With how hot button topics, abortion and birth control are today, it is easy to think of them as strictly modern day issues and something we wouldn’t except a film from over 100 years ago to ever mention, much less have at the center of its storyline. However these two topics are just what Where Are My Children is about. This is a movie that is just as shocking and controversial today as it was when first released over 100 years ago.
Not shockingly this movie was co-directed and co-written by Lois Weber. While she does not always receive the credit she is due today, she was one of the best directors of the 1910’s. Her films were often way ahead of their time in filmmaking techniques. They still look visually gorgeous today, yet the visuals are always part of the story reflecting the emotions of the characters in a completely cinematic way. She also was never afraid to confront current issues in her movies, some of which are still prevalent today (The Blot (1921) is about an underpaid teacher). This film does not talk about these issues in a subtle or veiled way. Instead it is all present as open and honest as possible.
There are two separate storylines happening in this film. They are placed together very cleverly by connecting them more emotionally than narratively. This, while something we all know and recognize today was groundbreaking in 1916. They are also woven together seamlessly, with it never feeling like one is interrupting the other. One of these stories involved a doctor (Juan de la Cruz) on trial for writing a book about birth control. This was especially topical in 1916, as it was based on similarly legal trouble for Margaret Sanger who had written publications about family planning. The other story involved a husband (Tyrone Power) who wants nothing more than a child, yet his wife (Helen Riaume, Tyrone Power's real life wife) gets an abortion behind his back. The emotion of this latter story feels completely real and unbelievably effective.
Weber’s flair for visual filmmaking shows itself brilliantly here. There are a few images of the part of heaven where the unwanted and unborn babies are and long to one day actually live on earth. These images are extremely imaginative and beautiful to look at. I will not give it away here, but the closing shot of this film is incredible. Not only is it very beautiful and features an effect that looks just as great today as it did in 1916, but it is also extremely emotionally powerful. This final image is one I will certainly never forget.
This movie was the most finically successful movie of 1916. An article in the Motion Picture News gives us an idea how popular this film was stating “Old timers along the Great White Way who saw the huge mob struggling to gain admission to the GLOBE THEATRE to see ‘Where Are My Children’ pronounced it ‘unbelievable’ that Broadway traffic could ever be blocked by any moving picture ever produced… Inside in the lobby (which is nearly 100 feet deep) another huge crowd was massed from door to entrance. That’s how ‘Where Are My Children’ packed ‘em in on Broadway, the hardest show street in the world. The New York Newspapers, the Clergy, the trade press and the public pronounced it ‘wonderful’ ‘amazing’ ‘sensational’ ‘dignified.’”
For any of you interested in watching this fantastic movie, it is on YouTube.
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