Gretchen the Greenhorn (1916)

Directors:

Chester M. Franklin
Sidney Franklin

Writer:

Bernard McConville (story)

Release Date:

3 September 1916 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Gretchen Van Houck is just arriving in the USA, on a ship from Holland. She joins her father, who has already spent several years in America...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Widow | Tenement | Italian | Marriage Proposal

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Dorothy Gish	...	Gretchen Van Houck
Ralph Lewis	...	Jan Van Houck
Eugene Pallette	...	Rodgers
Elmo Lincoln	...	Mystery Ship Captain
Frank Bennett	...	Pietro
Kate Bruce	...	Widow Garrity

Also Known As:

Gretchen Blunders In (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

58 min (2004 National Film Preservation Foundation print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Fine Arts Studios - 4516 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fine Arts Film Company

Trivia:

One of the films in the 3-disk boxed DVD set called "More Treasures from American Film Archives (2004)", compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation from 5 American film archives. This film is preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archives, has a running time of 58 minutes and an added piano score.

Well-Crafted, Compassionate Drama

This recently recovered drama is very enjoyable to watch, both because it is well-crafted and because it treats its cast of immigrant characters in such a compassionate and thoughtful way. The tenement block atmosphere is convincing, and Chester and Sidney Franklin use it to create a believable world filled with believable characters.

The characters are endearing, and although they are all quite uncomplicated, they are easy to care about. The Franklin brothers present them in an honest yet caring way. The various national backgrounds are generally identified with the most obvious of symbols, yet this comes across well, because the audience is meant to care about them simply because they are honest, innocent men and women, not because they are brilliant or heroic. The one weakness that most of them share is their naiveté – as implied by the title – and this is hardly a censurable quality.

Dorothy Gish makes the most of her starring role as Gretchen, and she fits the part well. Ralph Lewis is also good as her father. Eugene Palette – looking younger and thinner than in his best-known roles – works quite well as the villainous Rogers, making particularly good use of his gestures and expressions to connote his character's nature.

The Franklins film it in what is now a rather old-fashioned style – in particular, lots of 'iris' shots – but it fits the material pretty well. and the story is told well without relying on clichés or contrivances. There is one particularly good sequence of cross-cutting, when an idyllic, innocent date between Gretchen and Pietro is contrasted with Rogers carrying out one of his malicious, deceitful schemes.

Overall, this works quite well and has also held up well. It's a feature worth seeing for anyone who enjoys silent dramas.