User Reviews

*SPOILERS*

I watched "Not Guilty" (1910), a somewhat gripping 14 minute short about a man who becomes inadvertently involved in a robbery of a man's wallet and accused of the crime, found guilty, sent to jail where he's made to work on a road-gang, escapes, but is finally found not guilty and freed. It's all told very straightforwardly, but well acted except for some overly histrionic attitudes at the young man's house where his blind mother lives and where his fiancé comes to visit apparently constantly (one scene has her awakening on the floor next to the mother who's still in her chair, the implication being that they've spent the night there in one place without moving). From the story-telling viewpoint, it looks as if the young man will never get out of his jam. When that does happen at the end, it just - happens! We don't see anything except a newspaper announcing that the guilty man has confessed. That was a disappointment because it was absolutely ridiculous. Otherwise, a pretty good film. For 1910 this is decent, yes, but Griffith was doing them better. He was a better story teller by far. Still, this was fun until the otherwise nearly impossible conclusion. This is on the DVD "Thanhouser Presents Treasures from the Library of Congress", eleven releases preserved by The LOC.