Love and the Law

A scene from "David Copperfield," by Charles Dickens. It is the well remembered incident of the hypothecated bonds which Uriah Heep expected to use to force Agnes to marry him. The story is closely followed and the actors have interpreted their parts with intelligence and discretion. It seems needless to go over the story, David Copperfield is known to every reader of English literature and probably a majority of those who see this film have rejoiced over the discomfiture of Uriah Heep and the happiness of David and Agnes. The staging and costuming of the play seem to represent the Dickens' story with as much accuracy as can reasonably be expected now. It is a difficult matter to stage a scene of this character so it will meet the objections of all cautions critics. But perhaps if the work is done as well as this it will be sufficient to satisfy most who will see it. Moreover, it will make the characters in this story who have been loved or detested, as the case may be, living entities, endowed with intelligence and the power of voluntary action. In this instance the work has not only been done with care, but it has been accompanied by an appreciation of the really important features which are not always noticeable in an elaborate picture of this character. - The Moving Picture World, September 3, 1910