His Hour of Triumph (1913) Online

A two-reel picture that is bound to make a strong impression. The script is written by Walter MacNamara. It is produced by George L. Tucker. That the combination is a good one there is no doubt. "His Hour of Triumph" succeeds where nearly all pictures fail, in attempting to make a play within a play. Not only does it keep steadily in the view of the observer the main action, the triumph or failure of the reporter who is fighting first for money to send away a sick wife and secondly for himself, but it makes interesting: the stage production in which the reporter-playwright is making his debut. There is heart interest and there is suspense and there is pathos. Judiciously interspersed throughout the two reels there is fine comedy, just flashes of it, sufficient to relieve the tension and never enough at any time to throw the attention or the interest from the main theme. The heart interest comes when we see the distress of the reporter at home, with his sinking wife, on her face the gray look that marks the approach of the end. It is intensified when we see her holding the manuscript as her husband rehearses his part. Even stronger is the situation at the end, of the wife as it is of the story, as she passes out without learning of the triumph of her husband, who, surrounded by the members of his company and the author of the play, their former skepticism and ill- concealed jeers now forgotten in the hearty congratulations, hears over the telephone that his triumph is in vain. Those who have been watching the screen knew it before the new actor did; flashes of the sickroom have told the story. The deepest note of suspense comes at the moment when the star prepares for the opening of the play. There is every indication that his debut will be a fluke; his trembling hand as he tries to drink the bracer which the colored man brings to him seems a sure sign. When we see him enter upon the scene with the air of the trained actor the relief compensates for the strain. The best of the comedy is in the behavior of the theater audience. There is one big man in front who during the first act scandalizes his neighbors by going to sleep. His violent applause m the second act shows his awakening. Seated near him is a face that will be recognized by many who live in or near the metropolis, that of a well-known critic. Bored at first, he indicates later his approval by a gentle tapping of the hands. The author of the play, seated in a box by himself, gives us a fine bit of character work. The stagehands also, by their deep interest in the progress of the play, furnish cause for laughter. William E. Shay gives a splendid interpretation of the reporter-playwright. Jane Gail as the leading woman, playing the part of the adventuress, maintains the reputation she has won for steady, heady work. Director Tucker says she has brains. It may be added in all truth that she has charm of manner and magnetism. William Welsh in the role of actor-manager by his fine playing adds to the illusion of the play. Among the many whose character work stands out are the author of the stage play and the young woman who interprets the sick wife. Just a word as to the staging of the picture. The atmosphere of the theater is early established and maintained throughout. - The Moving Picture World, October 18, 1913

William Welsh can't get an actor for a key role in his current production, so he dismisses the cast. When he goes home, there stands William Shay, a writer with a sick wife, who has a play of his owns that he wants produced. Is Shay's work good enough? and is Shay himself?

George Loane Tucker, the director of this three-reel drama, is best remembered for directing TRAFFIC IN SOULS. This is an experiment in movies of longer length. It is heavily padded and melodramatically weighted, but there are some fine moments in the acting, like the fight over the burning manuscript. Although this piece has not aged well, it was a fine, rip-roaring meller for 1913 and a good introduction to the stronger meat that the movie audiences of the day craved.

It you wish to take a look at it for yourself, a good copy is available on the Eye Institute site on Youtube.