Screenland (Oct 1923-Mar 1924)

Frederick James Smith Talks Too Much Restraint P1 I RAISE be ! At last one of our native stars tosses restraint to the winds and actually acts ! The instance in point is Gloria Swanson in her version of Zasa. And yet, when the New York newspaper reviewers came to comment upon her performance, they said unanimously that she was overacting. We wonder just what are the mental reactions of a player who dares — and then encounters a barrage of condemnation. In their criticisms, these gentlemen of the press actually — and unconsciously — put their finger upon the big weakness of our screen. We have too much restraint. Everyone is afraid to act. There is too much thought given to camera lines, clothes and make-up — and too little to acting. Even our Pola has had her eyebrows plucked by Hollywood. Our stars actually are afraid to move even a shaved eyebrow. Gloria moves 'em in Zasa. In fact, she moves nearly everything. It's a finely nervous and unrestrained performance. We congratulate you, Miss Swanson ! The Menace 7T WONDER what Ma Pick/-p I ford thinks, now that Rosiia lUrns jias been ma(ie ancj released. You know, Ma went out and bought up the German menace, largely one Ernst Lubitsch, and put it to work directing America's sweetheart. Then, lo and behold, Herr Lubitsch turns out a well nigh perfect picture, except that it reveals our own Mary as being very inadequate in the leading role. Maybe Ma will be careful of menaces in future. phi ^HAT much advertised impending celluloid event, What is a Super-Feature? J UST what makes a screen play into a superfeature ? It is getting steadily more difficult to decide where the line lines. Early in September a whole flock of so-called super-features hit Broadway and, after the smoke had cleared, it developed that the one film to break records was Harold Lloyd's Why Worry. which was playing a two weeks' engagement at one of the regular film theaters. Most of the much heralded specials were starving to death at the box office at the moment. All of which leads me to give up the problem. What is a special, anvway? VER since the Universal * production of Victor HuJ^/ go's The Hunchback of Make-Up or Acting Notre, Dame was first disclosed to the public, there has been an argument over Lon Chaney's conception of the role of Quasimodo. Chaney wears a curious rubber contrivance over his shoulders and arms to accentuate the physical distortion of the Hunchback and his facial makeup is enough to send little Willie to bed at twilight, shivering. To me, all this is make-up rather than acting. Chaney seems to believe that one is synonymous with the other. To which we offer John Barrymore's playing in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde as Exhibit A of what we mean. Acting is something more than making up to resemble a hot water bottle. 10 I Casting Another Fred Stone Around the Town with Gallagher and Shcan, isn't going to happen after all. The semi-official version emanating from the William Fox offices explains that the production was in such a* chaotic state when its director, Bernard Durning, died that it was impossible to continue work. Maybe so. It sounds suspiciously as if the scenes thus far shot reveal the fact that Messrs. Gallagher and Shean, successful singing comedians behind the footlights, haven't screen value, after all. Such things have happened before, you know. Remember when Fred Stone hit the screen — and the dull thud that followed? Gallagher and Shean's debut sounds remarkably like a double-barreled dud. Lillian and Vesuvius LANCING back at the recent film version of the late F. Marion Crawford's The White Sister, I am prompted to point a moral. The whole thing would have been much better if its makers hadn't thought it necessary to insert a big climax. The White Sister has what scenarists are pleased to call a double menace. A volcanic eruption by old Vesuvius causes a dam to break and the hero is drowned. Which, as a certain director said, is like dying of hay fever in the midst of the Galveston flood. Why must we have physical menaces in our films To my way of thinking, Lillian Gish's left eyebrow is ten times as devastating as Vesuvius. Those Fight Pictures I F we were strictly honest in tabulating our thoughts upon the current screenplays, published elsewhere in this issue, we would have placed the Dempsey-Firpo fight pictures in first place. They surely gave us the biggest thrill of the month. Shipment of prize fight films across state lines is forbidden by law. Far be is from me to guess wherein lies the menace of gazing at a fight in gelatine form, when one can read all about it in the newspapers and likewise see every obtainable news picture of the match. But, to see Firpo rise after seven knock-downs and crash that eminent actor, Jack Dempsey, right through the ropes with a lusty right, constituted our big kick of the month. Here was enough drama to satisfy anyone, condensed into one brief second. Discovering the Revolution 1 ^HE motion picture producers seem to have suddenly discovered the American Revolution. David Wark Griffith is already well into a big production, to be called America, which will occupy nine months in the making. I caught a glimpse of some of the early scenes, one of them including the Battle of Lexington. Indeed, right out at Mamaroneck "D. W." has been retiring the gun that was once heard around the world. Griffith's America is to be a panorama of the Revolution, with every one of the historical characters from George Washington to Benedict Arnold. The Marion Davies is about to start upon Janice Meredith, that one-time best seller of the Revoultion, and Richard Barthelmess is about to do a feature based upon the life of Nathan Hale.