Falling Leaves

This worthwhile and often moving melodrama deals with what at the time was a very topical concern, dramatizing the effects of tuberculosis and the hope of a cure for it. The story is slightly over-optimistic, in that it implies more than was true at the time about what could be done for afflicted patients, but as a story it is well-crafted, and it is quite effective, in addition to obviously being well-meaning.

The main characters are two sisters, one of whom has tuberculosis, their parents, and the doctors who attend the sick girl. The nicely-chosen title "Falling Leaves" comes from a touching misunderstanding of the younger sister when she hears a doctor's gloomy prognosis for her beloved sister. Her innocent misconception drives the plot and makes her a very sympathetic character.

Given the somber nature of the material, the characters are quite believable, and are played with sensitivity yet without any excess emoting. The two daughters and their mother are particularly endearing characters. The story, likewise, is told with good pacing. This is one of director Alice Guy Blaché's best surviving movies, and her naturalistic approach works quite well in this story. It's easily one of the better features of its genre and era.

In 2012, 100 years after the release of this movie, a movie starring Eddie Murphy called "A Thousand Words" had roughly the same plot. In "A Thousand Words" Eddie Murphy's character believed that he would die when the last leaf fell from a tree in his backyard. The leaves only fell when Eddie spoke so he had to be more judicious with his words if he wanted to live.

In "Falling Leaves" Dr. Earl Headley (Mace Greenleaf) tells Winifred Thompson (Marian Swayne) that she will die of consumption by the time the last leaf falls (i.e. By winter's end). Consumption was the name of tuberculosis back in the days. Her little sister Trixie (Magda Foy), taking the statement quite literally, tried to tie the leaves to their branches to keep her poor big sister alive.

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"Falling Leaves" as a title suggests a picture of sentiment in which consumption figures, put out by a French film maker last summer. This picture may have been suggested, by that, but it has freshness although there are many points of similarity. Mace Greenleaf plays in it the role of a doctor who has discovered a cure for consumption. Blanche Cornwall plays a mother whose daughter (Marion Swayne) is in a decline. The Solax Kid plays the little boy who ties the leaves on to the trees as in the old story. If the story has been told before, it is here well told again and prettily acted. It is a picture of sentiment and of a kind that is always popular. For this reason we call it a feature. It is prettily set, lighted and photographed. - The Moving Picture World, March 23, 1912

Falling Leaves (1912)

*** (out of 4)

Melodramatic but good film from Alice Guy-Blache about a young girl who overhears the family doctor saying that her older sister won't live by the time the last leaf falls off the tree. The sister is dying of tuberculosis so the young girl goes outside and starts to tie leaves back to the tree and by doing this she gets the attention of a doctor who knows a cure. FALLING LEAVES is exactly the type of film that D.W. Griffith had been making for about three years but Guy-Blache manages to bring her touch to the subject and while it's way too dramatic at times, the heart of the story is certainly brought to the screen with care. Again, if you're not used to movies from this era then it's best you don't start here but I thought for the most part the film's story was told with a certain loving care that makes it worth viewing. Guy-Blache manages to make the film move at a very good pace and there's no question that she knows how to build up some tender moments and especially the scene with the young girl trying to put leaves back on the trees. The cinematography is actually pretty good throughout with some nice shots and the new music score also benefits to the film quite well.

Dr. Earl Headley has found a wonderful serum for the cure of consumption, a terrible disease that struck people at the beginning of the last century ( fortunately we, the aristocrats, don't have those diseases; we only suffer gout or delirium tremens ). Youngster Winifred, has many serious problems; not only does she have to wear a ribbon bigger than her head, she also has consumption. The family doctor, tells her mother and father that the poor little girl will pass away "when the last leaf falls". Little Trixie, Winifred's young sister, hears the terrible news and in order to save her sister, she ties together the leaves in the family garden trying to keep her sister from dying. It is in this fateful garden, where little Trixie meets accidentally Dr. Earl Headley and this encounter leads to the doctor giving his wonderful serum to Winifred and saving her life. Three months later, Winifred is completely cured and this German Count hopes that the first medical practitioner, the family doctor, was fired for his incompetence.

"Falling Leaves" was directed by Dame Alice Guy, also known as Alice Guy-Blaché, a pioneer film director in many aspects. She was French ( not a remarkable fact, at all ) and the world's first woman director, and was very prolific and even experimented with sound in several of her early films. She worked in France and USA, where she formed the production company that made this film. "Falling Leaves" is a good example of those early films for which Dame Alice Guy was known. It's a one-reel production that depicts a simple story with a static camera but in an effective way ( the garden sequence has a special oneiric atmosphere ). The actors play their roles with extravagant gestures but the only thing that really matters in this one-reel production was the message not the messengers.