's strong points. He asks the spectator to believe in a man with the mental and physical ability to lift himself from the foot of the financial ladder to a position of affluence who seeks to secure his wife's happiness by blowing out his own brains and leaving her free to marry a young lawyer, who, the husband knows, is absolutely unworthy of her. Ralph Dunham's conduct all through the play is dictated by sentiment rather than common sense. He gives the parents of Elizabeth Ferris one million dollars in exchange for their daughter, although she has told him that she can be his wife in name only. Finding that Elizabeth has fallen in love with the third of the "triangle," he offers to give his wife a divorce, and his rival half a million for living expenses when he and the divorcée are wed. But, crowning folly of all is his attempt to take the cold lead route and leave his young wife at liberty to become the bride of a moral coward. Such things are not done by the self-made men of this country, the Captains of Industry, who hold so much of power and so much of the happiness of others in their hands. Fortunately, the millionaire's wife comes to her senses in time and is able to draw the right comparison between the two men. - The Moving Picture World, January 13, 1917
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed