Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1915)

fanuarv 23, 1915 THE MOVING PICTURE WORED 531 Manufacturers' Advance Notes "BLACK AND WHITE" (MinA). This one-reel MinA comedy is of especial interest because it is the first of the series in which Harry La Pearl, the famous circus clown, appears. "Black and White is a happy lilending of the slapstick Scene from "Black and White" (Mina). and high-class pantomime. The makers of MinA Films pride themselves on photography and this picture is said to disclose the cameraman at his best. La Pearl's work shows the ease and deliberate skill of the well-trained pantomimist, and is very amusing. The story is told in a series of humorous episodes and is easily followed. Taken all in all, "Black and White" should prove one of the most popular of the distinctly classy Min.\ Films so ffir released. "THE MEASURE OF A. MAN" (Rex). "The Measure of a Man," a two-reel Canadian Northwest Mounted Police drama featuring Pauline Bush and William Dowlin will be released under the Re.x brand on Thursday. January 28. The scenario of this photodrama of life across the border was written by Thomas Forman and produced by Joseph De Grasse. William Dowlin. Joseph De Grasse. Pauline Bush and Lon Chaney enact the leading roles. one silent in admiration of the author's mastery of his theme. Pauline Bush, as the wife of a lovable gambler type, displays her artistry in the skillful handling of a difficult role. As a western type Pauline Bush makes an ideal figure. Her characterization of Helen MacDermott in "The Measure of a Man" is but another instance of her exceptional powers of characterization. William Dowlan is cast as the gambler-liusband. In his delineation of the role he gives the spectator an insight into the ways of marked-card gamblers and a "close-up" reveals how the identifying marks upon the backs of the deck are interlined with the skill of a bank-note engraver. Picturesque Indians are introduced into the background of the picture w-ith great effectiveness and one of their number later figures in an attempt upon the life of the gambler. The Rex company is to be con,gratulated upon the degree of histrionic skill attained by these swarthy-skinned aborigines, many of whom have never seen the interior of Carlisle nor the Haskell Indian school from which so many Indian photoplayers are reputed to have been graduated. "The Measure of a Man" tells the story of a gambler who is run out of camp with his wife by the Vigilante Committee after members of the committee have caught him using marked cards in a friendly game. Outcasts from civilization, the gambler and his wife meet a young officer of the Canadian mounted police. Sick at heart, the young wife accepts the attentions of the officer. A tragedy between the husband and the officer is narrowly averted. Later, when the husband learns that his wife loves the officer, he determines to let her make her choice between them. He leaves her with the officer, but the latter, realizing the sacrifice the gambler has made, induces him to return, and the wife, her admiration kindled for the manly bearing of her husband, clings close to him as the final scene dissolves. Scene from "The Measure of a Man" (Rex). In addition to its faithful reproduction of life in the factor trading posts of the far north the film is built upon a foundation of primal strength. Primitive passions have their fullest play. The dramatic denouement attains its greatest interest following a totally unexpected clima.x which leaves "COLLEGE DAYS' (Kay-Bee). .\nother red-blooded story of life on the campus, in which tlie great American game of football holds the center of interest, soon will be released by the Kay-Bee Co. Feb. S under tlie title of "College Days." It is a two-part feature that bids fair even to eclipse the remarkable success of "The Scrub," a recent Ince release which scored such a tremendous liit. "College' Days" relates the story of a ne'er-do-well youth who betrays his mother college. For drinking too heavily he is dismissed from the football team b" the coach. Immediately he enters a rival institution — an Indian school — and reveals the signals and plays he has learned. While his identity is still unknown, his team is winning against his former teammates when he is suddenly injured. The Redskins are beaten and the unfaithful youth's plan is unearthed. The professor's pretty daughter, who has renounced the reprobate because of his habits, then accepts the proposal ot another youth who had resented the disloyal one's bullied tactics toward a student. George Fisher, the rapidly rising young leading man, is seen as the defiant collegian and his interpretation of the part is declared to be a splendid piece of work. Louise Glaum makes a winsome fair-co-ed, while Gilbert Pratt takes good care of the part of the lad who wins the girl, and Joseph Dowling does justice to the character of the father. Scott Sidney directed the production. WORLD FILM TO DO "TRILBY." .\bout twenty years ago "Trilby" was almost a fad in America. George DuMaurier wrote the book, which was one of the world's best sellers. It was afterward done into a play and held the boards for a long time, immortalizing the character of Svengali, who is still the model for the hypnotizing stage villain. Now William A, Brady, who has the dramatic rights for the play, proposes to put it in pictures. It will appear in five reels, and be distributed by the World Film Corporation.