The Roughneck (1915)

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William S. Hart | Enid Markey | Clifford Smith (Director) | William S. Hart (Director)

Rest of cast:

George Fisher | Roy Laidlaw | Howard Hickman | C. Gardner Sullivan (Writer) | Thomas H. Ince (Producer | Writer)

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“The Roughneck”

Two-Reel Kay-Bee release by T. H. Ince and C. G. Sullivan, featuring William S. Hart.

Reviewed by Louis Reeves Harrison.

Cast:

Dave Page — William S. Hart
Avis Hilliard — Enid Markey
Franklin Hilliard — George Fisher
Jerome, the lawyer — Roy Laidlaw
Lord Cecil Oakleigh — Howard Hickman

Well handled and presenting Mr. Hart in a new light, The Roughneck will please as a story, though it comes under the heading, “conventional.” Interest is quickly aroused by Hart’s characterization, one of more psychology than he has hitherto attempted and one placed in strong contrast by the admirable selection of type in Enid Markey. The eternal conflict, that of The Great Divide, is one of locality. It is between a Westerner of primitive and unconquered nature and a girl of a more civilized environment, supposedly in the “East,” though such distinctions do not hold to-day. In this case the man has softened into that finest of gentlemen, he of delicate sensibilities and noble heart. The girl is merely the spoiled doll of wealth and fashion until a sudden revelation leads to an entire conversion of character, and not a little of the charm of contrast is due to Enid Markey’s consistent impersonation.

Three reels would have admitted of a more adequate treatment or the early development could have been compressed in favor of showing the girl’s conversion. It is almost too sudden. Then three reels would have permitted a more powerful contrast to be set forth at the mines. The girl and her brother are supposedly heirs to an enormous fortune, comprising a great mine, but the latter really constitutes the sole possession of their father at his death and he deeds it to the manager, Dave Page, as restitution for a wrong done Page’s father. Thus the supposed heiress and her brother are left penniless. They do not know it, however, and the girl demands five thousand dollars advance on her supposed dividends. The manager pays her that amount, though he is forced to do so from his own bank account.

Now it happens that the heiress is courted by a penniless lordling, and this gentleman suspects Page of secreting valuable property. Armed with a search warrant, the heirs and the lordling go to Page’s office and inspect his papers. This interesting scene results in a discovery wholly unexpected, the discovery that Page is the real master of the mine. A sudden change comes over the spirit of the lordling, and his true character comes to light. Page feels sorry for the children and, in a moment of supreme compassion, he gives the mine to them. He imposes a condition upon the brother that the next time a husband is selected for his sister he shall be a real man. The girl reaches a realization that Page is the real man for her in some well-handled scenes that are all too brief for the effect they deserve. The play is superior to most of its kind and will be well received.

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Scene from The Roughneck (Kay-Bee)

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Collection: Moving Picture World, March 1915