| Fate's Turning | |
|---|---|
_-_title_card.jpg) Title card | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Starring | Charles H. West |
| Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Company |
Release date |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (Englishintertitles) |
Fate's Turning is a 1911shortsilentdrama film directed byD. W. Griffith and produced by theBiograph Company.[1][2] It starsCharles H. West and featuresStephanie Longfellow.[3] It survives in theLibrary of Congress.[1]
Young man John Lawson, Jr., has anervous breakdown. (According to the January 23. 1911Biograph Bulletin, the breakdown is a result of taking over the family business from his ailing father,[2] though this is not presented onscreen.) When the father recovers, John leaves his fiancée Grace for a "rest cure" at a hotel, accompanied by his valet. In the hotel's dining room, he admires his pretty waitress, Mary. He becomes so enamored with her that he soon proposes, and she accepts.
Then he is notified that his father is dangerously ill. He rushes home, leaving his valet to break the news to Mary. John returns just in time to have a few moments with his father before the latter dies.
After the funeral, John writes back in response to Mary's letter, breaking off their engagement due to the great disparity in social status. She goes to see him. First encountering Grace, Mary tells her about her situation. When Grace does not believe her, Mary shows her her engagement ring. Lawson appears, but is unmoved by Mary's pleadings.
On the day of the wedding of John and Grace, he is puzzled by her cold reception. She sends him into the next room, where Mary is lying down ... with their child. Hostile at first, John eventually goes on his knees to her and takes her hand. (According to theBiograph Bulletin,[2] the Library of Congress entry[1] and other sources, they are married.)
The Moving Picture News reviewer wrote in the February 25, 1911 issue: "We've read enough of this sort of late; there's no need to put them on the screen. Aim of this production unknown."[2]
Russell Merritt wrote inThe Griffith Project Volume 4: Films Produced in 1910 that John Lawson is an example of the "effete heroes who ... became part of Griffith's trademark in the 1920s".[2]
