A silent film where blindness is a metaphor for everything 1919 couldn't say out loud.
Keith, an artist, begins to go blind as a result of having fallen out of a tree as a child. His fiancé Dorothy, a wealthy heiress, had previously said that she thought blind people were "disgusting", and he refuses to see her. Dorothy plans to have her father, an eye surgeon, perform an operation on Keith that may help him regain his sight, but things don't go as planned.
Direction
Blackton's proto-expressionist lighting for blindness sequences.
Acting
Sylvia Breamer's face doing 90% of the emotional labor.
Production
Surprisingly ambitious surgical theater set for 1919.
Director
J. Stuart Blackton
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was J. Stuart Blackton's attempt at 'serious' cinema after founding Vitagraph; he basically invented the American film industry and was trying to prove silents could handle adult themes.
The eye surgery scenes were considered shockingly graphic for 1919 audiences—some theaters reportedly provided smelling salts.
US
