Synopsis
Tol'able David is a magnificent film, carefully transferred from the best available elements, and starring the great Richard Barthelmess ( Broken Blossoms ) in the title role. This rural adaptation of the David and Goliath tale chronicles the hero's passage into adulthood as he confronts three crooks looking for trouble. When the story opens, David Kinemon, the youngest son of tenant farmers living in small-town West Virginia, yearns to be seen as an adult. His youthful antics, however, prevent his family from seeing him as such. As his mother often tells him, "You're not quite a man yet - you're only tol'able." Over the course of this coming-of-age tale, the young David overcomes grief, poverty, heartache, and danger to prove he is no longer merely "tol'able," but a man. Gladys Hulette is charming as Esther Hatburn, the pretty girl next door, and Ernest Torrence gives a tremendous performance as the malicious Luke Hatburn. Edmund Goulding ( Grand Hotel ) adapted Joseph Hergesheimer's short story for the screen. Shot on location in Virginia, director Henry King ( Carousel ) delivers a delightful gem from film?s early years. This edition has been mastered from a compilation of the best surviving footage in two 35mm prints and a 35mm duplicate negative and is presented at the visually correct speed. The musical score is compiled and conducted by Robert Israel, with a small orchestra of piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, drums, banjo and harmonica such as might have been heard when this film was performed theatrically in the 1920's. In 2007, Tol'able David was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Contains a rare, bonus interview with director Henry King talking about his life, his films, and specifically his work on Tol'able David . Year: 1921 Length: 94 minutes Director: Henry King Starring: Richard Barthelmess, Gladys Hulette, Ernest Torrence, Walter P. Lewis, Ralph Yearsley Music: Compiled and Conducted by Robert Israel Format: NTSC Produced for DVD by David Shepard From the Blackhawk Films Collection Presented by Flicker Alley