The Film Daily (1919)

jMi DAILV Wednesday, July 2, 1919 m m 'm ■MiiiB^M^i^.^ 1— if^ — urn— P^itKeNews No. 54 BOSTON, MASS. — A tremendous welrumn is given to the Irisli "President" Eainonn l)e Valera. FERGUS FALLS, MINN.— A destructive cyclone does over $4,000,000 wortli of damaee. .JUAUEZ, MEXICO. — General (ionzales and staff review the soldiers who detended the city against Villa. DUBLIN, IKEL.AND. — Alcock and Brown, the daring airmen wlio made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, are acclaimed by enthusiastic crowds; tiieir welcome in London. HOBOKEN, N. .1. — The 339th Infantry are the first U. S. soldiers to return from Russia. LOS ANGELES, CAL. — Motorcycles compete in a championship race run at liglitning speed. NEW YORK CITY. — French naval attache awards the Legion of Honor ribbon to .Admiral Mayo, upon retiringr from active service. AMERICA GREETS HER NAVAL HEROES. — Read, Bellinger, and Towers are greeted on tlieir return from Europe. C.\RTOON. toaay DONALD I. BUCHANAN Expert Service, Re-constructing and Re-titling of Features and Comedies. Address Pioneer Film Corp., ISO W. 46th street AM PAYING CASH For NEGATIVES Apply Nathan Hirsh 729 7th Avenue N. Y. City Bryant 7224 A Double BillAny Feature and a el^hristie Special Territory Sold Herman Rifkin of Boston has sought "Virtuous Men" for New England. Dubinsky Bros, who operite a chain of theaters in Kansas .nd Missouri have bought rights for hose states. Story is Made a "Convenient" Vehicle for Jess Willard Jess Willard in "Challenge of Change" Fred Wilke Prod. — Independent Sales DIRECTOR Harry Revier AUTHOR Roy Somerville SCENARIO BY Roy Somerville CAMERAMAN Not credited AS A WHOLE flood fan stuff on account of the fame of the star; production is passable. STORY Obviously made to suit Jess Willard; it answers the purpose. DIRECTION Puts pep into fight scenes and al= lows Jess to appear natural instead of having him "act." PHOTOGRAPHY Varies, generally fair LIGHTINGS Ordinary CAMERA WORK Arrangement of characters on screen is calculated to emphasize size of the heavy=weight champion. STAR Does surprisingly well for a man with little camera experience. SUPPORT Albert Hart, Arline Pretty, Harry Von Meter and other players up to the mark. EXTERIORS Ranch scenes carry the right at= mosphere, some of the race track shots marred by harsh photography. INTERIORS The usual thing in hotel lobby and office sets. DETAIL Nobody bothered about tine points LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 7,000 feet Foil a madc-to-order .story cut to the measurements of a pugilistic star. "Challenge of Clianee" does very well. To be sure, it is merely action meller with a convenient plot, but nobody is going to expect anything very deej). or unusual in a picture primarily devised to capitalize on the public inten-st in a heavyweight cliampion about to defend his title. Considered strictly on its merits as a photoplay this seven-reeler wouldn't go over the fifty per cent. mark. There is not even a pretense at genuine characterization in the presentation of such stock figures as the willun horse dealer, the persecuted sliero in danger of being swindled, and the Mexican bandits who tie up with the crook. These tyi)ical movie characters are little more than a setting for the giant star — the hero. Toward the close, the director brfiuglit in some ])retty fair fight stuff in connection with the raid of the Mexican bandits on the racing stables and the rescue of the horses iifter a lively fracHS in which Willun Albert Hart and his chief accomjdice are numbered among the dead. I<"'roni a production angle these passages give the picture its best claim to distinction, although they are not extraordiiniry. lint, as already mentioned, being cut to fit Jess Willard and depending upon him rather than upon story interest or an artistic production. "Challenge of Chance" fulfills the main recpiirements and need not be scrutinized too closely on points tliat would not be oxcrlooked in a more pretentious film. If .luly Fourth proves to be an unlucky day for Jess there is no apparent reason why he should not follow the example of James J. Corbett and lesser ring celebrities by cashing in as an actor. He is the nearest approacli to Maciste that America has offered. Of course, he doesn't know anything about acting, but he can punch his way through a Him in a compelling fashion and make an audience l)elieve that lie is more than a match for a dozen ordinary men. Director Itevier was wise enough to utilize the tremendous bulk of his star without frying to teach him ^ the tricks of the conventional picture actor. As the ( i-anchman who gets a job as buyer for a horse dealer, Willard isn't called upon to be unlike himself. Not \ giving any evidence of cami'i-a shyness, he is natural, with results far more satisfactory than probably would have been attained had the director called upon him to J "act." When Jess is on the screen the people n car him look like pigmies. j There is no need to go into the details of the plot j whereby Willard becomes the champion of ArlinV I'retty and saves her string of horses from the fraudu^ lent dealer. The pugilist starts handing out healthy wallops when he finds a bunch of men abusing a horse. His employer happens to be one of the sufferers and from this time on they are implacable enemies. The jilot has complications; moist of them of the usuair order: its real punches, however, are the ones that/ Jess delivers. Between his fights there are some duly s])ofs, but an audience may be expected to wait pa/ tiently until things begin to happen again. Chance to Do Big Business With Crowd of Fight Fans Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Obviously, the best time to show this picture is right now when the newspapers are filled with the WillardDempsey fight. During the days immediately preceding and following July Fourth, it ought to be a cleanup, especially if you have a down-town theatre where you are reaching men patrons. As a neighborhood house, family-trade attraction, it is a different proposition. A lot of folks don't believe in prize fights or prize fighters, and if you figure that this element figures largely among your regulars you probably won't be much interested in "Challenge of Chance." At all events play fair. Before long, pictures of the'y^ T(dedo battle will be in circulation and it would be^ a short-sighted policy to use trick advertising designed \ to fool the unwary into thinking that this is a fight I film just because they see the name of Jess Willard in I big type. As a matter of fact, there is not a ring scene in the entire seven reels. Of course, you are justified in inn king as much fuss as you can about Willard being the star of the production. He is your one and only big advertising asset. The name of the i)icture will naturally be subordinated to that of the i)ugilist iind there is no harm in using I)ortraits of Jess in. his fighting togs. Only draw the line at getting people into your house under a false impression. Did the Girl Finally Circumvent the Hooded Terror?