The Way of the World is a 1916 American silent Feature film. The film was directed by Lloyd B. Carleton, while F. McGrew Willis adapted the screenplay from Clyde Fitch's play. The cast of this drama includes Hobart Bosworth, Dorothy Davenport, and Emory Johnson.
The plot revolves around Beatrice Farley, who scandalizes her marriage to first-term Governor Walter Croyden by engaging in a harmless flirtation with an old acquaintance, John Nevill, who had learn that Beatrice was the wife of the Governor try to snatched her in a twist. The scandal almost costs her husband a second term in office and leads to the death of Nevill.
Universal released the film on July 3, 1916.
Contents
Plot
Peter Sturton is a politician and the head of the state political machine. Sturton supports Walter Croydon, a rising young attorney, for the position of Governor of the State. Croyden loves Beatrice Farley, a young society belle, but they have not been formally engaged. Croyden invites Beatrice to accompany him to a social ball. On the evening of the event, Croyden meets Sturton at his club and becomes intoxicated. While still intoxicated, he calls upon Beatrice. She refuses to go with him to the ball. The following day, Croyden returns to see Beatrice and apologizes for his condition of the previous evening. He asks Beatrice to forgive him, professes his love, and asks her to marry him. Beatrice tells Croyden she is making preparations to leave for Europe with Mr. and Mrs. Lake. She promises to give him an answer when she returns.
John Nevill is a man about town and a friend of Sturton's. Nevill is part of an unhappy marriage, but he and his wife continue to live together. There is little love between them. Nevill makes plans to travel to trip Europe on his own. He tells his wife she can go wherever she wants for her vacation. As the boat is ready to sail, Nevill sees Beatrice bid Croydon goodbye and then board the ship. Beatrice's beauty overwhelms Nevill, and he quickly makes her acquaintance on the ship. He becomes infatuated with her. Nevill resolves to win her love and begins paying constant attention to her. He never reveals he's married. Beatrice and the Lakes come to Monte Carlo, where Nevill is staying, and Nevill, renewing the acquaintance, begins wooing her again.
While swimming, Beatrice has an accident, but Nevill comes to her rescue and saves her life. Beatrice discovers she loves him in return. Finally, Nevill proposes that they travel to Paris to get married, and Beatrice consents. When they return to the hotel to pack, they encounter friends of Nevill's who have arrived from America. Although Nevill had planned to tell Beatrice he was married, Nevill's friends casually mention his wife is staying in Newport for the Summer and sends her love. Beatrice's world suddenly collapses.
Beatrice is heartbroken and begins packing to return home. She has completely lost her faith in Nevill. Nevill pleads with her to no avail and finally, in a fit of anger, tells her he will not give up on her. He tells her in the future; he will make her love him again. After Beatrice departs, Nevill turns to drink. Word of his drinking reaches Mrs. Nevill, and she comes to him and persuades him to return home. In the meantime, they have elected Walter Croydon as Governor. Upon returning to the states, Beatrice consents to become Croydon's bride, and they marry. Sturton visits the Nevill's and asks them to attend the Governor's Inaugural ball. He tells the Nevill's it will allow them to meet the Governor and his wife. Nevill discovers the Governor's wife is Beatrice, and it awakens his passion. Nevill hatches a deceitful scheme to win Beatrice from Croydon. Beatrice feels the effects of her rejection on Nevill. After listening to Nevill's pleas for forgiveness, Beatrice agrees to be his friend. Nevill becomes a friend of the family. Although they are together often, Croydon suspects no improprieties, and Beatrice feels nothing improper in her friendship with Nevill. Nevill, in the subsequent years, poisons the mind of Croydon with thoughts that his wife is unfaithful.
Production
Pre-production
In the book, "American Cinema's Transitional Era," the authors point out, The years between 1908 and 1917 witnessed what may have been the most significant transformation in American film history. During this "transitional era", widespread changes affected film form and film genres, filmmaking practices and industry structure, exhibition sites, and audience demographics. One aspect of this transition was the longer duration of films. Feature films were slowly becoming the standard fare for Hollywood producers. Before 1913, you could count the yearly features on two hands. Between 1915 and 1916, the number of feature movies rose 2+1⁄2 times or from 342 films to 835. There was a recurring claim that Carl Laemmle was the longest-running studio chief resisting the production of feature films. Universal was not ready to downsize its short film business because short films were cheaper, faster, and more profitable to produce than feature films.
Laemmle would continue to buck this trend while slowly increasing his output of features.
In 1914, Laemmle published an essay titled - Doom of long Features Predicted. In 1916, Laemmle ran an advertisement extolling Bluebird films while adding the following vocabulary on the top of the ad.
Carl Laemmle released 91 feature-length films in 1916, as stated in Clive Hirschhorn's book, The Universal Story.
All players in this film were under contract with Universal.
