Barriers of Society

According to the book - The Universal Story, Carl Laemmle (c. 1867-1939) produced around 91 movies in 1916.[3] Lloyd B. Carleton (c. 1872–1933) started working for Carl Laemmle in the Fall of 1915.[4] Carleton arrived with impeccable credentials, having directed some 60 films for the likes of Thanhouser, Lubin, Fox, and Selig.[5] Between March and December 1916, 44-year-old Lloyd Carleton directed 16 movies for Universal, starting with The Yaqui and ending with The Morals of Hilda. Emory Johnson acted in all 16 of these films. Of Carleton's total 1916 output, 11 were feature films, and the rest were two-reel shorts.
In 1916, Carleton directed all 13 films pairing Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson. This film would be the twelfth in the 13-film series. These totals show Carl Laemmle was clearly giving the Davenport-Johnson pairing one of his elite directors from the working cadre of universal directors to produce the screen chemistry Laemmle was seeking.

• Dorothy Davenport (1895-1977) was an established star for Universal when the 21 year-old actress played Martha Gorham. She had acted in hundreds of movies by the time she starred in this film. The majority of these films were 2-reel shorts, as was the norm in Hollywood's teen years. She had been making movies since 1910. She started dating Wally Reid when she was barely 16, and he was 20. They married in 1913. After her husband died in 1923, she used the name "Mrs. Wallace Reid" in the credits for any project she took part in.[6] Besides being an actress, she would eventually become a film director, producer, and writer.[7]
  
• Emory Johnson (1894-1960) was 22 years old when he acted in this movie as Westie Phillips. In January 1916, Emory signed a contract with Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Carl Laemmle of Universal Film Manufacturing Company thought he saw great potential in Johnson, so he chooses him to be Universal's new leading man. Laemmle's hope was Johnson would become another Wallace Reed. A major part of his plan was to create a movie couple that would sizzle on the silver screen. Laemmle thought Dorothy Davenport and Emory Johnson could create the chemistry he sought. Johnson and Davenport would complete 13 films together. They started with the successful feature production of Doctor Neighbor in May 1916 and ended with The Devil's Bondwoman in November 1916. After completing the last movie, Laemmle thought Johnson did not have the screen presence he wanted. He decided not to renew his contract.[8][7] Johnson would make 17 movies in 1916, including 6 shorts and 11 feature-length Dramas. 1916 would become the second-highest movie output of his entire acting career. Emory acted in 25 films for Universal, mostly dramas with a sprinkling of comedies and westerns.
  
• Richard Morris (1862-1924) was a 54 year-old actor when he played villainous yacht owner Harry Arnold. He was a character actor and former opera singer known for Granny (1913). He would eventually participate in many Johnson projects, including |In the Name of the Law (1922), The Third Alarm (1922), The West~Bound Limited (1923), The Mailman (1923), The Spirit of the USA (1924) until his untimely death in 1924.
  
• Frederick (Fred) Montague (c. 1864-1919) was a 52 year-old actor when he played Silas Gorham, the wealthy father of Martha Gorham. He was an English film actor and appeared in 59 films between 1912 and 1919.
  
• Alfred Allen (1866-1947) was 50 years old when he was selected to play John Phillips. Allen was highly educated, had a commanding presence and stood six feet tall, and weighed two hundred pounds. He got his start in the film industry at Universal city in 1913. He landed his first role in 1915. His roles were character parts, and he played mostly fathers, villains, or ranch owners. Alfred Allen appeared in 69 features from 1916 through 1929. After Heartaches he would appear in four more Davenport-Johnson projects: A Yoke of Gold, The Unattainable, The Human Gamble and Barriers of Society.[9]
  

FATE as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

The will or principle or determining cause by which things, in general, are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do.

A movie advertisement in The Seattle Star stated :

The story is a thrilling one of a romance of two souls brought together by fate on a desert island, two people from entirely different strata of society, who fall in love, their mutual attraction overcoming all the barriers that society puts in their way. The match that destiny has ordained is at last fulfilled. [10]

Besides fate, another tagline of the film was - A man's millions against a woman's will.

This film was based on a Clarke Irvine play. The movie was adapted for the screen by Frederick Myton (1885-1955). Myton was 30 years old when the movie was released. He would also create the screenplay for the next and last film in the Davenport-Johnson series of films - The Devil's Bondwoman.

Lloyd Carleton and Universal determined the majority of the exteriors needed to be filmed aboard a yacht. They chartered a large steam vessel, and the movie company sailed off into the Pacific. The festive atmosphere ended when the ship encountered rough seas. The ship was tossed about like a dog's chew toy; waves poured over the decks, and filming became impossible. Several of the crew became seasick, and filming had to be further postponed. Finally, the weather cleared, and the crew was able to complete the scenes.[11][12]
The interiors were filmed in the studio complex at Universal Studios located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California.[13]

An article published in the March 1917 issue of The Moving Picture Weekly describes the ascendency of a young actress named Roberta Wilson, including her starring role in Barriers of Society. The item was a misprint. The article meant to say - a featured role in The Isle of Life"[14] released around the same time as Barriers of Society. [15]

The copyright for this film was filed on Friday, September 29, 1916.[16] The release date of Monday, October 16, 1916, was cited in several movie magazines. Yet, the film is advertised in various newspapers on Friday, October 6 (Chicago Tribune)[17] and Saturday, October 7 (Brooklyn, New York)[18]

Since Red Feather Photo Plays were always released on Mondays in 1916,[19] a better candidate for a release date is Monday, October 2, 1916.

Based on an American Film Institute standard, films with a running time of forty-five minutes or longer are considered feature films. In 1915, feature films were becoming more the trend in Hollywood. In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Universal films decided to label their films according to the size of their budget and status. Universal, unlike the top-tier studios, did not own any theaters to market its feature films. By branding their product, Universal gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would help theater owners make judgments for films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see.

Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures:[20][21]

• Red feather Photoplays – low-budget feature films
• Bluebird Photoplays – mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions
• Jewel – prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actors

This film carried Universal's "Red Feather" brand, designating a low-budget feature film.

The critics generally liked this film.

In the October 14, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, movie critic Robert C. McElravy points out:[22]

 This five-reel offering owes much of its interest to two factors of universal interest in the plot conception, rather than to any special strength of presentation. There is a pleasing allegorical touch to all of the opening scenes, and the observer's interest is well maintained. The film has some weaknesses in construction but tells an entertaining story. It has no high dramatic moments but carries the interest quite well without them.

In the October 21, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, the staff review:[23]

 The story is simple in plot and quite appealing. Some construction is a little choppy, but it has a good adventurous flavor and retains the interest despite some weaknesses.

Lincoln, Nebraska population 18,498[24]

I want to thank you for the feature you sent me, "The Barriers of Society," and must say it is one of the best pictures I have had in a long time. The first day I ran it was Monday, and during the exciting scenes of the picture, I thought my patrons would tear the house down. The consequences were they all passed out of the theatre with a big smile of satisfaction on their faces, and last night (Tuesday), I had the biggest Tuesday night's business in the history of the house.
 Nathan Dix
The Lily theatre