Tol'able David

Tol'able David: the movie that is definitely not a carbon copy of Old Yeller; seriously, it's not; in fact the only thing the two films have in common is the fact that dogs appear onscreen; heh heh heh heh

This is a note to myself that Tol'able David, the 1921 film, actually made me feel something: anxiety. During the movie, David, the main character, has wanted to deliver the government mail since childhood, but since he's not old and experienced enough to be deemed a man, no one trusts that he'll get it right. When an opportunity finally comes for him to deliver the mail, the mail bag falls out of his delivery wagon, and one of the main villains finds it and hides it in his cousin's house. The scene made me feel anxious because this delivery job was David's one chance to shine. It happened on a whim because his boss had to fire the other mailman, so it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If he succeeded, he would surely be able to follow his dream and deliver the mail for a living. The movie made all that look like it was going to be screwed up, like David would loose his one opportunity and at the same time loose any meager amount of trust he had gained by being a good worker, causing him never to be able to deliver the mail.

It's also worth noting that this movie had a good visual sense of spacing. There was almost never any confusion where any person was walking. When someone walked to the left off the screen, he would always appear on the right in the next shot and vice versa. It felt very refreshing compared to most of the silent films I'd seen from the 1910s.

That's all.