Moving Picture World (Dec 1915)

2386 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 25, 1915 In the story come with the work and the adventures of the blacksmith in the camp. The acting was very good throughout. William Duncan gave a fine impersonation of the likable village blacksmith, while Mary Ruby gave a splendid account of herself in the evidently congenial part of the village school teacher. For his protection of an old camp follower from the brutality of the camp bully the blacksmith falls into a rare piece of good luck, and as the story comes to an end we not only see bride and bridegroom happy, but assured of a very substantial nest egg. "Triangle Program" Strong Features Presented at the Knickerbocker Theater This Week. Reviewed by Louis Reeves Harrison. THE DESPOlLER," a powerful Kay-Bee story of vital theme by Thos. Ince and J. G. Hawks, holds attention in an absorbing manner, partially because of its theme, but mainly from fine craftsmanship, admirable construction, Scene from "The Despoiler" (Kay-Bee). appropriate backgrounds, well-chosen types and consistently good acting on the part of an entire company, down to the supers. Had the play ended abruptly immediately after the crisis, its artistry alone would have evoked a storm of applause at its first presentation. The audience approved as it is. and we have apparently not reached a stage where the Scene from "Don Quixote" (Fine Arts). "happy ending" can be dispensed with for the sake of pure artistry. Like the most successful novels of to-day, "The Despoiler" aims at something — the day of the aimless story has passed and gone, never to return in this civilization — and the aim is so good that it makes a hit. One of the nauseating horrors of Europe's terrible convulsion, the despoiling of captive women, such as is going on at this moment in the new theaters of war, is the object hit, hit hard, not merely tapped. A high tension is worked up through a command reluctantly given by an officer of refinement to a troop of barbarians under his command, in which he unwittingly involves his adored only daughter. The main situation is a tremendous one, and it is intensified by that essence of the photodrama, psychology. Straight through, from beginning to end. "The Despoiler" is one of the strongest features yet shown on the Triangle program. "Don Quixote." "Don Quixote," with De Wolf Hopper in the title role, is a production of the highest order, showing throughout appreciation of a romance that has warmed the human heart for three centuries, and a delicate picture sense in such charming combination that the famous story is told better ever than when Gustave Dore illumined it with his wondrous imaginative drawings. The photodrama so successfully illustrates the masterpiece of Cervantes that it must eventually serve as an educational release, yet it is entertaining in itself, a veritable pictured story, its only fault being a tendency to overplay certain scenes and thus deprive the movement of swift continuity. At least one whole reel can be removed in bits, especially those unnecessary fades and dissolves where no mental operation is involved. Most of the editing can be done near the conclusion to the advantage of the whole product. De Wolf Hopper is amazing. All that he has done on the stage will die with him, but his impersonation of Don Quixote in the Fine Arts film will assure his immortality — it is a performance without a flaw, an ideal. He is well supported, but only the Dulcinea of Fay Tincher stands out from the generally good cast — her personality is altered, but it cannot be suppressed — she is a born comedienne. More carefully edited "Don Quixote," the photodrama, may rival the printed story in the matter of enduring popularity. "The Salamander" A Filmed Adaptation of Owen Johnson's Novel Made by the B. S. Moss Corporation. Reviewed by W. Stephen Bush. THE underlying idea of this play is a very happy one and fraught with great possibilities. Here it is: A young woman reared in the plain but happy and wholesome atmosphere of the country is forced through an adverse fate to come into the city and give battle to the world. The dangers of the metropolis, its temptations, its power to conquer the individual and cast him into a cheaper and more common Scene from "The Salamander" (Moss). mold, indeed all the idols that are worshipped in the city pass her by and like the fabled salamander who defied the living flame she comes forth from her ordeals unscathed. The first reel gave great promise. It looked as if the director had indeed grasped the idea of the novel and as if he were capable of making it live on the screen. Even at the end of the second reel this hope was very much alive. After that I am sorry to say there came a distinct decline. The plot ran into needless complications, many episodes were entirely without the general frame of the story and others that seemed more pertinent were as it looked to me unduly prolonged. Nothing can be said against the cast. The heroine is a charming young girl, who measured up fully to the requirements of her part. She remained to the end "The Salamander," though she did not pass through an awful lot of temptations. She was very well supported. Many an all-star cast has done no better. "The Salamander" is a story that 'will make a distinct appeal to women. As women form a large part of most picture audiences I do not have to point to the conclusion. There is some good double-exposure work and some that is only fair. The photography is not always of even quality. Kerrigan in Another "Terence O'Rourke" Story. Another "Terence O'Rourke" story with J. Warren Kerrigan in the feature -role is now occupying the attention of Otis Turner at Universal City. This episode. "The Road to Paradise," will, like the others, be released in two reels. Following this, the last of "The New Adventures of Terence O'Rourke," this Universal favorite will start on "The Pool of Flame," by Louis Joseph Vance.