Thursday, September 7, 2017

Young Romance (USA,1915)

Two youths (Tom Clancy and Nellie Nolan) worked in different sections of the same department store without knowing each other and longed for both romance and adventure. Therefore, they decided on their own to pretend for one week that they were upper class members and ended up travelling to Hotel Imperia and Belleview Mansion, places attended by such wealthy people. During this time they met and fell in love with each other.
During her trip, Nellie took the identity of a wealthy client of the store, but while she was travelling she was notified that the person she was impersonating had inherited a fortune due to recent death of an uncle who lived abroad. And some people thought Nellie was the actual heir. Another funny scene is when the couple go to a fancy restaurant not too long after they met and Tom was very nervous about how he would pay for such expensive dinner. 
Unfortunately, the publicity around the inheritance of Nellie made her being the target of unscrupulous people who wanted to steal her money and another guy started romancing Nellie, who unfortunately fell for him.  Nellie was invited for a ride in his motor boat and she accepted it. However, Nellie was left in an abandoned island and forced to give part of the money to the guy who was romancing her, but ended up being a scoundrel.  Even after she agreed to give 10 thousand dollars to the guy, he still kept her in that island until the money was cashed.
Nellie`s ordeal is over when Tom overheard a conversation about the scheme to rob Nellie and went to the island to save her. Love was still there and flourished smoothly.
After one week passed, they both returned home, without having the courage to tell to each other that they were actually poor and their love story was over, although the heartache remained. Tom ended up being promoted to the same section where Nellie worked and they immediately bumped into each other. Rather than questioning each other about why they lied that they were rich, they got so happy to be reunited that they fell into each other`s arms and there was the expected happy end. 
A film worth seeing also for its romantic, nostalgic touch of an era when love was far more innocent and life was simpler. This has an undeniable appeal with modern audiences. The storytelling is also easy to follow and beautiful sea landscapes are also pleasant to the eyes. Subtle, light acting with the bonus of beautiful clothing and furniture. The female protagonist is played by actress Edith Taliaferro, who made a name for herself at the stage, but made only three silent films in the 1910s.  This film is also noteworthy for having been written by William C. de Mille, brother of famous director Cecil B. DeMille. Actor Tom Forman, who played the role of Tom Clancy, despite having been a popular actor, started having career problems already in the silent era and unfortunately committed suicide in 1926. 

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