The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, December 29, 1918 T&4A DAILY Meller With Many Angles is Rather Mixed Affair. May Get By William Farnum in "FOR FREEDOM" . Fox DIRECTOR Frank Lloyd AUTHORS E. Lloyd Sheldon and Florence Margolies. CAMERAMAN Billy Foster AS A WHOLE May satisfy crowd that is content w.th improbable meller with war trimmings. Nothing extraorainary about production. STORY Follows conventional lines except in showing convicts released on parole that they may go to war. DIRECTION Puts force in dramatic situations and gives animation to scene presenting mob of convicts. PHOTOGRAPHY Uneven; some scenes out of focus. LIGHTINGS Too contrasty at times CAMERA WORK Passable STAR Gives forceful performance which is likely to impress. SUPPORT Adequate for film of this type EXTERIORS Battle scenes fair, others answer purpose. INTERIORS The usual thing DETAIL Doesn't bother much about fine poin.s CHARACTER OF STORY Censors can't object LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 5,7°J *t. There's a little bit of everything in this, all the way from domestic meller to life among convicts and battle scenes in France. The plot, containing so many different elements, is a bit uneven and suggests several stories tied together, rather than one uniform production worked out along plausible lines. What appears to be the basic idea, and not a bad idea at that, is the possible treatment of convicts in war time. I believe there was some agitation about giving prisoners a chance to redeem themselves by fighting for their country, but it never came to anything definite. Here they present it as an accomplished fact, with some thousands of convicts donning the uniforms of Uncle Sam and going to France. This phase of the story, with the spirited scenes supposed to be enacted in a prison when William Farnum, in prison garb, makes an eloquent appeal tor himself and his fellows, is likely to impress your folks as being the most original part of the production. Having been accepted in the army, we follow the careers of three of the released prisoners who become heroes. The trench and battle scenes are passable but in no way extraordinary, and as in so many other war pictures that lack true artistry, it is doubtful if they will convince soldiers who have returned from .trance and are rapidly becoming a more appreciable factor when it comes to estimating the taste of an audience. The early sequences of the production present the not unusual circumstance in which a somewhat silly .'wife is considerably peeved because she feels that her too busy husband neglects her. Some crooked stockholders of the corporation in which the husband's money is invested prepare a plot to compromise the woman who is a surprisingly easy victim. Her reputation is saved only by the timely appearance of her brother at the road house to which she has been enticed. It happens that this brother, Hero William Farnum, is also a member of the corporation and his presence is needed at the stockholders' meeting to ward off the crooked deal. In saving his sister from disgrace he is delayed and the transaction ts put through before he appears at the conference. This leads to various unpleasantnesses, the most serious being that Farnum is accused or assault on the man who attempted to betray his sister and is sentenced to jail because he does not care to tell the true story. With this preparation they swing into scenes of life among the convicts, preparatory to the sequences in which the prisoners have become soldiers and Hero Farnum is taken up by a charitably inclined young society woman who is devoting her time to making lonesome soldiers happy. Out of this circumstance they weave a romance which takes a subordinate place in the production. There are occasional touches of humor in incidental bits of business and sub-titles. The acting of the star and his support is adequate. Play on Problem of What to Do With Convicts in War Time Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. Two elements may be played upon in exploiting this picture; either you may treat it as a dramatic exposition of a possible way to treat convicts in war time, or you may deal with the husband and wife problem offered in the case of a neglected and lonesome woman who seeks other diversion. Perscna'dy, I think the convict end, the better, for at least it has the advantage of novelty and is in accord with the title. These convicts are supposed to gain their own freedom through fighting for the freedom of the world, a condition which should have some sentimental appeal for your folks who think men phould be given every opportunity to regenerate themselves. The war end of the production doesn't justify any particular emphasis, but you might suggest that the story leads to France by displaying some of the pictures showing William Farnum and his two corn Following out the convict idea, it would be well to excite interest by offering a question on cards to be circulated among your audience and distributed as widely as possible. The question could read something like this: "Do you believe that a convict is always a convict, or should he be given a chance to redeem himself by risking his life for his country. See if you agree with William Farnum in 'For Freedom' at the Blank theater." In your lobby you might carry out somewhat the same idea by using two pictures of the star one showing him as a convict, the other as a soldier andusing the line: "He was this, but he became this." To suggest the romance of the story try to get something which presents Ruby deRemer to advantage, preferably in some scene with the star. Others in the cast whose names nvght be mentioned in your newspaper notices are C. Albertson, Anna Lehr, Her