When Knights Were Bold

There's a lot that's wrong with this piece, but at least there's some life in it as two noblemen fight over a lady -- D.W. Griffith wrote the scenario and his wife starred in it. And there's plenty of movement, as people exit and enter and swing swords and kneel and so forth.

The real problem lies in the framing: there is no sign of the Biograph Right Wall, and that lack makes the whole thing look very two-dimensional -- although placing people and objects at the front and rear of the stage does ameliorate this somewhat. The acting is still pretty broad.

Still, it is a pretty good movie for its time, 1908, just when Griffith started to direct. But that time would end within a year and the other leading studios -- Edison and Vitagraph -- would also change enormously, albeit in very different ways. By 1912, this would be not an antique, but junk.