The Film Daily (1919)

Sunday, July 6, 1919 sM^ DAILV 21 Story is Made a "Convenient" Vehicle for Jess Willard Jess Willard in "Challenge of Chance" Fred Wilke Prod. — Independent Sales DIRECTOR Harry Revier AUTHOR Roy Somerville SCENARIO BY Roy Somerville CAMERAMAN Not credited AS A WHOLE Good 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 Aleter and other players up to the mark. EXTERIORS Ranch scenes c^rry 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 fine points LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 7,000 feet FOR a made-to-oriler story cut to the measuremeut.s of a pugilist star. "Challenge of Chauce" does very well. To be sure, it is merely action meller with a convenient plot, but nobody is going to expect anything very deep or unusual in a picture primarily devised to capitalize on the puldic interest in a heavyweight champion 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 shero in danger of being swindled, and the Mexican bandits who tie up with" the crook. Those typical movie characters are little more than a setting for the giant star — the hero. Toward the close, the director brought in some pretty fair fight stulf in connection with the raid of the Mexican bandits on the' racing stnbles and the rescue of tlie liorses after a lively fracas in which Willun Albert Hart and his chief a(complice are numbered among the dead. Frcnn a in'odnciiou angle these passages give the picture its besT claim to distinction, although they are not extraordinary. But. as already mentioned, being cut to fit .Tess Willard and depending upon him rather thin upon story interest or an artistic production, "Challenge of Chance" fulfills the main recpiircmfnts and need not be scrutinized tot closely on points that would not be overlooked in a more prrteuti(nis film. \v;i:itever'h:s futu.re in the ring tliere is no apparant reason why .less Willu-d should not follow the example of .Tames J. Corbett and lesser ring celebrities by cashing in as an actor. He is the nearest approach to Maciste that America has offered. Of course, he doesn't know anything about acting, but he can punch his way through a film in a compelling fashion and make an audience believe that he is more than a maich for a dozen ordinary men. Director Revier was wisi> enough to utilize the tremendous bulk of his star without trying to teach him the ti'icks of the conventional picture actor. As the ranchman who gets a job as buyer for a horse dealer, Willard isn't called upon to be unlike himself. Not giving any evidence of camera shyness, he is natural, with rt suits t-.w more satisfactory than probably would have been atiaiiud had the director called upon him to "act." When Jess is on the screer* the people near him look like pigmies. There is no need to go into the details of the plot whereby Willard becomes the champion of Arline Pretty and saves her string of horses from the fraudulent dealer. The pugilist starts lumding 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 plot has complications; most of them of the usual order; its real punches, however, are the ones that .Tess delivers. Between his fights there are some dull spots, but an audience may be expected to wait patienily until things begin to happen again. Chance to Do Bi^ Business With Crowd of Fi^ht Fans Box Office Analysis 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 reachmg 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 "Cliallenge of Chance." for the Exhibitor At all events play fair. Before long, pictures of the Toledo 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 film just because they see the name of Jess Willard in l)ig type. As a matter of fact, there is not a ring scene in the entire seven reels. Of coiu-se, you are justifiiMl in making 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 picture will naturally be suliordinated to that of the pugilist and there is no harm in using portraits of Jess in his fighting togs. Only draw the line at getting people into your house under a false impression.