Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

376 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XIX, No. 8 signalling the German trenches and in a thrilling hand to hand fight the spy is overpowered and the alarm given in time to warn of a coming attack by the enemy. Fairfax is wounded and, by a strange coincidence, is taken to the same hospital base as Gladys. A happy reunion results and is made happier when news comes from Mrs. Dorset that Robert had been arrested and had admitted his guilt of the robberies. "Vengeance— and the Woman" Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Serial, Starring William Duncan and Carol Holloway. Episode No. 9, Buried Alive. Reviewed by L. J. Bourstein DLAKE and his wife, who have fallen from a cable trolley *-* over a deep gorge, are not injured and are followed by the outlaws. During the chase Comanche Pete, the Indian guide of the outlaws, falls in the water and Blake saves him. The outlaws see Mrs. Blake alone and make her prisoner, while Comanche, thankful because of Blake having saved him, promises Blake to help rescue his wife. Pete rejoins the outlaws, who carry Mrs. Blake away and Blake follows. They learn of his presence and surround and capture him. They dig a grave for him but allow his head to protrude and, buried alive, Blake is helpless, as a mountain lion, scenting him, comes near. In the stillness of the night Comanche escapes from the outlaws' camp, presumably going to Blake's rescue. What happens must be left to the imagination of the audience. Another feat of daring is accomplished by William Duncan in this episode of the adventurous serial. When the Indian falls into the water Duncan, who is on a ledge overlooking the brink of the lake, sees he is unable to swim, and dives after the Indian. The dive is by no means a simple one, as the plunge is all of fifty feet, or possibly more, over a rocky ledge. Had he missed the dive Duncan might have been seriously injured. But he didn't miss it. "Keys of the Righteous" Ince-Paramount Picture, Starring Enid Bennett. Reviewed by L. J. Bournstein CNID BENNETT'S first Paramount picture, if taken as a •'-' criterion of what her work will be in the future, promises to bring that star to the fore rather rapidly. With one of the most absorbing stories provided in some time the picture is, probably, drama in its finest and tensest form ; not the overdone or often abused melodrama, but simply of the type that holds the audience until the last scene. As Mary Manning, a girl brought up with little love, but amid much hatred and bitterness, the star from the Antipodes gives an entirely human interpretation of the character. Alone in the solitudes of the great lumber camps of the west, Mary had known few happy moments and the caring of an invalid mother was the cause of much grief. A stern and unrelenting grandfather and a derelict father are the causes of the girl's unhappiness and how the two men are finally brought together makes an exceptionally gripping story. Miss Bennett is assisted by George Nichols and Joser Swickard as the estranged father and son and Earl Rodney, the one man who brought happiness into her life. Jerome Storm directed under supervision of Thos. H. Ince. The story: Mary Manning lives in a lonely cabin with her invalid mother and stern grandfather. Mary had learned the story of how her mother had come to the cabin very ill and deserted by her husband. Mary's mother had been sickly for some time, but longed to see her husband before she died. Peter Manning, the grandfather, had been bitter for years because his son had married, and had taken his wife into his home only because of the baby, Mary. Tom Gale, a young lumberman, meets Mary and brings a little happiness to the girl. In a nearby city Paul Manning, the father, is discharged from court with a reprimand ; his continual drunkenness is a source of great discomfort for the judge, who believes that Manning could better his life. Manning comes to the cabin and sees his wife who, unable to stand the shock of his sudden reappearance, dies, leaving Mary alone with her father. He leaves the cabin and returns to the city and Mary, fearful lest harm come to him, takes some money from her grandfather and follows her father. The old man discovers the discrepancy and follows the girl. In the city Mary finds her father in a dance hall and saloon and while there with him the place is raided. In court Mary takes the blame, but the judge is able to see her sacrifice. The grandfather explains the cause of his son's downfall and takes the blame for it. And so father and son return home together and Mary finds complete happiness in the unselfish love of Gale. /'// have no strangers around my house. 'The City of Purple Dreams" Thomas Santschi in Selig State Rights Production. Reviewed by Genevieve Harris CHICAGO is "The City of Purple Dreams" of this story. But viewers expecting to see the Windy City presented in so romantic a guise as this attractive title leads them to expect will be disappointed. The pleasanter features of Our Village have been ignored; instead the more sordid phases are emphasized and the production falls into the "underworld story" class, dealing with derelicts, anarchists and the like. It will recall somewhat "Beware of Strangers," the crook play made by Selig some time ago with the same cast and director, but it is not so vivid or well produced an offering. Colin Campbell directed this from a novel. Mr. Campbell, in previous successes, notably "The Spoilers," "The Crisis" and "The Garden of Allah," has shown a rare talent for transferring the very spirit of a book from printed page to screen. We are inclined to think the reason this play falls so far below his usual high standard is that the book itself was not worth while. For one thing, it is not up to date. It pictures a Chicago of a past decade, although the time is supposedly the present. The events are not convincing and the sub-titles are written in a melodramatic, dime-novel style. The sets and photography, with the exception of some clear and attractive exteriors, are mediocre. The players, especially Thomas Santschi, Bessie Eyton and Fritzi Brunette, do good work, as they usually do. They are handicapped by the story, which makes them do unreal things. As presented at the Ziegfeld Theater, Michigan avenue, Chicago, this photoplay did not seem to be making a very favorable impression. It will meet with more success with a less high class clientele. Patrons with a taste for melodramatic underworld stories will be entertained by this picture, and of course in the Chicago territory it will draw because of its local color. In itself, the story is not uninteresting to those who care nothing for probability and to whom the derelict's rapidly mounting thermometer of wealth is at all plausible. It has some unexpected twists and its characters are not hackneyed. It has a ferocious fight, too, for those interested in physical encounters. But as a whole it is a play for an uncritical, middle class audience. The story: Daniels arrives in Chicago penniless and discouraged. An automobile nearly runs him down and he angrily drags the chauffeur from behind the wheel when the girl in the car (Bessie Eyton) interferes. She gives Daniels a dollar, telling him that he is the dirtiest man she ever saw and ordering him to get clean and stay clean. Daniels chances into a meeting of anarchists that night and is struck by their principle of taking from the world what they want. He begins to dream of a worth while future and the girl of the autombile plays the leading part in his dream. Olga, a young Russian girl in the anarchist society, falls in love with Daniels but he thinks only of the wealthy girl. Setting out to acquire a fortune, he begins as a dish-washer and the picture shows the various steps, not all of them