''Tol'able David'' is a 1921 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

based on the 1917

Joseph Hergesheimer Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy. Early life Hergesheimer was born on February 15, 1880 Phil ...

short story of the same name. It was adapted to the screen by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwi ...

and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures. A rustic tale of violence set in the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

of eastern

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, it was filmed in

Blue Grass, Virginia Blue Grass is an unincorporated community on VA 642 at its junction with VA 640 in Highland County, Virginia, United States. Blue Grass lies along the South Branch Potomac River and is located approximately north of Monterey, Virginia. It was p ...

, with some locals featured in minor roles. A major box office success, the acclaimed film was voted the 1921 ''Photoplay Magazine'' Medal of Honor and is seen by critics and film historians as one of the classics of silent film. It was selected in 2007 for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

; films selected are judged to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Synopsis

David Kinemon, youngest son of

tenant farmers A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

, longs to be treated like a man by his family and neighbors, especially Esther Hatburn, the pretty girl who lives with her grandfather on a nearby farm. However, he is continually reminded that he is still a boy, "tol'able" enough, but no man. David eventually gets a chance to prove himself when outlaw Iscah Hatburn and his sons Luke and "Little Buzzard", distant cousins of the Kinemons' Hatburn neighbors, move into the Hatburn farm, against the will of Esther and her grandfather. Esther initially tells David not to interfere, saying he is no match for her cousins. Later, the cousins kill David's pet dog and cripple his older brother while the latter is delivering mail and taking passengers to town in his

Hackney carriage A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common s ...

. Out of a sense of honor, David's father intends to visit

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

justice on the Hatburns' cousins rather than rely on the local sheriff, but is prevented by an abrupt and fatal heart attack. David is determined to go after the Hatburns in his father's place, but his mother pleads with him, arguing that he will surely die and that with his father dead and brother crippled, the household, including his brother's wife and infant son, depends on him. The now fatherless Kinemon family is turned out of the farm and is forced to move into a small house in town. David asks for his brother's old job of driving the hack, but is told he is too young. However, he finds work at the general store. Later, when the hack's regular driver is fired for drunkenness, David finally has a chance to drive the hack. He loses the mailbag near the Hatburn farm, where it is found by Luke. David goes to the Hatburn farm to demand the mailbag. He is refused and gets into an argument with the cousins, during which he is shot in the arm. David then shoots Iscah and the younger son and later, after a prolonged fight with the older brother (meant to recall the story of

David and Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's ...

), emerges victorious. Esther flees for help and makes it to the village, telling that David has been killed. As a crowd prepares to go look for David, he arrives in the hack with the bag of mail, badly injured, and collapses. It is clear to all that David, no longer merely "tol'able", is a real man and a hero.

Cast

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's ''Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and w ...

as David Kinemon *

Gladys Hulette Gladys Hulette (July 21, 1896 – August 8, 1991) was an American silent film actress from Arcade, New York, United States. Her career began in the early years of silent movies and continued until the mid-1930s. She first performed on stage at ...

as Esther Hatburn * Walter P. Lewis as Iscah Hatburn *

Ernest Torrence Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...

as Luke Hatburn *

Ralph Yearsley Ralph Yearsley (October 6, 1896 – December 4, 1928) was a British-born character actor who worked in Hollywood films. Early life and education Born in London, England, he was trained in a medical school, but left for the United States to pursue ...

as Saul "Little Buzzard" Hatburn *

Forrest Robinson Forrest Robinson (1858 – January 6, 1924) was an American stage and silent era actor. He was a leading man at the Boston Museum Theater and acted in numerous theatrical productions in New York. He also appeared in numerous films. Robinson was ...

as Grandpa Hatburn * Laurence Eddinger as Sen. John Gault * Marion Abbott as Mother Kinemon * Edmund Gurney as Father Hunter Kinemon * Warner Richmond as Allen Kinemon * Patterson Dial as Rose Kinemon *

Henry Hallam Henry Hallam (9 July 1777 – 21 January 1859) was an English historian. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he practised as a barrister on the Oxford circuit for some years before turning to history. His major works were ''View of t ...

as The Doctor

Production

Director King had been born and raised not far away in rural western Virginia and took immense pleasure in scouting locations in preparation for the film. Joseph Hergesheimer's short story had been optioned by D.W. Griffith who intended Barthelmess as the star of a film version, but when Barthelmess and King formed Inspiration Pictures, Griffith traded them the rights for other properties.

Reception

Released in December 1921, ''Tol'able David'' was both a commercial and critical success.

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

, reviewing the picture for the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

'', repeatedly referred to it as a masterpiece. In ''Life'',

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...

wrote "It is the first motion picture to achieve real greatness without placing any reliance on spectacular effect." Trade-related publications widely recommended it. In ''Photoplay'' it was called a masterpiece again and "one of the few film tragedies of uncompromising power". ''Variety'' wrote that Barthelmess' performance came "close to being the best effort he has ever made". The review in ''Motion Picture News'' gave the opinion that there would be "few who will not feel the power of it". The ''Exhibitors Herald'' found it "a superb piece of cinema craftsmanship" and "excellent throughout". In a 1924 interview for ''Photoplay'',

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

named it among her favorite films, saying "When I first saw this picture, I felt I was not looking at a photoplay but was really witnessing the tragedy of a family I had known all my life." It influenced Russian director V.I. Pudovkin who used it as an exemplar in his writing. In 1963,

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

named ''Tol'able David'' in his top 10 of favorite films. In his 2008 book ''"Have You Seen...?": A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films'', film critic David Thomson assesses ''Tol'able David'' as "one of the most spectacular and heartfelt identifications with countryside ever managed onscreen". The cinematography "delivered countless views of country life as a version of heaven", while '"the fight is grand, prolonged, and not one to bet on". He finds its influence "in just about every ubsequentfilm where revenge has rectitude" — mentioning, especially, '' High Noon'' and '' Straw Dogs''.

Other adaptations

*''

The Kid Brother ''The Kid Brother'' is a 1927 American silent film, silent comedy film, comedy film starring Harold Lloyd. It was successful and popular upon release and today is considered by critics and fans to be one of Lloyd's best films, integrating el ...

'' (1927),

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

's highly regarded comedy, had a similar plot and featured ''Tol'able David'' actor Ralph Yearsley. ''The Kid Brother'' was a reworking of ''The White Sheep'' (1924), which also loosely adapted aspects of ''Tol'able David''. *A less successful 1930 sound remake with

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

in the title role was directed by John G. Blystone for Columbia.

In popular culture

* A portion of the third act of the 1959 horror film ''

The Tingler ''The Tingler'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price. The film tells the story of a scientist who discove ...

'' takes place in a specialty theater during a showing of ''Tol'able David''.

References

External links

*''Tol’able David'' essa

by Fritzi Kramer at

* * *
''Tol'able David''
at Virtual History *''Tol’able David'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 75–7

{{Edmund Goulding 1921 films 1921 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Henry King United States National Film Registry films First National Pictures films Photoplay Awards film of the year winners Surviving American silent films 1920s American films