The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, December 29, 1918 Bfefefc AIL.Y 17 Plot Lacks Novelty But Human In crest Appeal Should Put This Over J. Warren Kerrigan in "THE DRIFTERS" ~,!?£mpton Production.— W. W. Hodkinson, Dist. ?5Hg£?* J D. Hampton r?S?S?»;Ax; Kenneth B. Clarke CAMERAMAN Chas. Stumar 5oE?A,?tI,°vtBY Kenneth B. Clarke AS A WHOLE Should satisfy folks looking for production with atmosphere of Alaska. Dramatic scenes register. STORY Permits too much narrative at times and relies largely on coincidences. Old time "loss of memory" situation used. DIRECTION Maintained atmosphere and kept players in mood of the action. PHOTOGRAPHY Always clear LIGHTINGS Several fine effects; well judged throughout. CAMERA WORK Satisfactory STAR Makes most of type of character he has played many times before. SUPPORT Lois Wilson easy to look at as the shero. William Conklin gives convincingly sinister portrayal of the willun. EXTERIORS Not remarkable, but enough to suggest Alaska. INTERIORS Mostly in cabin DETAIL Obvious slips avoided. Art titles well prepared. CHARACTER OF STORY ... Nothing objectionable. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 5,000 ft It wouldn't be hard to rip this story to pieces in a lot of ways. There is so much coincidence in the building and carrying through of the plot that it can't qualify as a piece of life-like fiction and there's too much narrative in proportion to the dramatic action. A large part of the first two reels is devoted to a recounting of past events which are linked up with the story of "The Drifters". Technically, insofar as the plot construction is concerned this suggests an amplification of the one and two-reel mellers which we used to have in great quantity" a few years ago. But they've improved so much on the artistic end of producing since then that a story of the same general type may get by in enlarged form on acount of the interest attaching to well prepared scenes and carefully acted character sketches. On the producing end, Director J. D. Hampton did a first class job, for the atmosphere is made convincing and he showed good judgment in the selection of his cast. Kerrigan fans probably won't bother about the somewhat artificial nature of the plot, which at all events provides Hero Warren with the kind of a role that he knows how to portray with virility. It just happens that three men of widely different characteristics become companions in the snowy wastes of the Yukon during a fateful winter They bring out, with considerable conviction, the hatred likely to grow between two men under the strain of close intimacy during a long period of monotonous hardship. Hero Kerrigan has come to Alaska because he wants to forget and to contribute to his foreetfulness he spends a large part of his time getting drunk having secreted a store of liquor in a secret compartment of the cabin. Willun William Conklin resents not having access to the booze, and with this as a constant source of trouble between the two men, they build up an acute feeling of hatred. The third member of the trio is a likable youth who has no dark past to hide. The narrative in the first reel concerns the tragic career of a derelict sold seeker who haunts the desolate region. When this figure has been sufficiently established they swing back into the story proper. The three men, seated in the cabin, hear a weird cry which leads Hero Kerrigan out into the frozen night where he finds a half conscious girl half buried in the snow He carries her to the cabin where it soon appears that she is suffering from loss of memory. Also, it is established that Willun Conklin knows perfectly' well who she is and is responsible for her present condition From this point the conflict between Kerrigan and Conklin hinges upon the effort of one to restore Shero Lois Wilson's memory and the other to keep her mind in a state of blankness. There are a number of effective dramatic scenes consequent upon the girl's recollection of Conklin's perfidy in causing her brother to be sent to jail for a crime in which he had no part. It also develops that this thorough-going willun has robbed Kerrigan's mother of her fortune. They follow him to New York where accounts are settled in truly melodramatic fashion. For a pleasantly romantic climax they finally bring Hero Kerrigan and Shero Lois Wilson together in the cabin in Alaska where they prepare to forget the past. Make Most of Star's Popularity and Don't Forget Lois Wilson Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. There s nothing especially big about this but all in all it stacks up pretty well with the average program offering. Most audiences don't bother a great " deal about novelty in the plot if the story contains enough human interest and is presented by actors whom they like. The human appeal in this is one of its strongest points because individually and collectively the characters are well drawn. The sketch of the derelict gold seeker has a sympathetic quality and the elementary strength of the three men facing the hardships of an Alaskan winter will get a lot of your folks who respond to masculine force in photoplays. Kerrigan has been on the screen so long that he has built up a large following among the old timers as well as the newer recruits to picture theaters. He is a safe bet_ as a drawing card and I would use his name and_ pictures as extensively as possible, mentioning his past successes and in your newspaper biographical history. Your fans probably would be interested in learning how Kerrigan started with the early program companies and worked through to his place as a favorite star. Because of her beauty, combined with a very fair acting ability, Lois Wilson is going to be liked as Kerrigan's sweetheart. It surely would pay to use pictures of Miss Wilson along with those of Kerrigan. You might arrange a display using all four of the principal characters— Kerrigan, Miss Wilson, Conklin and Casson Ferguson in a combination above the line, "She drifted among 'The Drifters' and one was . kind while another was cruel and another friendly. See how this little girl was saved from the snows of Alaska by a man with a big heart." Another possible catchline could read: "Four lives drifted together like snow in an Alaskan winter. And when they melted apart the good was separated from the bad. See J. Warren Kerrigan portray a real man among 'The