Volume II: Filmography

THE CROSS

William Russell points an accusing finger in THE CROSS. Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (X-370)

August 22, 1911 (Tuesday)

Length: 1,000 feet

Character: Drama

Cast: William Russell (first mate)

Note: The title of this film was misstated as The Crisis in a review in The Moving Picture World, September 2, 1911. Inexplicably, the introduction to that review stated: "Under Film Stories [synopses], Vol. 9, page 479, of The Moving Picture World, this picture is described as entitled The Cross." No reason was given for changing it to The Crisis in the review. In the same issue that the review with incorrect title appeared, September 2, 1911, the separate schedule of release dates listed the film correctly as The Cross.

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, August 19, 1911:

"A story of the higher type that gives refinement and tone to your program. It deals with a vengeance that was sought by a sea captain whose intemperance causes a loss of his ship and the lives of his crew - except his mate. On the mate's testimony, the captain is given a prison sentence. At the expiration of his term, he seeks to 'square' himself with a mate. But there his Maker steps in, through an earthly delegate, reminds that he has another, a better world to strive to obtain."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, August 19, 1911:

"'The mistakes that doctors made are buried in the ground,' W.S. Meriwether, the nautical writer says. 'Those made by lawyers are paid for by their clients, but the mistakes of sea captains are paid for by themselves, and bitter is the price. The captain in our story paid such a price. With one officer sick, he is standing watch with his first mate, when his love for drink leads him to neglect his duty. While the ship is plunging to destruction, the captain, who should have been on the bridge, is below in the stateroom, helplessly intoxicated. The ship founders, and the captain and his first mate are the only ones who are saved. The luckless commander is placed on trial for the deaths of his men. The evidence of his mate counts heavily against him, and he is sent to prison for a term of years. His wife, who stands by him during the trial, prays for him in vain. When the jury returns its verdict, she hands him her golden cross, hoping that in his cell he may yet find comfort and consolation in religion.

"The cross, which was taken from him when he is received at the prison, is restored to him on his release. He is then brokenhearted and embittered. His wife has died during his absence, his prospects are blighted, and the only thing that keeps him up is the desire for revenge upon the man he unjustly blames for his misfortunes. So he hunts him out, and when they meet, he greets the mate with every evidence of friendship. The mate, a good hearted chap, sorry for his old commander, and only too ready to extend him a helping hand. He invites him to his home, and it is his intention to see that the captain's remaining days are free from care and worry. Although the captain is cunning enough to conceal from his mate his feeling of fanatic hatred, his secret is partially revealed to a visitor at the mate's home, the parish priest. The clergyman meets him at the mate's home, the captain's conduct worried him. The priest leaves the house in deep thought. He ponders over the problem on the way home, then decides to return to the house. He is just in time to save the mate's life, the captain being about to kill him.

"When the priest suddenly appears before the captain, holding out the cross toward him, the would-be assassin thinks of his wife, and for the first time realizes the crime he would commit. He sees that the punishment he has suffered is the consequence of his own fault, and he sinks at the priest's feet, begging forgiveness for the crime he had been about to commit. The priest, finding that his repentance is sincere, secures him a refuge in a monastery. There, by prayers and good deeds, he is trying to atone for the faults he committed in this world, so that he may meet the one he loved in eternity."

REVIEW, The Billboard, August 26, 1911:

"The story here is a religious one throughout, without any attempt at dramatic affects, and even without any argument for or against religious belief. It simply shows a profligate man being converted to the Catholic faith by a priest. The life of the man is traced for some years before his conversion, and the tale of some interest appears in this part of the film, but as far as the production as a whole goes, it is simply one of those tales contrived to please the believers in the faith, and it is absolutely ridiculous to a non-believer. The popularity of the film will depend entirely upon the percentage of Catholics in the audience viewing it. The greater the percentage the greater the popularity. The production is very well staged and very well played."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, August 27, 1911:

"Originality in plot marks this photoplay, from its beginning to its ending, the spectator being held in a suspense as to its ultimate outcome. A sea captain becomes intoxicated while on duty and his vessel sinks with all on board save himself and his mate. He is arrested and tried, the evidence of the mate convicting him for murder of his men. He is sent to prison, and on coming out seeks the mate to do him vengeance. His wife had given him a golden cross upon his entering prison in hopes of this insignia acting as an anchor to his soul. She dies and when he finds the mate he is received with every kindness and made to feel that the latter's home is his own. He bides his time and is about to kill his friend when the parish priest, who had divined his intent, steps into the room, holding aloft the cross, which awakens memories of his wife and he stays his hand. Life has a new aspect and he ends his days in a monastery, at peace with his fellow men and himself. The production is one which will prove thoroughly entertaining. Its lack of any romance gives a pleasurable change from the usual routine and its variety of scenes adds to its merits."

REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, September 2, 1911:

"The picture is made up of a succession of dramatic incidents logically connected into a single story of a sea captain and his mate. The first scene opens at once at a strong situation leading to a wreck, which is suggested to the spectators with astonishing effectiveness; as a result of this wreck the drunken captain goes to jail in testimony of his mate, and after he is released he is stayed in an attempt to kill the mate by a parish priest, who leads him to the cross. It is a fault in many photoplays that they demand our acceptance of incidents, which may be natural but which are not convincing merely because time and space were not taken to make us familiar with the mental peculiarities that make the events natural. The picture of the captain's conversion fails to be powerfully convincing for just that reason. One point in the picture was obscure. We are shown the priest as leaving the mate and the captain together, and on his way home being moved to return to the mate's house. We see him start back; but, for a moment, this reviewer thought that the house the priest seemed to be leaving was another view of the mate's house, whereas it was supposed to be his own house. The priest comes back in time to catch the captain's hand as he is about to stab the sleeping mate. He is then seen leading the fascinated captain out of the house and is holding the cross before his eyes. The background is plainly American, as are the captain and even the priest. Sailors of Brittany might be fascinated so, but would Americans, even when they are sailors?"

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, August 30, 1911:

"This picture is well put on and sincerely played, making in its entirety a dramatic and at times a gripping story. A drunken sea captain is instrumental in the wreck and loss of his ship. He and the mate are the only survivors. The mate testifies against him, and he is sentenced for five years. His wife gives him a cross. At the expiration of his term he comes forth to find his wife's new-made grave. The mate then befriends him by taking him to his home, where the captain, concealing his hate, attempts to revenge himself by killing the mate as he is asleep. The parish priest enters, and, holding up the crucifix, prevents the deed, and obtains a place in a monastery where the captain may expiate his sins."

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