The Coward (1915 film)

Synopsis

Set during the American Civil War, Keenan stars as a Virginia colonel and Charles Ray as his weak-willed son. The son is forced, at gunpoint, by his father to enlist in the Confederate States Army. He is terrified by the war and deserts during a battle. The film focuses on the son's struggle to overcome his cowardice.

Cast

Reception

The Coward was both a critical and financial success and helped to launch Charles Ray's career.

Criticism

Unusual for films of this period, the main character is not presented as a gallant Southerner who is eager to fight in the war. However, consistent with practice when the film was made, black characters were played by non-black actors in blackface. Another 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, used whites in blackface to represent all of its major black characters, but reaction against that film's racism largely put an end to this practice in dramatic film roles, although blackface continued to be used in comedies.

The acting in the film has also been noted to have been much more naturalistic than had been common in prior silent films, with cutting and camera angles aiding the actor's use of facial expressions and pauses to convey dramatic tension.