A Window on Washington Park (1913) User Reviews

Wherefore Stopp'st Thou Me?

[boblipton · 5/10 · 1 August 2012]

Although shot and directed in the standard excellent style of the Vitagraph Studio in this period, the way this melodrama is constructed shows definite signs of padding as well as very slow performances by the actors -- although that may be due to its transference at 16 frames per second. The story is about how her father forbids Florence Turner from marrying a young artist. She runs off with him and many years later her father is still looking for her. It's told within a frame of his recounting the history to a young millionaire and it is very title heavy -- always a sign that something has gone wrong in silent cinema.

There's always some interest to me to see location shooting around New York from a hundred years ago. The Little Church Around the Corner is still there, looking much the same and the brownstones on Washington Square North are recognizable -- even if the millionaires left decades ago when NYU bought them up for student housing. If you want to see for yourself, it's available for viewing on the National Film Preservation website.

A bittersweet little film.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 31 July 2013]

For 1913, "A Window on Washington Park" is a terrific film. Sure, when viewed today it might seem amazingly old fashioned, but when it debuted, it was well made and technically rather amazing.

The film is set in a big city--presumably New York. A young man looking out the window of his apartment has noticed the same elderly man sitting on a bench for several days and he's curious about his story. So, he sends his butler out to ask the old gentleman into the apartment. The old man then relates a story that occurred decades ago. It seems that his daughter was his pride and joy. But, when she fell for a man who the man thought was beneath her, he forbade her to see him. Not surprisingly, she ran off the the man and despite his efforts to find her, he's never heard from her again. What occurs next is a bit predictable--but also bittersweet. It's all handled so nicely--with great style and heart. I could certainly say more about the plot but think it's best you just see it for yourself from the National Film Preservation Foundation's website. However, I should point out that the print is NOT in great shape--some portions are so severely degraded that it seems like the film is about as restored as you can expect.

Tom Powers is not so good as the youth

[deickemeyer · 3 September 2017]

A picture that will please by its sentiment rather than by the strength of its art. A young man living on Washington Square, New York City, looks out and sees an old man, whom he invites in. The stranger tells a story, and it turns out that he is the youth's grandfather. It might have been taken in any park and the view of the "Little Church Around the Corner" might have been of almost any church. Charles Kent is strong in the role of the old man; but Tom Powers is not so good as the youth. Florence Turner has a small role, as has Courtenay Foote. The photography is fair. The picture is produced by Larry Trimble from Marguerite Andrews' script. - The Moving Picture World, May 17, 1913