Reel Life (1916-1917)

^)y(arcjfarfia ^teller in Molly “Pep” O’Mally Robt. Whipple, Jr . Marcus Renshaw . Trixie Louella Boniface. Little Sister Bess . Robert Whipple, Sr . . . . M argarita Fischer . Jack Mower . . ./. Gordon Russell . Della Pringle Baby Marie Kiernan . Joseph Harris BUTTERFLY GIRL,” third of the V ■ f Margarita Fischer series of Mutual-Star productions produced by the •Pollard Pic¬ ture Plays Company and directed by I Henry Otto, is one of the most appealing of the dramas produced under these auspices, and it affords Miss Fischer with her splendid staff, a first rate opportunity to appear at their best. The story is that of a little girl — “Pep” O’Malley, who despite extreme poverty of her surroundings, possesses the wonderful poetic idealism of the Irish child, and, through the gift of imagery, realizes out of sordid actuali¬ ties, the fairyland of he-r dreams. Mr. Otto chose for his locale, the make-believe mountains and valleys, the tinsel and glitter and bright lights of the San Diego Exposition, amid tortuous streets of which little “Pep,” who has been consigned to the care of an aunt, acting in one of the concessions as the “Butterfly Girl,” makes her wondering wide-eyed way — a veritable Alice in Wonderland. Miss Fischer enters into the spirit of the story with entirely delightful sincerity of treatment, making of the little waif a character that cannot fail to enlist the sym¬ pathies of all who see the play, being aided most artis¬ tically by a capable cast which includes J. Gordon Russell, Jack Mower, Joseph Idarris, Della Pringle and Marie Kiernan. “The Butterfly Girl,” has the important quality of appeal to patrons of all ages. Children are certain to be delighted with it, because “Pep’s” adventures among the concessions are of the sort that every boy and girl would delight to duplicate, while the fascination of the play for older persons is more particularly to be found in the in¬ tensely human quality of the drama which grips the hearts of all child lovers. Mr. Russell, who plays Marcus Renshaw, the villain of Heinie, The Weinie Man the play, is subtly convincing in his portrayal of the backer of concessions, who has an eye out for every pretty girl happening to drift into the turgid current of the Midway, and his immediate recognition of “Pep,” the little Irish maid, as an ornamental addition to the street of which he is “boss,” inspires whole-souled hatred, which is highest praise, in the hearts of motion picture patrons. Russell’s pursuit of the pretty girl and her many hair¬ breadth escapes from traps set by him, aided by “Bob” Whipple, Jr., maintain a constant suspense and serve to build up a story which for exciting episode and sustained interest has never been excelled in any of the Fischer series of plays. Jack Mower, who plays Whipple, Jr., carries the digni¬ fied role of the governor’s son, who is at the same time a rambler, seeking adventure, without overstepping the balance in either direction. In his love affair with little “Pep” O’Malley, Mower is convincing, and in his wild adventures involved with the rescue of “Pep” from plots and schemes of her Nemesis, he conveys the impres¬ sion of intense earnestness. Della Pringle, who is “Trixie” Boniface, an experienced woman of the sideshows, “Pep’s” aunt, is given a good opportunity in portrayal of the professional woman who has reached the limit of her usefulness as a performer, owing to the waning of her charms. Miss Pringle’s acting when she pictures the pathetic situation involved in “Trixie’s” discovery that she is no longer considered young enough to appear as “Little Butterfly,” is real art. The woman of the stage, become passee, sits before her dressing' room mirror contemplat¬ ing the ravages of time as betrayed in wrinkles and hol¬ lows which had not so impressed her until the brutal realism of the sideshow manager forced them upon her REEL LIFE— Pase Two