The Passing of the Third Floor Back

This was the second picture produced by First National after Chaplin's A DOG'S LIFE and some hesitancy shows in the production values. It probably also contributed to the casting of Forbes-Robertson, a distinguished stage actor, as the Christ-like occupant of the Third Floor Back -- the cheapest room in the boarding house filled with self-involved, worldly sinners -- who compels his fellow lodgers to truth, happiness and spirituality.

Director Herbert Brenon blithely uses the blocking of this stage play by Jerome K. Jerome to present it to us largely in the boarding house's common area. The play by Jerome K. Jerome is heavy-handed in its parables about compassion for the poor and meek. The actors are a bit over the top in their performances -- except, interestingly, for Forbes-Robertson -- but 1918, with the First World War raging, was certainly good moment for a serious, spiritual play.

However, despite Brenon's audacious visuals, Jerome's play is presented so openly that its heavy-handed message, no matter how well-intentioned, becomes wearisome. As much as I enjoy certain aspects of the movie, the whole is offered in such a blatant and melodramatic fashion that it soon palls.