Regeneration/Young Romance

"Young Romance" was written by William C. de Mille, older brother of the more famous Cecil, and whose films have all but been lost, it seems. This is probably a real shame if this film is anything to go by, because the story is clever, yet nice and charming. It is a light-hearted story about two young people with the same dream of being wealthy upper-class socialites just for one week, and their consequent misadventures and resulting romance. It moves along at a pleasant, happy pace and is easy to follow, and I enjoyed it immensely. It has a lovely musical score by Robert Israel, and the picture quality is very good throughout. It is only about an hour long but leaves you feeling good and satisfied, mainly perhaps due to the excellent photography and editing which, along with "Regeneration", I'd say are exceptionally good for 1915, and therefore well worth adding to a silent film collection.

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It would be grossly unfair to complain about the quality of the print of Regeneration as it is a miracle that it survives at all. It was found in1976 in a soon to be demolished building in Montana and is almost certainly the only surviving print of this important film. For most of its running time the colour-tinted print is very clear and sharp, but periodically, and thankfully briefly, the print shows some serious decomposition. That said, it is always possible to follow the action on the screen and the print damage does not distract from the enjoyment of the film. Philip Carli provides a good and appropriate piano score.

Young Romance is something of a revelation. I bought the DVD for Regeneration, but enjoyed this extra film almost as much. It is the story of two shop workers who separately and coincidentally decide to masquerade as rich people in a resort in Maine. Although they work in the same shop they don't know each other and of course they meet up in the posh Hotel and start to fall in love. The plot is a delight; with the farcical difficulties these people have trying to act out the role of the rich. This is especially the case when they try to order dinner and have difficulties with the menu. Edith Taliaferro shows her skill as a comedienne and is a pleasure to watch, while her co-star Tom Forman, although a bit wooden, is good at acting bemused. The colour-tinted print of Young Romance is first rate and shows hardly any damage. Robert Israel provides a nice score which really fits the style and period of the action. These two films are good examples of the quality of films that were made in 1915. It is a pity that so few films from this period are available today.

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