The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England (1914)
Expelled from school and in disgrace, the young son of an English earl falls for a parson's daughter and gives her a wishing ring as a token of love, and when she is injured seeking a cure for his father's gout, the old earl's heart softens toward them both.
Believed lost for decades until a 16mm print surfaced in England, The Wishing Ring helped establish Maurice Tourneur’s reputation for pictorial elegance in American silent film. It was named to the National Film Registry in 2012.
Background
The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England is a 1914 silent film directed by Maurice Tourneur. It was long considered lost before a copy was located, and its rediscovery drew attention to Tourneur’s early reputation for pictorial elegance in American silent film. Vivian Martin plays the parson’s daughter, and Alec B. Francis and Chester Barnett are also in the cast. The story concerns the young son of an earl, expelled from school and in disgrace, who falls for the parson’s daughter and gives her a wishing ring as a token of love. The film was named to the National Film Registry in 2012, and it runs about an hour.
What to watch for
Look for the pastoral English setting and the way Tourneur frames his scenes, with an emphasis on landscape and carefully arranged interiors. The plot turns on the wishing ring, which drives the romance between the two young people, and on the earl’s gout, which is the occasion for her injury and for his eventual softening. The film is slower and more pictorial than later American melodramas, and its composition reflects Tourneur’s interest in visual balance. Notice how the story’s emotional turns are staged with restraint. The running time gives space for both the romance and the reconciliation that closes the film.
