The Lure of Drink

1915 Drama 37 minutes Directed by A.E. Coleby

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About The Lure of Drink

Ned has sworn off drink and is married to Peggy, a widow. Her rival Kate gets a glass into him. The drink sets off a violent change the BFI compares to Jekyll and Hyde. Recruitment posters in the pub invite men to fall in. The last scene implies that Ned, reformed, goes to fight. Blanche Forsythe plays Peggy. Roy Travers plays Ned.

Cast & crew

More about The Lure of Drink

A. E. Coleby directed and also appears. Rowland Talbot wrote it. William Barker's company produced it at the early Ealing studio. Sherwood distributed it in April 1915. Street and dock scenes were shot in Ealing. It runs 37 minutes. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons, and the BFI Player streams it.

Themes

  • A glass from Kate
  • A sober marriage broken
  • A last scene that points to the war
  • Ned
  • Peggy
  • Kate
  • temperance
  • Ealing
  • Coleby

Background

The pub walls carry wartime recruitment posters. The BFI reads the ending as Ned going off to fight.

Preservation

A copy is on Wikimedia Commons. The BFI Player offers a free stream.

Notes

  • The English Wikipedia calls it a temperance story about drink and a woman who tempts the husband.
  • The BFI notes the posters in the pub and the war implication of the last scene.
  • It is not a lost film.

Scenes

  • Kate gets the drink into Ned, and the sober husband turns violent.
  • Recruitment posters hang in the pub while the drinkers ignore them.

Also available

  • BFI Player
  • Wikimedia Commons (The lure of drink)