Charles Ray....

I really liked watching him in this film, played it really sensitive, w/o the histrionics associated with silent film acting. Small gestures, like slightly lifting an eyebrow in the scene where he's told that he's received a telegram, turning his back to the camera...little things like that made his performance really natural (again, compared to the style of acting of the era). Only bothersome thing was the use of close-ups; they were extreme, like the lens was only inches from the faces. [That's more in vogue with late teens filmmaking - I've noticed them in other films of that period, like in Broken Blossoms, there are VERY tight closeups of Richard Barthelmess in that one too.]


I liked this one.