If a typical Lon Chaney movie represents the dark side of silent Hollywood, producer Benjamin B. Hampton's Heart's Haven (1922) certainly represents the light.
Extremely active on Poverty Row in the early1920s, Hampton wrote and/or produced and/or directed nine or ten features.
Surrounding himself with a stock company of players and technical staff (including Jean Hersholt who doubled as an assistant director), Hampton tried in this movie and others to crash into the big-time, but was unsuccessful, despite good production values, excellent performances and pleasing photography.
This film, preserved by Kodascope, is pretty typical. Hampton's direction is of the camera-chained-to-the-floor school, but the lightweight story is acted out convincingly enough, although it proves more entertaining when comedian Frank Hayes is allowed to run riot as a hypochondriac. ("Do you experience a loss of appetite after eating a meal? Or feel out of breath after running for a streetcar?")
(Available on an 8/10 Grapevine DVD).
Extremely active on Poverty Row in the early1920s, Hampton wrote and/or produced and/or directed nine or ten features.
Surrounding himself with a stock company of players and technical staff (including Jean Hersholt who doubled as an assistant director), Hampton tried in this movie and others to crash into the big-time, but was unsuccessful, despite good production values, excellent performances and pleasing photography.
This film, preserved by Kodascope, is pretty typical. Hampton's direction is of the camera-chained-to-the-floor school, but the lightweight story is acted out convincingly enough, although it proves more entertaining when comedian Frank Hayes is allowed to run riot as a hypochondriac. ("Do you experience a loss of appetite after eating a meal? Or feel out of breath after running for a streetcar?")
(Available on an 8/10 Grapevine DVD).
