The Drummer of the 8th

This early silent short film by Thomas H. Ince, "The Drummer of the 8th", is available today in a good looking and tinted print well transferred to home video and may be worth watching just for that reason. Otherwise, it's a rather average film for its time. It's one of the films Ince made in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of America's Civil War; it's about a boy who runs off to enlist with the Unionists, against his parents' wishes and to follow his older brother who already enlisted.

There are some brief, poorly staged and filmed battle scenes, which I think compare unfavorably to even the battle scenes in Ince's earlier Bison Westerns, such as in "The Invaders" and "Custer's Last Fight" (both from 1912). Besides the battles in those Westerns being longer, they created more excitement by alternating between long vistas of large-scale fighting and closer views of main characters. The battle in this film fairs even worse in comparison to those by D.W. Griffith and "Billy" Bitzer, such as in the same year's "The Battle at Elderbush Gulch". The camera takes a fairly close long-shot position in "The Drummer of the 8th"--just close enough to let us see some details while hopefully not noticing its small scale. The larger problem with the sequence in this film, however, is that it completely fails to follow the axis of action: North and South appear in separate shots to be charging from and to the same direction, rather than towards each other. Regardless, this is a very old and short film, so further criticisms seem needless. It was even made before happy endings became established in the industry. Otherwise, "The Drummer of the 8th" does have decent production values for Nickelodeon fare. There's also a brief flashback during one scene.

This Thomas Ince feature is an effective Civil War drama with a simple but thoughtful story, enhanced by Ince's ability to set a scene. He has been praised for his skill at composition, and indeed many scenes are notable for their efficient framing, while other scenes (not necessarily at crucial moments) are very pleasing aesthetically.

The story follows a boy who, eager to follow his brother as he goes to war, sneaks away and enlists as a drummer boy. He is taken prisoner, and the tension reaches a peak when he tries to escape, knowing of the Confederate commander's battle plan. The story and its conclusion are by no means predictable, and while Ince's style avoids heavy emotion, the story leaves a definite impression of tragic futility that stays with you afterward.

Ince generally allows the events to speak for themselves, and his approach works pretty well here, making the succession of events seem natural and unforced. His style is not attention-getting, but this is one example that shows how smoothly it can work. It's a downbeat story, but one that makes its point, and one that most who see it will remember.

Drummer of the 8th, The (1913)

*** (out of 4)

Billy (Cyril Gardner) is too young to join the Civil War with his older brother so he's forced to run away where he's eventually brought in as a drummer boy. After a couple years he ends up getting kidnapped by the wrong side and he must risk his life to try and escape and get a message to his side. This short has a lot of good things going for it and we can start with the direction by Ince. I was really impressed with many of the visuals that he lined up here and it really does seem like he took many hours trying to come up with the perfect shot. One of the best examples of this is when the boy is rejected. Just take a look at all the details in the scene and you can also see a wide range of details in just about every scene in the film. I really think the composition by Ince is top-notch and makes this material even better than it probably actually is. Once again Ince also gives us a rather interesting story. The Civil War was nearly reaching its 50th Anniversary end so it's interesting that Ince would pay tribute to many of the kids who would join and eventually lose their lives. The performance by the entire cast are pretty strong with Gardner leading the way. Another major plus is that we're not given any fake, happy moments as everything plays in a very realistic way.

This movie was made only 48 years after the end of the Civil War--most likely in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. In the film there are recreations of battles and the people of the era that look rather impressive and realistic. It also provides a different and more balanced view than just its contemporary, BIRTH OF A NATION--a patently absurd and racist film. Because of this, this short film would be excellent for use in the classroom to discuss the war and tell the story of a very young man that runs away to enlist as a drummer. The boy makes good and is a hero, though the film ends rather melodramatically--a definite convention of the day. Not a great film, but a decent plot, decent acting and little of the over-the-top acting you often saw in other films of the day.

One annoying aspect of this film was the too frequent use of title cards to describe or set the stage for stuff that was really obvious. It got annoying from time to time.