Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1920)

72 Photoplay Magazine You want to see more of Victor Seastrom's acting when you have witnessed this splendid drama of the sea, "A Man There Was. ' And it s a product of Sweden. A pljiii. urdin.irv movie i« Clul.l.vii N,.| \\ iiilcJ. hut it L.irric9 a le.'son and return" an indictment a|<ain;>t landlords who bar children and welcome dogs. Here, as said, is a plot with a clever twist: a fine bit of ironic criticism of life in New York. London, Paris and points east and west. But the gifted Von Stroheim fails to convince me that these people of his are real: that they were living as he pictures them living in Paris and still pressed by need of funds as he suggests: that being so pressed the wife would have acted as she did. or that, having so acted, would have set all Paris agog. Paris does not become agog en masse over members of the American Colony. Pictorially. however, and constructively "The Devil's Pass-key" is easily one of the best screen exhibits of the month, and is splendidly acted by Una Trevelyn, Clyde Fillmore and Sam De Grasse as the points of the triangle, and by Maude George and Mae Bush as attractive natives of the French capital. THE TOLL GATE— Paramount-Artcraft IN the first reel of William S. Harfs "The Toll Gate. ' Black ' Deering, as brave a bandit as ever donned a mask, leads his gang into the cave that Avas their meeting place and says to them, in effect: ■ Boys, we're through. The hounds of the law are yipping at our heels and we'd better beat it while the beating is good." ' Not on your life." replies a radical of the extreme left. "I know a job that's got to be done. One more trick, boys, and we'll split the S40.000 and quit.'' Thus Black Deering is out-voted and another hold-up is planned. Immediately you are interested in two possible twists to that plot : first, the outcome of the hold-up undertaken against Deering's advice; second, the effect it is going to have on his future. From that point forward the picture proceeds logically, excitingly and truly to its conclusion, which indicates that Mr. Hart also realizes that good pictures cannot be thrown together hit or miss. "The Toll Gate" is the most interesting Western I have seen this month, because, granting its melodramatic premise, it is the most plausible, the most intelligently directed and the best acted of the melodramas I have seen. Being the first of Mr. Hart's own pictures, it suggests that he has included in it all those features that he has found most effective in his other photoplays. He is again a bad. bad man. but with a "streak that's square." and when in escaping from the authorities he comes upon the usual pretty little Western woman living all alone in a cabin in the hills with her fouryear-old son, he is inspired to lead a better lite. He does not reform overnisiht. however, nor marry the girl and start a general store. He merely sets things right with her. clears his own conscience and rides away. It is the sort of stor\ that convinces an audience that it has been well repaid for its visit to the theater. .\nna Q. Nillson is an attractively passive heroine and Joseph Singleton a convincing heavy. Many of the shots are fine, particularly those picturing Deering's escape from the train. PASSERSBY— Blackton-Pathe BLACKTON'S "Passersby" is the sort of picture the family can see and enjoy. Whether or not J. Stuart Blackton ha> taken full advantage of the theme offered him by Haddon Chambers' story is not important. He certainly has done an excellent job in selecting types for his cast, and this, combined with the human, holding quality of the adventure, provides an entertaining feature. Basically, "Passersby" is a review of life from a bay window. A rich \-oung man. who has loved and lost the attractive young woman who has served his aunt as a companion and himself as a sweetheart, finds her after a considerable search and learns that she has borne him a son. His search for her brings him in contact with many picturesque characters of London's east end. and the contact gives him a new angle on life. Wc are all as God made us. he concludes, the best and the worst of us. and the business of passing judgment on the well known human race is not man's job. His new friends include Nichty. an amiable London cabby. ,i delightfully played ami vizualized by Tom Lewis: Burns, a cast -on wiih the heart and mind of a boy. capitally acted by Dick Lee: and the faithful Pine, his generous hearted butler, brought vividly to life by the veteran William J. Ferguson. Herbert Rawlinson is the modern good Samaritan. Leila Valentine the heroine, and Charles Stuart Blackton their young son. The cameras do wonders for the London fogs and street scenes. (Contiiitud oil ^(Jgf to~)