Tol'able David

The 1921 drama "Tol'able David" is one of the classics of silent film: deservedly so, and much of the credit goes to the sensitively virile performance of Richard Barthelmess and the understated directing of the great Henry King. This early sound-era remake is faithful to the original story, but is far inferior to its predecessor. The prolific director John Blystone is no Henry King, and Richard Cromwell is no Barthelmess.

The plot here is the same as in the silent version, and has already been well summarised on IMDb. John Carradine's fans will be pleased to see him here (under his previous screen name) as a hillbilly named Buzzard, giving precisely the performance you'd expect to see from John Carradine as a hillbilly named Buzzard. Carradine doesn't disappoint here, but nor does he surprise. The best performance in these-heah parts is supplied by Noah Beery, as the patriarch of the villainous family who test David's mettle. Also quite good, in a much smaller role, is James Bradbury as the local postmaster.

There's nothing especially wrong with this early talkie, but there's nothing especially good about it either. The photography is impressive, but the editing and production design are nothing to write home about ... and Richard Cromwell simply isn't a strong enough actor to carry a film in the lead role. The silent version of "Tol'able David" is much better. I'll rate this remake just 5 out of 10, mostly for its cast of familiar screen faces.