Human Wreckage, directed by John Griffith Wray, starred Mrs. Wallace Reid as Ethel McFarland, James Kirkwood as Alan McFarland, Bessie Love as Mary Finnegan, and George Hackathorne as Jimmy Brown. The film was released on June 7, 1923, at eight reels, and is presumed lost.
Plot: Jimmy Brown, under the influence of heroin, crashes his arm through a plate glass showcase at a pawnbroker’s establishment. He grabs what he can and runs for the door, only to be held by an employee, Ginger Smith. The police and the pawnbroker arrive, and although Ginger protests in an attempt to help Jimmy, the young man is arrested. A policeman brings the news of Jimmy’s arrest to his mother. The Browns’ neighbor, Mrs. Finnegan, lives with her young widowed daughter Mary, and Mary’s baby.
They see what has happened, and Mary goes to get help from Ethel MacFarland , whose husband Alan is an attorney.
Alan is reluctant to help what he calls “weak-minded dope addicts,” but his wife Ethel persuades him to defend Jimmy.
Jimmy is released to a narcotic ward, where he is treated by Dr. Blake, a specialist employed by the MacFarlands.
Within a short time, Jimmy is cured and returns home to his mother. Ethel McFarland promises to find Jimmy a job. Meanwhile, Alan, who has been overworked, has reached a breaking point. While working on a difficult murder case, he collapses. He calls his family physician, Dr. Wharton, for advice. But Dr. Wharton is out of town, so Alan accepts the services of Dr. Hillman, who belongs to the same club as Alan.
Since Alan is under stress to complete work, Hillman suggests Alan try morphine as a temporary relief. Alan begins using the drug, convinced he can stop use whenever he wants.
He soon realizes he has become dependent upon the drug, and obtains more of it from Stone, a friend of Hillman’s, who happens to be in a drug ring. Ethel accidentally discovers that Mary is addicted to morphine, and has been addicted since the death of her husband. Worse, Mary is giving the drug to her baby, who has inherited the craving from its mother. Mary confesses everything to Ethel, and is willing to start treatment under Dr. Blake.
But help comes too late for Mary, and she dies. Her dying wish is that Dr. Blake continue the care and treatment of her baby. Harris, a cocaine-addicted peddler who provided drugs to Mary, is arrested and implicates Stone in the drug ring. Stone is arrested but released on bail. He threatens to expose Alan’s drug use unless Alan defends him.
Alan, fearing for his position, agrees to help Stone, and gets the criminal exonerated. But Alan now realizes how far he has fallen. He determines to stop using the morphine and tells Stone he is quitting. Stone laughs him off, knowing that Alan will be unable to get off the drug. Harris breaks out of jail. He kills a policeman and two bystanders before he is killed while resisting arrest. The news causes Alan to break down in front of Ethel and confess that he is powerless to help himself.
Believing that courage and willpower can win the battle, the couple leave for their mountain cabin to fight for Alan. Alan struggles for several days without the drug, during which time he is in pain and is going crazy. Then Dunn, one of Stone’s associates, interferes with Alan’s progress and Alan returns to the morphine. Alan then drives Dunn from the cabin, under threat of killing him. In a desperate attempt to reach Alan, Ethel pretends that she has become a user of morphine. This causes Alan to finally overcome his addiction.
The stills below show before and after scenes. In the first, James Kirkwood and Director John Griffith Wray stand in front a set designed to show what a street might look like to a drug addict. The second still is a scene from the film:
The still below could not be placed in context. The actors are Lucille Ricksen (left, who played Ginger) and Claire McDowell (who played Mrs. Brown):
The publicity photo below shows Mrs. Reid standing next to “a fortune of narcotics and drugs,” at the film’s opening at the Century Theatre in San Francisco:
The synopsis I followed from the Library of Congress seems to end abruptly (I believe there is a page missing). A few contemporaneous reviews state that Stone is later killed when Jimmy drives his taxicab head-on into a train. Jimmy is also killed. The still below shows Director Wray (at right) going over a scene with cab driver Hackathorne (Jimmy) and Mrs. Reid:
Several public officials had bit parts in the film, including Mayor George Cryer of Los Angeles, Dr. L. M. Powers, who was the Health Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles, Dr. Rufus B. von KleinSmid, who was President of the University of Southern California, and Benjamin Bledsoe, United States Judge from the 12th Federal District.
Mrs. Wallace Reid (aka Dorothy Davenport) produced the film, and
Motion Picture Magazine wrote “with praise for the widow of Wally Reid in her crusade against that thing which robbed her of her husband and the world of one of its idols.” The magazine added that the film “cannot be considered simply as entertainment. It is infinitely more than that. It is a motion picture with a purpose. … The story deals realistically with those in every stratum of life who are confronted with the drug habit. … And from the introduction to the fade-out we were impressed with the truth of the statement that every instance has a parallel in life. The cast is perhaps one of the finest ever assembled for a single production … the finest, we mean, not because of the glitter of names but because of the sincerity of the portrayals.”
Motion Picture News wrote “we’ve had pictures based upon drug addicts and the traffic in the stuff before, but “Human Wreckage” comes closer to the truth than any of them. No effort has been made here to color a story with “sweetness and light” – on the contrary, Mrs. Wallace Reid has employed the screen for the purpose of enlightening the world upon one of the greatest evils of human existence.”
Moving Picture World wrote “an impressive feature of this production is its evident sincerity which is naturally greatly enhanced by the work and presence of Mrs. Wallace Reid, which brings to mind her own tragic experience with this evil. Following an absence of several years from the screen, her return under such dramatic circumstances commands attention and adds a deep human note, one that arouses intense sympathy and adds tremendous force to the message which the film delivers.”
Exhibitor’s Trade Review noted “there may be many to say they found “Human Wreckage” depressing and too dolorous for entertainment, but all will agree that while the picture was before them they were intensely interested and tremendously stirred by its appeal.”
Motion Picture Classic wrote “we confess to being among those doubting ones who questioned the motive and criticized the taste of this unprecedented film. We went to the opening night in New York frankly, out of curiosity, legitimate perhaps, but with no idea or praise or even of respect. And we, like many others remained to pray. … “Human Wreckage” is a profoundly moving picture handled with dignity and restraint. There is nothing cheap or sensational about it.”