“Although we are aware that there is certain prejudice amongst some people against plays based upon social conditions essentially different from those of this country, we ourselves have frequently found this type of film more than usually full of interest. One of the great charms of the picture play lies in its power to bring before us with vivid realism not only the landscapes but the actual life of other lands, and it has truly been said in this connection that good cinematograph stories are even more educational that avowedly didactic films. McCarn Plays Fate is a little drama graphically illustrating the extent to which criminal intrigue by local politicians is possible in some American cities. We have all heard of the political corruption which seems to have eaten like a canker into the social organization of the United States, and this film gives of this strange phenomenon in the life of a great country, a far more realistic and accurate idea than could be accomplished in reams of newspaper descriptions.
“Although to our mind this is considerably the most interesting aspect of the film, it should be pointed out that McCarn Plays Fate is not merely a political treatise, but is primarily a very strong drama which is notable for the magnificently natural and powerful manner in which it is acted. In its way, we have never seen a finer performance than Mr. Kelsey’s Detective McCarn. It is realistic up to the point of brutality, but it grips one’s attention by its sheer force, and is as convincing as it could be. Almost equally good are Messrs. O’Brien and Bennett, as two members of the American criminal classes, whilst all those playing smaller parts merit similar praise. The characterisation of the story is so strikingly vivid that it renders the plot almost a secondary consideration. It should be said, however, that the tale is quite an effective one, that it is logically developed, and that it introduces incidentally one of the most thrilling fights yet beheld on the screen. McCarn Plays Fate is a ‘real’ detective story, as opposed to the many absurd melodramas purporting to deal with the detection of crime. It is powerful, exciting and realistic, and of its kind quite a masterpiece of acting. It deserves to be very successful.”
