Fine Feathers is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joseph A. Golden and starring Janet Beecher, David Powell and Lyster Chambers. Produced by the Cosmos Feature Film Corporation and distributed by the World Film Corporation, the five-reel film was adapted from Eugene Walter's play Fine Feathers and released on June 7, 1915. The film marked Beecher's motion-picture debut. It is believed to be a lost film.
Plot Bob Reynolds, an analytical chemist earning $25 a week, lives with his wife Jane in a modest cottage on Staten Island. Dissatisfied with their circumstances, Jane longs for the fashionable clothes and comforts enjoyed by wealthier people.
John Brand, a businessman involved in the construction of the Pecos dam, offers Bob a large sum of money to approve an inferior grade of cement. Bob initially refuses, but Brand approaches Jane, who persuades her husband to accept the offer. Bob invests the proceeds in stocks, and the couple begin living beyond their former means.
Bob's investments fail, and the dam constructed with the defective cement bursts, flooding the valley and causing extensive loss of life. Contemporary accounts of the film differ over the final events. A prose adaptation published in Picture-Play Weekly has Bob refuse Brand's proposal that they flee; during a confrontation Brand shoots Bob in the shoulder and escapes. Contemporary reviews and synopses, however, describe Brand as committing suicide, thereby saving Bob from the consequences of his dishonesty, after which Bob and Jane resolve to begin again without the "fine feathers" they had sought.
Cast Janet Beecher as Jane Reynolds David Powell as Bob Reynolds Lyster Chambers as John Brand Alberta Gallatin as Mrs. Collins Henry Gsell as Dick Meade Geraldine McCann as Freda
Production and release In April 1915, the Cosmos Feature Film Corporation announced plans to adapt Eugene Walter's Fine Feathers for the screen, with Janet Beecher as Jane Reynolds and David Powell as her husband, Robert. Publicity identified the breaking of a dam and the resulting flood as the principal spectacle of the production. Powell, who had previously worked in films in Britain and the United States, was engaged by Cosmos specifically to appear opposite Beecher.
Beecher was already an established stage actress, and contemporary publicity emphasized her theatrical reputation in promoting her move into motion pictures. By May 8, the five-part film was nearing completion under Golden, while Cosmos had begun work on its next feature, The Price, starring Helen Ware.
The film was copyrighted by the Cosmos Feature Film Corporation on May 5, 1915, under registration number LP5364. It was released through World Film on June 7. A five-page illustrated prose adaptation by Kenneth Rand appeared in Picture-Play Weekly later that month.
Changes from the play The film substantially changed the conclusion of Walter's play. In the original stage version, after the dam collapses, Bob refuses Brand's proposal that they flee. Jane informs the authorities of her husband's involvement, and Bob then commits suicide. Contemporary descriptions of the film instead allow Bob to survive the disaster, although accounts differ over Brand's ultimate fate.
Reception Contemporary reviews were generally favorable toward the performances and production while finding faults with the film's pacing and resolution. The New York Dramatic Mirror praised the interiors, restaurant sequence and dramatic effect of the climax, although it found some scenes unnecessarily prolonged. Lynde Denig of The Moving Picture World similarly praised the care given to the settings, particularly the restaurant scenes, while criticizing some of the river photography, the rapid movement of the dancers and several lengthy and stilted intertitles.
Peter Milne of Motion Picture News praised the direction and acting, particularly Beecher's performance, and described the flooded-valley scenes as strikingly realistic. From their appearance, he believed that footage of an actual flood had been incorporated into the production. His principal criticism concerned the conclusion, questioning why Bob and Jane were allowed to escape the consequences of Bob's corruption after the dam disaster had caused numerous deaths.
Variety considered Beecher a capable actress but found her lack of experience before the camera apparent. The review criticized the slow pace, lengthy intertitles and repeated interior scenes, while praising several of the settings and the handling of the restaurant sequence. Powell was considered effective as Bob, although occasionally prone to overacting, while Chambers was favorably received as Brand.
Preservation No copy of Fine Feathers is known to survive, and the film is considered lost.
References
External links Fine Feathers at the AFI Catalog