"The Vicar of Wakefield", based on the once popular novel, is a rather boring melodrama about the misfortunes of the vicar and his family, most of whom, apparently, are saps to any swindler, thief, impostor or scoundrel they happen to meet. The pious family seems incapable of adjusting to, and initially unrecognizing of, the sinners surrounding them. This was the second adaptation of the novel by the Thanhouser Company, who had previously made a one-reel version of it in 1910. Thanhouser seems to have specialized in such classic literary adaptations, which may be viewed thanks to the disproportionately good number of the studio's films available on home video compared to other early producers. This 1917 photoplay includes some rather odd introductory title cards, which appear original, that describe some history of the book and its author.
Comparing the 1910 and 1917 Thanhouser adaptations illustrates the rapid development in film-making that had taken place within just a few years. Besides the change from the one-reel standard of Nickelodeons to feature-length films, there is also discernible progress in scene dissection and narrative structure. The 1910 short film used the tableau style of title cards describing subsequent action, which was photographed by a stationary camera—one title card and one shot for every scene. By 1917, there's some crosscutting and matching between different perspectives of actions. The 1917 version also features some good historical costumes, settings and overall production values.
Another interesting comparison is to look at the difference the scene dissection and more intimate photography make for the performance of Frederick Warde. Warde was a Shakespearean actor from the theatre, and he starred in two early filmic Shakespeare adaptations, "Richard III" (1912) and "King Lear" (1916, and also produced by Thanhouser), which are both available on home video. Although there's much bowing and some peculiar gesturing with an upright forearm, Warde, and more so the rest of the production, are afforded to be less theatrical than such primitive photoplays as "Richard III". Warde's performance in a later 1917 Thanhouser production "The Fires of Youth" was even better adapted to the screen.
Comparing the 1910 and 1917 Thanhouser adaptations illustrates the rapid development in film-making that had taken place within just a few years. Besides the change from the one-reel standard of Nickelodeons to feature-length films, there is also discernible progress in scene dissection and narrative structure. The 1910 short film used the tableau style of title cards describing subsequent action, which was photographed by a stationary camera—one title card and one shot for every scene. By 1917, there's some crosscutting and matching between different perspectives of actions. The 1917 version also features some good historical costumes, settings and overall production values.
Another interesting comparison is to look at the difference the scene dissection and more intimate photography make for the performance of Frederick Warde. Warde was a Shakespearean actor from the theatre, and he starred in two early filmic Shakespeare adaptations, "Richard III" (1912) and "King Lear" (1916, and also produced by Thanhouser), which are both available on home video. Although there's much bowing and some peculiar gesturing with an upright forearm, Warde, and more so the rest of the production, are afforded to be less theatrical than such primitive photoplays as "Richard III". Warde's performance in a later 1917 Thanhouser production "The Fires of Youth" was even better adapted to the screen.