La fleur d'amour

"The Love Flower" is a real mixed bag from director D.W. Griffith. On one hand, the story itself has some holes and doesn't make a lot of sense at times. And, the intertitle cards are the worst written ones I've ever seen. Yet, in spite of all this, I could not hate the movie because the direction and cinematography were so good.

When the film began, I felt vaguely ill as I tried to read the horrid intertitle cards. Most of the worst were used to describe the daughter, a girl described this way on one card--'Girlish dreams sighed into the pink ear of a rose beneath the azure southern skies'. What does this even mean?! This was not the only time--no many more times the very prosaic writer made me ill!

The story begins in the Caribbean. Some guy had apparently written a bad check and ran off to the islands with his wife and daughter to evade the law. However, his wife was a total skank--and was fooling around on him. When he entered his home to find the wife and her lover, the lover tried to murder the husband and the husband killed the guy in self-defense. However, with his criminal record AND a wife who was going to lie about the attack, he and his loyal daughter take to the South Seas in search of a life of solitude. However, there is a crazed cop--one who vows to search EVERYWHERE to find the killer. And, there's also a nice man (Richard Barthelmess) who meets the daughter. What becomes of all this?

The plot had many problems. How could Barthelmess fall in love this quickly and sacrifice so much for a lady he didn't even know? Why was it okay for this lady to be a repeated attempted murderess in order to protect her father?! While the plot is hard to believe at times, the film did feature many amazingly good and difficult shots for 1920. Some underwater footage as well as the view from the rope bridge were incredible--as was the island footage. Overall, a very mixed bag--with lots to like and a bit to make you ill!

By the way, IMDb lists this film at 70 minutes but it ran 96.

THE LOVE FLOWER is one of two DW Griffith films with South Seas settings, filmed at the same time in 1920. Both films showcase two up-and-coming young stars that were part of Griffith's company. THE LOVE FLOWER features Carol Dempster and Richard Barthelmess. The other film is THE IDOL DANCER, starring Clarine Seymour.

Since the story has been explained in other reviews I will just add my perspective on the movie.

SCRIPT: The story seems like a riff on Les Miserables, but isn't very well thought out. Mr Bevan (George MacQuarrie) is ultimately responsible for the death of his wife's lover because he initiated the struggle. Also, the attempts to convince us that Stella's (Carol Dempster) love is motivation enough to attempt to kill a policeman just don't hold water. We are asked to suspend not only our disbelief, but also our ethics. Griffith's flowery intertitles (a common weakness of his) are particularly irksome. SCORE: 3/10.

ACTING: I was particularly impressed with George MacQuarrie's turn as George Bevan. He never really seems to overdo it and turns in a measured performance, managing for the most part to stay away from some of the melodramatic mannerisms that can make silent movies hard to take nowadays. It felt quite modern to me. Anders Randolph, as the determined policeman Crane, also shows control and realism in his portrayal, without coming off as a villain. Richard Barthelmess does well for the most part, although there's not a whole lot of chemistry with the female lead.

She would be Carol Dempster. Though she has been reviled by many, Dempster actually could be superb on quite a few occasions. This would come more frequently later on in her career. She creates touching moments both as the young girl and as a more mature woman devoted to her father, and displays a warmth and charm in her close-ups. She also excels in the more athletic moments, like during her diving, swimming and climbing scenes. However, there are also moments of hand-wringing, arm-flailing melodrama in her performance that undermine her efforts. This is probably Griffith's fault as well, since he was determined to mold her into a facsimile of Lillian Gish or Mae Marsh...for all of his love for her, Griffith didn't seem to know how to consistently play to Dempster's strengths. Florence Short is adequate in her brief part, though she also succumbs to histrionics. ACTING SCORE: 6/10

CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: The cinematography is wonderful. Griffith's most famous and acclaimed cameraman, GW Bitzer, captures the beauty of the scenery (filmed in Florida and the Bahamas) wonderfully. For indoor scenes, he uses an array of long, medium, and close up shots, without resorting to stagey tableaux shots. He shows himself to be a master of his medium. The underwater scenes are also very well done. The editing appears fairly smooth. While not as revolutionary as previous Griffith films, the quality of the scenery and cinematography helps to keep viewer interest even now. SCORE: 8/10

SUMMARY: THE LOVE FLOWER isn't a total bust. It does have good moments. The cinematography is top notch and you can't beat the scenery. However, the performances have their ups and downs, and the story just doesn't work as well as Griffith would have us believe. MOVIE SCORE: 6/10

"The Love Flower" kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense. What a great film! Miss Dempster was very enigmatic and strangely intoxicating as the young daughter who is willing to kill the police detective who is after her father for murder. They hide out on a South Sea island for years, but the detective pursues them to the end.

Richard Barthelmess was a delight to watch as the young sailor who is tricked into bringing the detective to the island. Richard's face was literally gorgeous. No wonder Griffith preferred him over other male actors in his stock company. Griffith's personal attraction to Miss Dempster was also apparent, especially in the beach and water scenes with her scantily dressed outfits revealing ... well, I'll leave you guessing there.

If you are a fan of D.W. Griffith's work don't miss this film! It is his most contemporary and one of his most fascinating movie projects.

D.W. Griffith's two South Seas dramas made in Florida, which includes this film, "The Love Flower" and "The Idol Dancer", are two of his worst that I've seen. One can sense Griffith's lack of interest and inspiration. Probably the only thing worth noting about "The Love Flower" is that it features some underwater photography. Otherwise, the narrative--based on a magazine story and involving a relentless detective after our protagonist fugitives--is forgettable. Carol Dempster can't act. And, most of all, the care and energy behind Griffith's better work is missing here. It'd return in "Way Down East", as would Lillian Gish. "The Idol Dancer" and "The Love Flower" are merely slipshod productions Griffith rushed through to help relieve his increasing financial difficulties.

Love Flower, The (1920)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith film about a father (George MacQuarrie) who murders his wife's lover and then runs off to a South Sea island with their daughter (Carol Dempster). After a few years a detective shows up looking for him and the daughter decides it's her duty to keep her father with her. A fairly weak story and a stupid message really drags this film down but there are still quite a bit of good things working for the film. The cinematography by G.W. Bitzer is certainly the highlight, especially a couple scenes that take place under water. The three leads all do a decent job but poor Dempster is clearly playing a role meant for Lillian Gish. She can't pull off all the emotions but she does do a good job at playing a young girl.