Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Jul 1929)

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The Screen in Reviev? 71 presumably she has the satisfaction of seeing him grow up. But this is short-lived, for she must sacrifice him to his country when war is declared. Thus the picture ends with the mother's defeat. Miss Ralston's performance is in keeping with the somber picture through which she moves — dignified, repressed, the essence of fateful tragedy. James Hall is highly effective as the unscrupulous young officer, and Fred Kohler, heretofore a brutal villain, is moving as Stefan, the nominal hero, who is still devoted to Lena at the end. A Persevering Vamp. Unusual, without being precisely record-breaking, "The River" should at least be seen by all followers of Charles Farrell. In the opinion of many, including myself, he gives his best performance in a role far more difficult than any of his previous ones. You will grant that it is difficult for an adult male to assume innocent unsophistication so completely as to be unmindful of the unbridled overtures of a siren without causing laughter. Yet that is exactly what Mr. Farrell does ; and he accomplishes it with such perfect sincerity that I can think of no one else who could have done it half so well. It is an extraordinary performance. The circumstances of his innocence are interesting, too, to say nothing of his emotional awakening, and it is Mr. Farrell's acting that excuses what is, in the final analysis, just a long-drawn-out seduction and a calculated attempt to bring to the screen a degree of amorous excitement that sometimes makes you embarrassed for the actors, unless you make allowance for the part occupied by the exhibition complex in histrionic psychology. After this digression, it is perhaps advisable to explain what the picture is about. Allen John Pender, a mountain youth, has built himself a barge on which he plans to drift down the river until he comes to the city, where he will learn all about life. Around the first bend he encounters Rosalce, the mistress of a brutal construction boss who is serving a prison sentence. She inveigles him into her hut, where for the succeeding eight reels or so she does what the old-fashioned siren would have called "plying her wiles." Months go by, the seasons advance, summer gives way to snow-bound winter, but Rosalce is undaunted in the pursuit of her man. Every trick, every subtle enticement, every open blandishment of which she is capable, is employed to awaken Allen John Pender to sex consciousness, but he remains innocent. From this you will glean something of the difficulty of Mr. Farrell's task in making the role credible, without being laughably subnormal. Naturally the evolution of Rosalce from a predatory female into a woman sublimated by love, is accomplished before the conclusion of the picture finds them floating down the river to the sea. Melodrama is injected into this climax by the return of her paramour, his attack on the young man, and his death at the hands of a giant mute devoted to Allen John. Despite its slowness, its insistence on sex, "The River" is far removed from the obvious. It has a poetic quality, a definitely romantic style that casts a glamour of unreality over incidents which are as primitive as its background of forest and river, and as animalistic as the love sagas of bird and beast. Mary Duncan, as Rosalee, leaves no doubt of her skill as a stage actress, as well as the prerogative of the stage artist to romanticize a role by means of unsuitably pretty costumes. As the chattel of a woodsman, Rosalee' s elaborate wardrobe includes stilt heels, parasols, operatic negligees and a series of gowns whose simplicity is of that artful quality which shrieks costliness. Youth Has Its Innings. Of course you remember "The High-school Hero," that modest film of such breeziness and charm that it lives while epics are forgotten. "Prep and Pep" is its logical successor, because it also was directed by David Butler and, like the earlier picture, has David Rollins and John Darrow in it. More than that, it introduces a newcomer who promptly runs away with the picture. His name is Frank Albertson, a most amusing, likable, and energetic youth, whose vitality is such that he won't be kept down, or out of future pictures. Continued on page 94 The Shopworn Angel." "Prep and Pep." "Dream of Love." "The Case of Lena Smith."