THE STRUGGLE (United Artists, 1931), directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith of such silent screen classics as THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), INTOLERANCE (1916), WAY DOWN EAST (1920), ORPHANS OF THE STORM (1921), takes the director's chair for the last time for his second talkie. Following his biographical all-talking success of ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1930) starring Walter Huston, Griffith's work for THE STRUGGLE turns out to be something more heavy-handled in regards to one man's struggle with alcoholism. Featuring a cast of unknowns rather than actors from the Griffith stock company of the past, the story is headed by stage performers of Hal Skelly, with some talkies to his credit, the best noted being THE DANCE OF LIFE (Paramount, 1929); and Zita Johann, better known to many for her performance opposite Boris Karloff in THE MUMMY (Universal, 1932), each doing their best in a scripted story by Anita Loos.
FORWARD: "This is a true narrative based on actual fact mirroring what is happening to thousands of families throughout the land. While 'The Struggle' is a powerful indictment of bootleg liquor emphasizing its devastating effect on American youth, it is not presented as a preachment either or against Prohibition. The picture, however, does raise these questions: If Prohibition is a success that people claim it is, how could all these things have happened? Is man's struggle against intemperance controllable by law, or is it solely a matter of individual characters." Prologue: 1911. Against the underscoring to "In the Good Old Summertime," couples are gathered together drinking and dancing at a beer garden, some discussing the current events of the day of movie actress, Mary Pickford, and of Ziegfeld Follies girl Peggy Joyce " getting married again." Move forward to 1923, where music has been jazzed up, and Prohibition and bootlegging liquor is in the news. Jimmy Wilson (Hal Skelly) is seen at a speakeasy socializing and boozing it up with the patrons. One of them in attendance is Florrie (Zita Johann), who not only loves Jimmy but wants him to stop drinking. They soon marry with Jimmy promising never to drink liquor again. Their marriage is blessed with a daughter, Mary (Edna Hagen), and Jimmy keeping true to his promise until he takes a drink again. His drunken appearance and obnoxious manner soon spoils the engagement party for his sister, Nan (Evelyn Baldwin) to Johnnie Marshall (Jackson Halliday), which finds him fired by his employer, Mr. Craig (Charles Richman), also a guest at the event. Jimmy's boozing puts a strain of his marriage, especially after his involvement with Nan (Charlotte Wynters), a cabaret girl who, along with her boyfriend, wipes him out of his savings, leaving his family to lose their apartment. Jimmy becomes a homeless bum of the streets, followed by a series of other unforeseen circumstances.
While melodramatic themes about alcoholism might have worked better during the silent 1920s movie era reflecting upon the Prohibition era (or possibly the film noir realism style of the 1940s in the wake of Ray Milland's powerful Academy Award winning performance as an alcoholic in THE LOST WEEKEND (Paramount, 1945)), Griffith's THE STRUGGLE only became a notorious flop. Possibly the reason for its theatrical failure comes at the time of its release (being the peek of the Great Depression), or possibly how the movie itself being poorly constructed with a outdated acting style with script reflecting back to the silent movie days. While THE STRUGGLE did have some fresh new faces, so to speak, in the cast, its direction by Griffith must have seemed out of date for 1931 or ahead of its time by today's standards. The actors do what's expected pf them, but there's something lacking here to make this into a strong and powerful story. There have been other movies of this nature with depressing theme with realistic and unpleasant motivations that have proven successful, THE STRUGGLE. however, didn't garner any Academy Award nominations and the success of THE LOST WEEKEND.
Unseen for decades probably due to its reputation, to date, THE STRUGGLE has never been shown on television, except for clips on the film on documentaries on D.W. Griffith. A struggle for some, a curiosity for others, THE STRUGGLE is of notability today solely on the D.W. Griffith name attached to it, especially for movie scholars and fans of the director's work. This 76 minute feature film production has become available for rediscovering on DVD from Kino Video with Griffiths ABRAHAM LINCOLN on its flip-side. (*1/2)
FORWARD: "This is a true narrative based on actual fact mirroring what is happening to thousands of families throughout the land. While 'The Struggle' is a powerful indictment of bootleg liquor emphasizing its devastating effect on American youth, it is not presented as a preachment either or against Prohibition. The picture, however, does raise these questions: If Prohibition is a success that people claim it is, how could all these things have happened? Is man's struggle against intemperance controllable by law, or is it solely a matter of individual characters." Prologue: 1911. Against the underscoring to "In the Good Old Summertime," couples are gathered together drinking and dancing at a beer garden, some discussing the current events of the day of movie actress, Mary Pickford, and of Ziegfeld Follies girl Peggy Joyce " getting married again." Move forward to 1923, where music has been jazzed up, and Prohibition and bootlegging liquor is in the news. Jimmy Wilson (Hal Skelly) is seen at a speakeasy socializing and boozing it up with the patrons. One of them in attendance is Florrie (Zita Johann), who not only loves Jimmy but wants him to stop drinking. They soon marry with Jimmy promising never to drink liquor again. Their marriage is blessed with a daughter, Mary (Edna Hagen), and Jimmy keeping true to his promise until he takes a drink again. His drunken appearance and obnoxious manner soon spoils the engagement party for his sister, Nan (Evelyn Baldwin) to Johnnie Marshall (Jackson Halliday), which finds him fired by his employer, Mr. Craig (Charles Richman), also a guest at the event. Jimmy's boozing puts a strain of his marriage, especially after his involvement with Nan (Charlotte Wynters), a cabaret girl who, along with her boyfriend, wipes him out of his savings, leaving his family to lose their apartment. Jimmy becomes a homeless bum of the streets, followed by a series of other unforeseen circumstances.
While melodramatic themes about alcoholism might have worked better during the silent 1920s movie era reflecting upon the Prohibition era (or possibly the film noir realism style of the 1940s in the wake of Ray Milland's powerful Academy Award winning performance as an alcoholic in THE LOST WEEKEND (Paramount, 1945)), Griffith's THE STRUGGLE only became a notorious flop. Possibly the reason for its theatrical failure comes at the time of its release (being the peek of the Great Depression), or possibly how the movie itself being poorly constructed with a outdated acting style with script reflecting back to the silent movie days. While THE STRUGGLE did have some fresh new faces, so to speak, in the cast, its direction by Griffith must have seemed out of date for 1931 or ahead of its time by today's standards. The actors do what's expected pf them, but there's something lacking here to make this into a strong and powerful story. There have been other movies of this nature with depressing theme with realistic and unpleasant motivations that have proven successful, THE STRUGGLE. however, didn't garner any Academy Award nominations and the success of THE LOST WEEKEND.
Unseen for decades probably due to its reputation, to date, THE STRUGGLE has never been shown on television, except for clips on the film on documentaries on D.W. Griffith. A struggle for some, a curiosity for others, THE STRUGGLE is of notability today solely on the D.W. Griffith name attached to it, especially for movie scholars and fans of the director's work. This 76 minute feature film production has become available for rediscovering on DVD from Kino Video with Griffiths ABRAHAM LINCOLN on its flip-side. (*1/2)