The plot is a tale of nieghbors on a upscale residential city street, where in one house we see a young couple named Kirkwood and their boy, the wife being our star, May Allison. The other house has a middle aged childless couple, the Gannells. The two families apparently don't socialize, and seem to be unaware of each other. What ties them is a young man who tends their furnaces when the husbands are away. With May, he's strictly business, but next door, he's having an affair with Mrs. Gannell.
One day, Mr. Gannell discovers it, and follows his wife's lover into Kirkwood's cellar and creases his skull with an axe found there. He dumps the body and axe out in the woods, then manages to get some of Kirkwood's personalized cigarettes, plants them with the body too, so when it's found, it looks bad for Kirkwood, who's soon in a jail cell, indicted for the bloody deed. In the mean time, Gannel, who happens to be a lawyer, manages to defend Kirkwood at his trial, and as you'd expect, he does a pitiful job of it. Mrs. Kirkwood (May) suspects something about their incompetent attorney, and she sets up a psychological trap to get him to confess, that works brilliantly.
Throughout, the story is filmed well enough, nothing fancy, just necessary, well composed shots. The action carries one's interest along, and the actors are also well recieved. The distance of a century leaves them all unfamiliar faces, but none are overly hammy. The only real disappointment is in the scene where May exposes the evil lawyer. She lays out perfectly how her plot should work out beforehand. And it works out just as she said it would. This cuts the suspense down rather considerably, it's a letdown if there's no conflict. There's not enough time between the moment he confesses and he's arrested by one detective. No fuss, no muss, no action.
But the film has many interesting moments, and still it's recomended.
One day, Mr. Gannell discovers it, and follows his wife's lover into Kirkwood's cellar and creases his skull with an axe found there. He dumps the body and axe out in the woods, then manages to get some of Kirkwood's personalized cigarettes, plants them with the body too, so when it's found, it looks bad for Kirkwood, who's soon in a jail cell, indicted for the bloody deed. In the mean time, Gannel, who happens to be a lawyer, manages to defend Kirkwood at his trial, and as you'd expect, he does a pitiful job of it. Mrs. Kirkwood (May) suspects something about their incompetent attorney, and she sets up a psychological trap to get him to confess, that works brilliantly.
Throughout, the story is filmed well enough, nothing fancy, just necessary, well composed shots. The action carries one's interest along, and the actors are also well recieved. The distance of a century leaves them all unfamiliar faces, but none are overly hammy. The only real disappointment is in the scene where May exposes the evil lawyer. She lays out perfectly how her plot should work out beforehand. And it works out just as she said it would. This cuts the suspense down rather considerably, it's a letdown if there's no conflict. There's not enough time between the moment he confesses and he's arrested by one detective. No fuss, no muss, no action.
But the film has many interesting moments, and still it's recomended.