Hobart Bosworth (1867–1943) was 48 years old when he played the heavy, John Nevill. This film was a radical departure from Bosworth's previous roles. "Heretofore Bosworth has been known to patrons of the films the world over as a leading man with no taint of the heavy about him." When Universal hired Emory Johnson in January 1916, Bosworth took the youngster under his wing. Bosworth and Johnson's first two movies for Universal were the feature-length Westerns – The Yaqui released March 1916 and Two Men of Sandy Bar released in April. Dr. Neighbor would be the first pairing of the Davenport-Johnson twosome in Carl Laemmle's search for screen chemistry. Later in the year, Emory would make two more films with Bosworth. They would continue collaborating in other films in the coming years. In Bosworth's long cinematic career, he appeared in nearly 300 films.
Filming
In this film, there was extensive use of San Diego locations for exterior shots, as well as multiple interior scenes..
An item published in the February 26, 1916 issue of Motion Picture News announced:
"The filming of the McGrew Willis adaptation of the Clyde Fitch play, 'The Way of the World,' was begun this week by Lloyd B Carlton. This production will have a number of expensive settings, including interiors of clubs, Monte Carlo, the executive mansion, and a church."
An item in the April 1, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World stated: "Lloyd Carlton is in San Diego making exterior and boat scenes in his production of F. McGrew Willis's film version of Clyde Fitch's drama of the speaking stage, 'The Way of the World.'"
The articles suggest that the project was filmed between February and April 1916.
On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios.
While San Diego served as the setting for the exterior shots, news items show that the Universal City stages were used for a big scene. The March 1916 editions of New York Clipper and Moving Picture World contain articles that mention a ballroom scene created for this movie.
"One of the biggest sets ever built at Universal City was made especially for this scene, in which one hundred and fifty people took part."
"One scene is a huge ballroom, which made the many visitors "Oh!" when they noted the costumes of the ladies. It was a revelation to some of them. Some prominent society people took part."
Post production
The theatrical release of this film totaled five reels or 5,000 feet of film. As is often the case, the listed time for this feature-length movie varies. The average time per 1,000-foot 35mm reel varied between ten and fifteen minutes per reel at the time. Thus, the total time for this movie is computed between fifty and seventy-five minutes.
An article in the December 1916 issue of Photoplay points out:
"HOBART BOSWORTH expects to collect $50,000 (equivalent to $1,400,000 in 2023) from Universal for an alleged violation of contract The suit is based upon the company's action in featuring Dorothy Davenport as the star in 'The Way of the World.' a film version of the Clyde Fitch play, instead of Bosworth, which was contrary to the contract, according to the plaintiff."
Release and reception
Official release
The copyright was filed with U.S. Copyright Office on June 8, 1916. and entered into the record as shown:
In 1916, "Red Feather" movies were always released on Mondays. This film was officially released on Monday, July 3, 1916.
Advertising
Advertising plays a vital role in a movie's success by bringing customers to the theater. By providing details about plotlines, actors, release dates, and other key information, a successful marketing campaign boosts excitement among potential stakeholders.
This knowledge empowered theater owners to make smarter booking decisions in a competitive market. In addition to an advertising campaign for a movie, Carl Laemmle added another wrinkle to assist potential stakeholders in deciding to view or book a new film.https://miva.edu.ng/?ref=mivaokpolokpo17388
In 1916, Universal became the first Hollywood studio to classify feature films based on production cost. One of the reasons behind this move was that the "Big Five" film studios owned their own movie houses, enabling them to have guaranteed outlets for their entertainment products. Unlike the majors, Universal did not own any theaters or theater chains. Branding all Universal-produced feature films would give theater owners another tool to judge the films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see.
In 1916, Universal produced 91 branded feature films, consisting of 44 Bluebirds and 47 Red Feather productions. This film was the 23rd release carrying the designation of Universal's "Red Feather" brand. The branding system had a brief existence and, by 1920, had faded away.
Reviews
The movie critic's reviews of the photoplay were mixed.
In the June 24, 1916 issue of the Motion Picture News, movie critic Peter Milne reviewed the film:"It makes the entertainment of the average sort. Mr. Bosworth has not delineated his Nevill with the precision and skill that we have become accustomed to. Perhaps it is because he has almost always played the hero. He gives an entirely too likable impression during the first phases of the picture. The cropping out of the villainous characteristics in the final episodes hardly jibes correctly with the earlier impression gained from his acting."
In the July 1, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, the movie review by critic Robert C. McElravy:"The interrupted wedding has long been a favorite theme in drama, but it cannot compare with the interrupted christening in this release. It is the climax of a long, carefully handled string of situations and gets over with strength and conviction. The performance Is a smooth and enjoyable one throughout. The production, free from padding, tells a well-rounded story and is altogether successful."
In the July 8, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, the movie critic observes:"The story moves off slowly, but with constantly increasing interest. An interrupted christening, in which the jealous husband claims another is the child's father, makes the chief scene. This proves highly dramatic and is presented with conviction. The offering as a whole is well handled and tells a story of love and political intrigue. A satisfying subject."
Preservation status
Many silent-era films did not survive for reasons as explained on this Wikipedia page.
According to the Library of Congress, all known copies of this film are lost.