User Reviews

If temperance advocates want any stronger advocate of total abstinence than this picture from the Essanay studio it would be difficult to find it. Based on the old story of that name, the acting is very realistic. One feels that the audience is indeed fortunate to be spared the scenes of all the nights. Those depicted are sufficient for the purpose. The recovery from the attack of delirium tremens, the recovery of the little girl, the return to work, the promotion and the last scene after seven years of sobriety are all pleasant. The effects of over-indulgence are perhaps more strongly emphasized by being offset by the happiness that comes from sobriety. It is not a pleasant film, yet it is strong and should be popular. But the Essanay photographer will be losing his job if he cannot do better. Patches of white, without the least detail, are not permissible in modern work. The cause is obvious to every photographer who knows his business, and we have seen "dupes" films in which the details and halftones were better rendered than in portions of this Essanay film. - The Moving Picture World, June 19, 1909