Reel Life (1916-1917)

KOLB 5 DILL “BELOVED ROGUES” New production written especially f o r comedy duo THE extraordinary behavior of two simpleminded offenders against the lav/, who are serving time in a penitentiary as a result of their indiscretion, constitutes the basis of a remarkable photodrama, “Beloved Rogues,” to be released November 15 by the Mutual Film Corporation, in which C. William Kolb and Max Dill are the central figures, with that brilliant young actress, May Cloy, in support. The production was filmed at the American studios under the direction of A1 Santell. Kolb as Louie Vandergriff, and Dill as Mike Amster¬ dammer, with Miss Cloy as Madge, the girl, are very effective in their parts, which involve many pathetic situa¬ tions and dramatic episodes. Their troubles begin when the Hardware trust fastens its tentacles on the business of the two quaint Dutchmen, driving them to the wall with starvation competition when they refuse to turn their store over to the combination at the combination’s price. The efforts of “Dutchy” Vandergriff to take care of the little girl, Madge Andrews, in the course of which he and his partner, Amsterdammer, rifle the safe of the Hard¬ ware trust chief, Kennedy — the latter having been the mining partner of Madge’s father who was robbed of his property by Kennedy — get them into trouble and ultimately into prison. One of the most remarkable crowd scenes ever screened is that in which the two prisoners, Vandergriff and Amster¬ dammer, succeed in quelling a prison riot, for in this scene the motion picture fan will recognize several famous players figuring as part of the mob. Foremost in the melee, head and shoulders above the rest, is William Russell, a wellknown Mutual star. When “Beloved Rogues” was being filmed all the Mutual celebrities in the vicinity, having be¬ come interested in the piece, volunteered to go on in the mob scene, so in addition to Mr. Russell in that spectacle are George Periolat, Franklin Ritchie and Ashton Dearholt. Of course the two soft-hearted Dutchmen did not rob the trust company safe to obtain money for their own purposes. It was a sort of retributive robbery, their idea being to use the money Kennedy had stolen from Andrews to employ spe¬ cialists in curing Madge of blindness. At all events Messrs. Max and Louie made themselves so busy in the peni¬ tentiary that they kept that institution in a turmoil of excitement from the time they entered until the day they were mustered out. Their exemplary behavior resulted in their being made “trusties” soon after commitment, and as trusties they began a campaign for reform among the prisoners. The love interest in the story is that in which Jack Kennedy, son of the trust chief, and Madge Andrews, daughter of the man Kennedy ruined, are involved. Young Kennedy’s courtship of the blind girl which caused his father chagrin, led to his being charged with the safe robbery Max M. Dill. perpetrated by Max and Louie, a' cir Louie Vandergriff . William Kolb Mike Amsterdammer . Max M. Dill Madge . May Cloy cumstance that merely emphasized his affection for the young lady. Miss Cloy’s acting in the character of “Madge” is very effective. Kolb and Dill are masters of facial ex¬ pression. While they are waiting in the doctor’s office to hear his verdict on the pos¬ sibility of a cure for Madge’s blindness, their faces run the gamut of human emotions. With eyes fixed on the door of the private consulting room, where the examination is being conducted, they display their nervous terror that there will be an adverse decisionlV illiam C. Kolb in every expression and gesture. The two dromios in their plumber sketch are clever enough to bring down any house. Kolb and Dill work together bet¬ ter than most teams and in their efforts to find new uses for a pipe wrnch they almost succeed in tearing down a building. To watch these two in their operations about the hard¬ ware shop is a liberal education in how not to do your own plumbing. Max and Louie manage to hang plumber’s tools all over them and to use nearly every one of the tools in various odd jobs they are called on to perform. Kolb is able to do more queer things with a monkey wrench than any other plumber in the world. Dill puts a jackscrew under a radiator to get it higher off the floor, bursts the pipes, and is nearly blown through a brick wall by the escaping steam. One of the most effective features of this play is that it appears from the front to have been produced on the spur of an inspired moment, without rehearsals. For instance, it is impossible to believe that Mr. Kolb rehearsed having a big copper wash boiler fall fifteen feet from a roof and hit him on the head. This actually happens in the picture, and it is explained that although the boiler episode went all right in rehearsal, it fell too soon in the actual taking and “beaned” Mr. Kolb rather seriously. The actor was in bed two or three days from the effects of this accident. Again in the penitentiary, when Max and Louie are lay¬ ing the table for the warden’s banquet, and the two inno¬ cents find it impossible to figure out why people who are merely going to eat should want so many different knives, forks and spoons, there is a comedy situation that is certain to provoke roars of laughter. May Cloy, who is the feminine fascinator of the piece, makes a popular hit as “Little Madge” and is “the pet of the pen” where she succeeds in securing an abnormal number of visiting days. The play was actually pictured in a state penitentiary and the results indicate that wherever it was the prisoners in this institution had a lively time while Kolb and Dill were on the job. In fact the prisoners were all reluctant to see the famous comedy duo leave. They expressed the desire to see them again, very soon, but Kolb & Dill, were not sure they wanted to return. REEL LIFE— Page Two