Triangle-Kay-Bee; 1915; dir: Reginald Barker; cast: Frank Keenan, Charles Ray, Gertrude Claire, Patricia Palmer, Nick Cogley, Charles K. French. Vintage original 27 x 41 in. (68.6 x 104.1 cm.) U.S. one-sheet poster, stone lithograph, linen-backed, near mint condition.
The artwork depicts a dramatic image of a young Southern man, Frank Winslow (Charles Ray), wearing the gray uniform of a Confederate soldier, as he says good-bye to his distraught mother (Gertrude Claire) while his sweetheart, Amy (Patricia Palmer), stands in disbelief. Measuring approximately 27 x 41 in., this one-sheet poster was in virtually perfect condition when we acquired it--the paper was very soft and supple with fresh bright colors. We had it professionally linen-backed by Poster Mountain to preserve/protect it and no restoration of any kind was performed. This poster is in immaculate condition.
Considered one of the more important of the early feature-length Civil War films, The Coward was produced by Thomas H. Ince, one of the most important of the early Silent Era producers, and made a star of actor Charles Ray. One of only three known examples to exist, this beautiful one-sheet poster is a true museum quality poster as well as a historic piece of early feature-length silent film history.
The Coward is the earliest extant starring vehicle of popular "boy next door" actor Charles Ray, though in fact the film was partially designed as a showcase for venerable stage favorite Frank Keenan. Set during the Civil War, the film focuses on the conflict between a proud old Virginia colonel (Keenan) and his weak-willed son (Ray). When the boy refuses to enlist in the Confederate army, his father forces him to do so literally at gunpoint. Once on the battlefield, the son deserts at the earliest opportunity, whereupon his father, not wishing to sully the family name, takes the boy's place on the roll call. Meanwhile, the son overhears a group of Northern officers planning to stage a raid. Finally able to overcome his cowardice, he mounts a horse and rides to the Southern lines, hoping to relay his information before it is too late. He is shot from his horse by his own father, who mistakes the boy for a Northern courier. As the wounded son hovers between life and death, his father tearfully tries to make amends, leading to a powerful finale -- made even more so by the subtle underplaying of the two stars.
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