Name: The Fires of Youth
Genre: Drama
Released: 1917-06-17
Duration: 52 min
Rating: 6.2
Cast: Frederick Warde, Helen Badgley, Jeanne Eagels

I found "The Fires of Youth" to be a surprising and interesting film-or, rather, part of a film, as all we may see now is a two-reel abridged version of an originally five-reel production. A complete print doesn't appear to be known to exist. The main surprise for me was the performances by the two leads, Frederick Warde and Jeanne Eagels. Both of these stars came from the theatre, but the acting style in this film is very well adapted to the screen for 1917. This is especially striking in the case of Warde, who carried over some of the worst aspects of projected gesticulation from the stage in his Shakespearian adaptations "Richard III" (1911) and "King Lear" (1916) and somewhat also in "The Vicar of Wakefield" (1917). He was never the worst offender, but in his other available films, it often seemed he was acting for the stage rather than for the screen. In "The Fires of Youth", Warde is delightful and not theatrical-relying more on subtle facial expression rather than broad gesticulation. Eagels, too, appears more comfortable here than in her earlier available picture "The World and the Woman" (1916).

"The Fires of Youth" is also well made and includes some interesting subject matter, and it cohesively blends light moments with its more dramatic parts. Warde's character becomes a benevolent industrialist after befriending a child of a laborer at his factory. While trying to get back in touch with his past youth, he discovers that his employees blame him for poor wages and lax safety at the mill. Now, I'm left only to wonder what the original pacing was like and what's missing. What's left is surely interesting, though.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

The productions from Thanhouser's mature period, 1915-1917, clearly show the advancements that set the stage for the first cinematic golden age, the 1920s. Such advances are evident in this surviving shortened version of "Fires of Youth": detailed character development by veteran actor Frederick Warde (and in a smaller role, at least in the shortened version, by Jeanne Eagels), mature editing techniques, special lighting effects, intelligent story development, realistic use of locations, fluid dialogue inter-titles, complex staging and access to better cameras with the defeat of the Patents Trust. Acclaimed French stage and film director Emile Chautard was brought from Éclair studio in France to direct.

Frederick Warde in The Fires of Youth (1917)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Helen Badgley, Jeanne Eagels, and Frederick Warde in The Fires of Youth (1917)

The Fires of Youth

Photos3

Top Cast8

User reviews3

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed