I could not believe how bad the movie was, till I realized the story was written by Rex Beach, a very prominent writer from the early 20th Century. The "KKK-type" court who "judged" various people from the town was outrageous. In my view, the film appeared to justify and condone the actions of the real KKK. The plot seemed to completely confuse Tom Meighan. I really looked forward to seeing Meighan perform. He was a major star of the 1920's, friend and companion of Scott Fitzgerald and his long island set, and I assumed this would be a good film. The fact that a 1928 audience was comfortable with this film does not reflect favorably on society at that time.
Review of The Mating Call
