The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, July 14, 1918 SJ^ DAILY Star's Personality Great Help. Farce Interesting, Funny in Spots Constance Talmadge in "A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS" Select DIRECTOR Walter Edwards AUTHOR Cyril Harcourt SCENARIO BY Edith M. Kennedy CAMERAMAN James C. Van Trees AS A WHOLE Not uproarious farce but quite interesting and star's personality lifted it decidedly. STORY Very light and not to be taken seriously but provided interesting situations. DIRECTION Gave good atmosphere and registered star's "pep" to advantage but players frequently gave evidence of instructions. PHOTOGRAPHY Generally pleasing although not particularly artistic. LIGHTINGS Some very good but generally just straight stuff. CAMERA WORK Quite satisfactory, not exceptional. STAR Enthusiastic "pep" and genuine beauty made her work very interesting indeed. Occasional shot gave evidence of acting under direction. SUPPORT Good types, generally quite satisfactory EXTERIORS Good; not many INTERIORS Very good DETAIL Some pleasing touches; English divorce court an interesting novelty. CHARACTER OF STORY A little naughty but not offensive. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 4,600 feet THIS is supposed to be farce. It provides complications that would hardly be accepted in any other form of entertainment and it is interesting even though it cannot be said that there are a tremendous lot of real laughs registered. The action has the typical farce twists of convenient and misunderstood circumstances rather well tied together and while it is a little naughty in spots, it has kept away from the suggestive degree that it could have been taken to. .Miss Talmadge shows evidence of direction several times when her actions become somewhat mechanical but really it is her personality that carries the entire offering and makes it rather pleasing entertainment because she registers all the way with the bubbling enthusiasm of a beautiful young thing who really doesn't know any better and consequently does several rather surprising things. Harrison Ford has one of those silly Englishmen parts, the scene of this being London, and while he is a likable hero, the part requires that he registers as one inclined to do brainless things as a result of some wild idiotic hunch as to the possible results of his actions. We start off with a misunderstanding over the purchase of a car and hubby's effort to make wife jealous which results in a quick divorce. Then with ex-hubby in a house party, we find wifey breaking in as an unexpected guest and she is given the room vacated by the fiance of a pretty little blond who has been hurriedly called back to town. A well meaning friend suggests to ex-hubby that this is a chance to explain and so he hides in ex-wifey*s room to catch her alone and tell her his troubles. Ford was wearing a disguise .since a play was being rehearsed, and consequently when the young man bound for the city missed his train, returned and climbed through the window into his former room, he found Miss Talmadge there. Later the bearded ex-hubby was found in a closet, thought to be a burglar and captured. When the little blond discovered her fiance in Constance's room they explained about the bursrlar but when they went to look for him he was gone. This provided some interesting complications Avith all concerned until ex-hubby finally confessed that he was the burglar which straightened everything out. This is decidedly spotty as entertainment goes, some of the sequences running along without even a snicker but if your house gets in a good humor as it goes along, they will finish up with enough laughs to make them decide that this is really quite a pleasing little offering "nd certainly the Constance Talmadge following will be morp than satisfied wi*~h the result as a whole. In the cast were Wanda Hawlev, Vera Doria. Florence Computer. TViomns Pptspp Louis Willoughby. Helen Haskell. L. W. Steers and Robert Gordon.