Usurer, The (1910)
*** (out of 4)
Winning moral tale from Griffith about an usurer (George Nichols) who lives in luxury because he's cold-hearted enough to make sure his poor clients become even poorer. His evil ways will soon take a turn for the worse when he ends up locked with the one thing he loves most. Once one goes through many of Griffith's four hundred plus shorts they'll notice that one of the most returned to subjects are the evils of the rich and how they constantly keep poor people down. Griffith, by this time in his life, was making pretty good money but that didn't keep him from taking it easy on the rich and the story here is pretty hard-hitting and manages to still pack a punch, story wise, today. The movie runs at a very fast pace and one can't help but get the message loud and clear. Griffith's directing style doesn't miss a beat and his masterful touch for editing is perfectly done here once again and this is especially true with the sequence at the end with the usurer. Nichols manages to turn in a fine performance as does Grace Henderson as his sister and we also have Mack Sennett with a pretty good role. You can also see Mary Pickford as a sick child who has her bed taken away and we see Henry B. Walthall in one brief scene. Griffith's first wife, Linda Arvidson, can also be spotted here.
