The Turn in the Road is a 1919 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

. His first feature film, the production was financed by the Brentwood Film Corporation and the title and the scenario based on a

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known ...

religious tract. No print of this film is known to exist, which suggests that it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Paul Perry (Hughes), the son of wealthy iron manufacturer Hamilton Perry (Nichols), openly loves the younger daughter of Reverend Matthew Barker (Hall), while the older daughter, who is more practical, secretly loves him. The young couple get married, and a child is born a year later but the mother dies. Almost insane with grief, the husband reproaches the clergyman for having preached a doctrine of a God who inflicts His children with sorrow. Unable to reconcile himself with his sorrow, he leaves for the slums of Chicago and searches for the truth in connection with the purpose of God. Meanwhile, his son Bob (Alexander) is cared for by the wife's sister. Paul decides to leave Chicago on a freight train, and returns to his home town and spends the night in his father's barn. The next morning Bob, who has spent the night with his grandfather, goes out to the barn to feed some puppies and discovers the sleeping man in the hay. They talk, and Paul's sister-in-law comes to the barn and recognizes him, while Paul discovers that the child is his, resolving his quest for spiritual understanding. There is also a subplot involving a feud between the wealthy iron manufacturer and his workers.

Cast

* George Nichols as Hamilton Perry * Lloyd Hughes as Paul Perry *

Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...

as Reverend Matthew Barker *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

as Jane Barker *

Pauline Curley Pauline Curley (December 19, 1903 – December 11, 2000) was a vaudeville and silent film actress from Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her film career spanned much of the silent era, from 1915 to 1928. Early years Pauline Curley was born in Holyoke, M ...

as Evelyn Barker * Ben Alexander as Bob *

Charles Arling Charles Arling (22 August 1875 – 21 April 1922) was a Canadian actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1909 and 1922. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and died on 21 April 1922 from pneumonia at the age ...

Production

In 1918 Vidor sought financing for a feature film, his first, from several physicians and dentists incorporated as "Brentwood Films". The group had funded a series of films produced by

Judge Willis Brown Willis Brown (July 31, 1881 – October 20, 1931) was a permanently removed Utah juvenile court judge, falsely-claimed lawyer, self-described humanitarian, and filmmaker. Born James Willhenry Brown in Columbus, Indiana to James W. Brown and Lucet ...

of the Boy City Film Company in 1918. Vidor had directed ten of these two-reelers. King Vidor describe how he broke into feature film directing in 1918: Due to budgetary constraints, Vidor made only a single print of the picture. Nonetheless, its “record-breaking run” at a Los Angeles theater drew the attention of

Robertson-Cole Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-Americ ...

, which purchased it for national release through Exhibitors Mutual. Impressed with the picture’s success, Brentwood Film Corporation (from the name of a Brentwood country club) financed three more features with Vidor as director: '' Better Times'', '' The Other Half'', and ''

Poor Relations ''Poor Relations'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by King Vidor. Produced by the Brentwood Corporation, the film starred Vidor’s wife Florence Vidor and featured comedienne Zasu Pitts. The picture is the final of four Christi ...

'', all released in 1919. The Christian Science ideals that Vidor presented in ''The Turn in the Road'' suggest his financial backers at Brentwood were at least sympathetic to its precepts.

Theme

The scenario and title for the film is based on a religious tract published by Christian Scientists of whom Vidor was a lifelong adherent. Vidor's religious idealism praised the power of mind over matter and Jeffersonian

Agrarianism Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ag ...

. Film historian John Baxter cites a contemporary review by

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

describing a “particularly powerful” scene contrasting the response of “a child, and a rich, powerful man” to the fury of a thunderstorm: the child reacts with curiosity and wonder at the “natural force”; the man winces at each lightning flash and peal of thunder, daunted by an element that his “money and ocialpower cannot overcome.” Film historians Raymond Durgnat and Scott Simmons report that no print of the film has been discovered by archivists: Of all of Vidor’s features, the loss of his first… is most to be regretted. From all reports it was dramatically successful and heartfelt…” Durgnat and Simmons, 1988 p. 28

Footnotes

References

*Baxter, John. 1976. ''King Vidor''. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544. * Brownlow, Kevin and Kobal, John. 1979. ''Hollywood: The Pioneers''. Alfred A. Knopf Inc. A Borzoi Book, New York. *Callahan, Dan. 2007. ''King Vidor''. Senses of Cinema. February 2007. http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/great-directors/vidor/ Retrieved 30 May 2020. * Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. ''King Vidor, American.'' University of California Press, Berkeley. *Gallagher, Tag. 2007. ''American Triptych: Vidor, Hawks and Ford''. Senses of Cinema. February, 2007 http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/the-moral-of-the-auteur-theory/vidor-hawks-ford/ Retrieved 30 May 2020. * Thompson, David 2011. ''The Man Who Would Be King''. Directors Guild of America. https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1004-Winter-2010-11/Interview-King-Vidor.aspx Retrieved 30 May 2020.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turn in the Road, The 1919 films 1919 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by King Vidor 1910s American films