The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

November 7, 1925 >/ r> / ■ / A <■ f I L T U R E IV U K L n 59 "The Best People" — Paramount Hopwood's Stage Play Under Sidney OlcottV Direction Becomes an Amusing Farce Comedy In its early reels "The Best People" offers a satirical sketch of a collection of society snobs. It is rather unpromising material and the action develops slowly. Then suddenly it accelerates and shoots along to a climax that verges upon the farcical in the boisterousness of Its action and winds up with a minimum of disentangling; in fact the disentangling is part of the farce and the final fade is one of the best laughs in the picture. More of this saving grace seems to come from Sidney Olcott's production than from the scenarist's devl'opment, but the chief point is that what promises to be a tiresome story whirls off to a brilliant close that more than redeems a prosy opening. It is a simple enough story. Mrs. Lenox is marrying her daughter to the scion of another "best family," but the girl prefers their chaufTeur, who has red blood instead of blue. Bertie Lenox has fallen in love with an impossible chorus girl who will not marry him until he gives up his money and goes to work. Rockmere, the fiance, has arranged a supper with Alice O'Neill, the chorus girl, and her chum, Millie Montgomery, also of the chorus, with the idea of buying Alice off. Bertie resents this private-room affair. There is a sidewalk fight outside the supper club that lands most of them in the police station, where Millie bails them out with the money Bertie's Reviewed by E. W. Sargent father has given her to enlist her aid in breaking off the distasteful match, and they all roll home in a taxi the next morning. The children get their hearts' delights, and Millie lands Bertie's uncle, a self-constituted social arbiter, who richly deserves his fate — and seems to enjoy it. It can be seen that there is not much plot to the story, but that leaves all the more room for action. It is one of those society plays that will hugely interest the small town fan, but there is sufficient sophistication to hold the attention of the big town patron, as well. Most people are going to enjoy it, from one angle or another. Cast Henry ^lor^an Warren Baxter Alice O'Neil Kstlier Rnlston Mrs. Lenox... Kathlyn Williams Bronson Lenox Edward Davis Arthur Rockmere William Austin George Grafton Larry Steers Ulillii' Montgomery Margaret Livingston Bertie Lenox Joseph Striker Marian Lenox....! Margaret Morris Taxi Driver Ernie Adams From the play l>y Daviil Grey and .Vvery Hopwood. Scenario by Bernard McConville. Directed by Sidney Olcott. The outstanding ligure is the chorus girl of Margaret Livingston. She overplays, almost too heavily at times, but she gets the role over, and takes the interest that properly belongs to Esther Ralston, who cannot get away from her role. William Austin, as the silly fiance is responsible for some good sclmics while Larry Steers, as the Uncle, shares the male honors with him. With Ernie Adams as the taxi driver, who jacks up his car front and runs up a huge bill by turning the wheel while his fares peacefully sleep, they supply such comedy as Miss Livingston does not contribute. Tlie minor roles arc all satisfactorily handled .ind the production details are high-class. Kathlyn Williams, as the mother, looks the role she plays, save that she does not give it the suggestion of caddishness the author has indicated. Edwards Davis, as the father, looks more like the "straight" man in an Irish sidewalk team than a prosperous lawyer, and Warner Baxter, as the chauffeur, shares Miss Ralston's fate. The priggish role cannot be made liuman. Olcott has made a laughing success out of a most impossible collection of characters by making a farce of what was intended to be high comedy, but the end justifies the means. He gets the laugh and should win audience satisfaction. "Go West'' — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Buster Keaton and a Cow Divide Honors in Slaprobatic Comedy Burlesquing a Western Our hat is off to Buster Keaton! In "Go West" lor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which he quadruples as author, director, scenarist and star, by using a quadruped, a modest mild-faced cow, as the centre of interest, he has injected an entirely new personality in screen comedy. Now who ever saw a cow in a leading role when not on the other end of a string? Good, clean, wholesome fun with snappy gags and slaprobatic comedy makes "Go West" a humdinger. Buster is seen as a drifter. By amusing means he reaches NewYork which proves too much for him and by a simple comedy expedient lands on a ranch, friendless and alone. He strikes up a strong friendship for the cow and then the "human" or should we saw "cow-interest" begins. The owner hrids it necessary to ship a thousand steers. A rival attacks the train and drives off the cowboys. Buster hidden in a car goes through, delivers the consignment at the stock yard and as his only reward chooses the cow and takes her away in style in a tourinc car. This is all there is to the story, but in a comedy the story itself is of secondary importance. It is the gags that count and here they are plentiful, mostly new and all good. The cow, Brown Eyes, is listed in the cast as "'A Bovine" and this film can with all propriety be called a bovine comedy, for in addition to this one cow that appears as the foil for Buster's comedy the target of the heart interest and even comes in for a romantic bit in the burlesque happy ending, Buster has used a whole flock of long horn Reviewed by C. S. Sewell cattle with telling comedy effect. Possibly you have become surfeited with vast herds Cast The Drifter Itustcr Kenton Ranch Owner Howard Truesdnle His Daughter Kathleen Myers A Bovine Brown Eyes Story, scenario and direction by Buster Kenton. Length, «,25« feet. used for thrill purposes, but did you ever see a big herd supply the comedy? As you have probably already surmised, "Go West'" is a burlesque on the slap-bang Westerns. It is really more than this for it is a snappy satire on this type of entertainment. There are few of the familiar surefire thrill-action situations that have not been brought in, twisted around and made to yield laughter. Buster is his own inimitable unsmiling self (Continued on page 61) Here is Buster l\>'iiii>ii ,uui hi n.^ ii Eyes, the cow that shares lioimrs u'ilh him in "Co West" for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.