The Craving. 1918. USA. Written and directed by Francis Ford, John Ford. With Francis Ford, Mae Gaston, Peter Gerald. Silent. New York premiere. Silent. 50 min.
The Post Telegrapher. 1912. USA. Directed by Francis Ford. Silent. 24 min.
1918 found both Francis Ford and his younger brother John working at Universal, where Francis was an established action star and accomplished director and John was learning his craft in a series of Westerns starring Harry Carey. The brothers appear to have come together for The Craving, a powerful psychological drama about alcoholism (the Ford family curse), though there is some ambiguity about John’s involvement. Drawing on both Victorian temperance narratives and emergent theories of psychoanalysis, the film crafts a remarkably modern exploration of addiction and moral responsibility through the story of Carroll Wayles, played by Francis himself, a brilliant chemist whose struggle with alcoholism makes him vulnerable to manipulation.
Ford’s innovative direction makes use of groundbreaking multiple-exposure effects that visualize his protagonist’s torment. Particularly striking are the delirium tremens sequences, in which tiny figures dance in a glass of liquor—a technical achievement that turns a “trick film” technique of early cinema into a psychologically expressive moment and demonstrates how Hollywood’s pioneering directors were already pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling well before the commonly recognized innovations of the 1920s.
The Craving survived through a single nitrate print with Dutch intertitles, preserved by Eye Filmmuseum. This new restoration, produced by Ben Model (and accompanied by him on the piano), comes with recreated English intertitles. Also on the program is The Post Telegrapher, a 1912 two-reeler directed by Francis Ford for Thomas Ince’s Bison 101 studio. The evening will be introduced by Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, a film historian and professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is working on a biography of Francis Ford.
Digital restorations produced by Undercrank Productions.