It's been a very long time since I last visited "Doomsday" (1928), but last night I put it in and watched a print that lasts as the IMDb says it does: 60 minutes. I mention that fact, because the last time I watched it, it was on a VHS tape that lasted 74 minutes, and it moved like molasses. Didn't care for it then; but - I enjoyed the show last night. Starring Florence Vidor and Gary Cooper, the other of any importance is Lawrence Grant, and a tad less, Charles Stevenson. For good measure Tom Ricketts and Frederick Sullivan have momentary parts. This is written as a parable, and it's a romantic one, so if you like romantic movies that you think you can figure out from the beginning, and you enjoy seeing them go from less than a joker's beginning to a trump card ending, this is for you. Otherwise, be aware that there are some philosophies in the film that will appear way out of date. The problem is - farming hasn't necessarily become any easier, though the machinery to make it work in the modern world has technologically advanced a great deal, but it still demands a certain kind of heart and mind to make it successful, especially for a married couple.
Cooper owns Doomsday House in England, a very old house with a fairly large amount of arable land. He gets up around 4:00 AM every day and works till the sun goes down - every day, day after day. He's lonely. He wants a woman who will be like he is, scrubbing and cooking, cleaning and baking, washing clothes and, and... He wants a woman to love, too. Vidor - who has the most captivating eyes - lives with her father, a former military person who is now becoming nearly invalid and needs looking after - constantly. She cooks and she cleans, and she boils the water and cleans the clothes. She works her fingers to the bone and is to the point she'd like to forgo this kind of life if she could.
Around the bend, so to speak, is Fream House, owned by the Fream descendent, played by Lawrence Grant, at his most icy, but unctuous towards Vidor. He wants to marry her so she can be like an ornament to the house and the name. It won't be for love, and she'll have all the THINGS that any woman could possibly want.
Vidor marries Grant. He's older and impotent, but he gives her anything and everything, any thing and every thing. But not love.
Vidor is involved in a parable, remember? You'll have to watch to learn the ending, but this 1928 film has a good message and is fun to watch - at the right fps speed(!). Coop really isn't up to snuff acting-wise in this one yet. He doesn't get there until next year's "The Virginian", but he's definitely watchable thanks to decent direction by Monta Bell and nice camera work by Henry W. Gerrard.
