Mr. Barnes of New York (1914)
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Maurice Costello | Mary Charleson | Maurice Costello (Director) | Robert Gaillard (Director)
Rest of cast:
Darwin Karr | Naomi Childers | Adele DeGarde | Robert Gaillard | William Humphrey | Charles Kent | S. Rankin Drew | Donald Hall | George Stevens | Jack Delson | Alberta Gallatin | Albert Roccardi | Archibald Clavering Gunter (Novel) | Eugene Mullin (Writer) | J. Stuart Blackton (Supervisor)
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“Mr. Barnes of New York”
This latest Vitagraph six-part feature is a fine production — every player scores.
Reviewed by George Blaisdell.
Marina Paoli — Mary Charleson
Tomasso — Charles Kent
Count Musso Danella — William Humphrey
Lieutenant Gerald Anstruther — Darwin Karr
English Principal in the Duel — Donald Hall
Antonio Paoli — S. Rankin Drew
Enid Anstruther — Naomi Childers
Lady Chartris — Alberta Gallatin
Maude — Adele De Garde
M. Lefebre, Detective — Robert Gaillord
The Railway Guard — Albert Roccardi
Mr. Barnes of New York — Maurice Costello
To these splendid players the Vitagraph Company has intrusted a powerful story. It is adapted by Eugene Mullin from the play and novel by Archibald Clavering Gunter. Mr. Mullin has earned the thanks of picturegoers. He has surmounted an obstacle that has been responsible for the wreck of many a fine production in its journey from stage to screen — a long cast. The action runs swiftly, clearly, and above all, cumulatively. It always holds; many times it thrills and as often it stirs. Dramatic situations abound, but there are moments of pathos and also of merriment.
It was said of a battle off Santiago nearly sixteen years ago that it was a captains’ fight. It might be said of Mr. Barnes of New York that it is an actors’ play. So equally is the work divided that the mind automatically recalls the famous saying of Commodore Schley, uttered at the conclusion of the combat just referred to: “There is glory enough for all.” From Veteran Charles Kent to Near Miss Adele De Garde the work of the cast is uniformly excellent.
Maurice Costello and Robert Gaillord direct the production. Mr. Costello in the title role typifies the easy-going New Yorker in search of amusement abroad, as ready to start a fight on his own account when to him it seems necessary as he is to do his best to prevent others from fighting when it seems unnecessary. Mr. Costello has the faculty of clear enunciation, if so it may be termed — oftentimes one may read his lips. An instance of this was when, as he looked carefully at the name engraved on the dueling pistol, he said: “I’ll remember that name”; or, again, at the denouement, as he nonchalantly, deliberately remarked: “I am Mr. Barnes of New York.”
Mary Charleson, as Marina Paoli, the ward of Count Danella, portrays a difficult role with intelligence and skill. It is a part making heavy demands on emotional qualities, and containing many pitfalls. A sister waiting in her home for a visit from her only relative, a brother, is summoned to a distant point. She arrives and finds on the beach the body of her brother. She is told he has been killed by an unknown English naval officer; she swears a vendetta. Later when she falls in love with a man she knows must be a brother officer of the slayer of Antonio she reluctantly recants her oath of vengeance. After her marriage she is told her husband is the slayer. All the evidence points to him. It is Mr. Barnes who clears matters. The role of Marina is in all essentials the antithesis of the light and airy part Miss Charleson so cleverly sustained in The Honeymooners, the silent comedy which for nine weeks held the stage in the Vitagraph Theater, which makes her success in Mr. Barnes all the more notable.
William Humphrey as the guardian in love with his ward, and who later tries to encompass the death of Marina’s husband in the belief that he is the man who slew Antonio, gives a fine, a finished, performance. That Danella meets his eavesdropping death even as did snooping, loquacious old Polonius behind the arras is regrettable. It is not required by the demands of retributive justice; it is a gratuitous tragical contribution of the author. Danella is animated throughout by a regard for the customs of Corsica — an eye for an eye — he never knew the life he so faithfully sought was snuffed out at the bombardment of Alexandria. Charles Kent as Tomasso, the servant of Marina, is Charles Kent. We can’t add anything to that statement.
Darwin Karr and Donald Hall, the English officers, make a splendid team. Mr. Karr is at his best in his efforts to win the hand of the Corsican girl who is struggling between regard for her self-imposed obligation and affection for Lieutenant Anstruther. Mr. Hall has a most wholesome likable personality, and in his short part makes a distinct hit. The selection of these two men was ideal. Miss Childers as the English girl, the sister of Anstruther, does her best work in the scenes in the railway carriage, when she is compelled through hunger to capitulate to the persistence of the fascinated, acquaintance-seeking, scheming Mr. Barnes.
Albert Roccardi, the railway guard who so efficiently aids Mr. Barnes in his conquest, furnishes a bit of delightful comedy. So, too, does little — at least, she used to be — Adele De Garde, the mischievous miss who is kept in extremely short dresses the better to befog the guessers as to the maternal age.
The staging is of the Vitagraph’s best — barring the over-water bombardment, that is palpably stagy. The on-shore scenes of the tumbling buildings and scurrying natives are well done. There are many artistic backgrounds, some natural, some artificial. The interiors are finely appointed. The photography is striking — practically the entire picture is toned. One factor that unquestionably adds to the effectiveness of the production at the Vitagraph Theater is the musicianly work of the organist. Except during scenes of turmoil, such, for instance, as the bombardment, it has a subtle, subconscious influence; unobtrusive but ever-present.
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Scene from Mr. Barnes of New York (Vitagraph)
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Collection: Moving Picture World, May 1914