One Is Business, the Other Crime

We get two stories almost going on simultaneously here and the two winding up being intertwined, although they don't start off that way. We see two newly-married couples: one is rich, one is poor in this short D.W. Griffith silent film.

Both husbands are faced with temptations involving money. The rich man is offered a bribe for his vote to aid a railway company while the poor man succumbs to "poverty desperation: (as stated in the movie) meaning he robs a house. Ironically, it's the above-mentioned rich man's house.

What happens supports the adage that "honesty is the best policy." How that is derived......well, watch the film, if you get the opportunity. A couple of ironic twists at the end make the story worthwhile.

This is another of DW Griffith's occasional social commentary pieces, in which he contrasts the experience of the very poor with that of the very rich. The focus in this point in his career however is very much on the individual characters rather than the broad social sweep.

As the title suggests, the comparison is very clear-cut and direct. In the opening scenes he makes good use of space, with the shape of the poor couple's home making it look exceptionally cramped. As in Female of the Species he's experimenting with moving faces into the foreground, although here it doesn't work quite so well, with heads too close to the bottom of the frame, and not enough decent facial acting to make it worthwhile.

The middle section of the film is weak, verging on ridiculous. This is one of those occasional DW Griffith resolutions that just strains credibility too much. Over-the-top melodrama can be great sometimes, but here it's not. It actually makes me laugh that, after the wealthy couple have forgiven and released the burglar, he still leaves through the window. Surely they'd let him use the door?

This is followed however by a virtuoso Griffith moment. With some spot on crosscutting, he parallels the actions of the despondent poor man with the soul-searching of the rich man. There is also some very good use of lighting in this scene, which is surprising as this is one of the few areas of film technique Griffith never really played with much.

One is Business, the Other Crime is an incredibly uneven work, brilliant in some places, daft in others, and too many intertitles throughout. However, there really does seem to be no such thing as a terrible Griffith picture by this point, and it does contain enough good elements to make it worth watching.

Despite a plot that depends heavily on an unlikely coincidence, this short drama makes its main point well. Although a present-day discussion of the same issues might involve different specific details, the basic point is as valid as ever, making this one of a surprising number of short dramas from the early 1910s that still have something to say.

At the beginning, a contrast is set up efficiently between two newly married couples, one poor and struggling and one prosperous and influential, and then we are shown the kinds of temptations to which the two husbands are subjected. The way that everything is eventually resolved is rather forced and not entirely convincing, but at least it's interesting, and it's hard not to agree with the implied points that Griffith is making.

Aside from Blanche Sweet, the better-known names are probably in the smaller roles here. The interest in this movie lies in its commentary on the morals of the rich and the poor, and in how topical the basic issues still are, 90 years later.

Early film, beautifully directed by D.W. Griffith. Two young couples are happily married, on the same day: one is rich, Blanche Sweet and Edwin August; the other is poor, Dorothy Bernard and Charles West. As their wedded lives unfold, we see the desperation of the poor couple contrasted with the opulent lifestyle of the rich couple. The poor husband cannot find work, and is tempted to rob a house. The rich husband is tempted to take a bribe. Each succumbs to temptation. When the poor man attempts to rob the rich man, their lives again collide…

Griffith expertly cross-cuts between the parallel lives - the rich and the poor couples, bringing them together, and tearing them apart. G.W. Bitzer's photography is stunning, highlighted by a cooperative wind. The scenes with the poor husband looking for work are very well done. Griffith and the four principals (Sweet, West, August , and Bernard) very effectively use body and expression to convey their means. Griffith expertly uses the camera and the characters to relay his message about "white collar crime" in "One Is Business, the Other Crime".

Sweet.

******** One Is Business, the Other Crime (4/25/12) D.W. Griffith ~ Blanche Sweet, Charles West, Edwin August

This short drama serves as a good example of what D.W. Griffith could achieve when he and his Biograph troupe were in their prime. The story is simple yet involving, and is told with a minimum of title cards. The acting is notably restrained (especially compared with most films made concurrently), and we never get the sense that any of the performers are exaggerating, playing to the camera or "milking it." For the most part Griffith photographs his actors head-on and never indulges himself in any showy camera angles or flashy editing, for this isn't a story that calls for dazzling technique. In the final scenes a simple lighting effect, meant to suggest the first rays of the rising sun, is used to good dramatic effect, but it's the performances that move us, and that would be true if we were watching this same story enacted on stage. In this short drama Griffith's greatest contribution was to coax sensitive performances from his players and then simply to keep out of their way.

The story concerns two young couples, one poor and one rich, who marry at about the same time and each "vow to follow the straight path." We trace the fortunes of each couple as they hit a patch of bad road: the poor husband can't find a job despite repeated attempts, while the rich husband is offered a tempting bribe by a local railway company. When the poor couple is threatened with eviction for non-payment of rent the man finally yields to temptation and attempts to burglarize the home of the wealthy couple. The wife catches him in the act but in so doing becomes aware of her own husband's complicity in dirty dealing.

Without revealing the ending I'll suggest that some viewers may find it sentimental and not entirely credible, but all I can add is that it is played with 100% commitment by the actors and leaves us with a glimmer of hope for the characters' future. (Considering how many Biograph dramas end in tragedy, I must say this came as something of a relief.) The actors are uniformly excellent but special mention should go to Dorothy Bernard, who plays the "poor" wife. She had a highly expressive, readable face and beautiful eyes, and conveys a great deal without overplaying. We can only wonder why she didn't become one of the top Biograph stars, like Mary Pickford or Lillian Gish. Based on the evidence here, at least, she was a gifted actress.

One last note: content aside, I'd have to say that this little movie bears one of Griffith's best-ever titles, right up there with What Shall We Do with Our Old? and The Birth of a Nation. That is, once you see this one listed in Griffith's filmography you immediately want to know what it's about. In this case, happily, the content more than satisfies our curiosity: in its own modest way, One is Business, the Other Crime is one of Griffith's most satisfying Biograph dramas.