Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

24 Visual Education 9fte Films in Review THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN TWO miles up from quaint old Tarrytown lies the peaceful valley of Sleepy Hollow. Here the Headless Horseman nightly galloped and here Ichabod Crane, the feckless Yankee schoolmaster, came to grief. But now the galloping Hessian rides across the screen, for the pleasant "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has at last been filmed. This famous classic has been more fortunate in its filming than have many others which have gone the way of the screen. The director, Edward Ven turini, wise in his profession, has understood that much of the charm of the tale lies in its delightful atmosphere — in the portrayal of that leisurely acceptance of life found in remote rural communities. So well has he succeeded in grasping this atmosphere that the picture may be called idyllic in type. It has none of the tenseness and rapidity of action which is so chronic with the modern film. And yet, following the original story with but slight deviation, it quietly and consistently rises to a very effective climax. It is a picture which startlingly demonstrates that the screen can portray the simple and homely as effectively as the spectacular and melodramatic which is usually considered its best medium. The performance of Will Rogers as Ichabod Crane is a delight to watch. He is not just playing a part; he is the Connecticut schoolmaster in person and character. With marked economy of gesture he conveys the impression of the strange mixture of incredulity and small shrewdness which was Ichabod Crane. The merest flicker of an expression across his face and one understands perfectly what he is thinking and feeling. Certainly he infinitely amused his audience from beginning to end, while yet avoiding the slightest suggestion of burlesque. The picture was actually filmed in and around Sleepy Hollow. The old Dutch church; the church yard where Ichabod wandered after service, reading the curious inscriptions on the tombstones to a bevy of buxom beauties, the old Sleepy Hollow Inn and all the beauty of the picturesque Catskill region are brought before your eyes by mellow and rarely artistic photography. The picture is worth seeing from a scenic standpoint alone. There is only one disturbing incident, and that is an interpolated one in which there is attempted the tarring and feathering of the unhappy Ichabod because of his supposed familiarity with the Black Art. One understands, of course, that this incident was devised to supply action, but it seems somewhat incongruous when one recalls the placid nature of the old Dutch people. The supporting cast is adequate in every way. Ben Hendricks, Jr., makes an effective and stalwart Brom Bones. Lois Meredith as Katrina Van Tassel, the capricious heiress, is charming, although there is a suspicion that she is a wee bit too sophisticated for a pastoral coquette. More power to those who can take a delectable classic and film it in such a pleasant, acceptable manner. Released by Hodkinson. THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN Ichabod Crane finds it not at all an arduous task to instruct pretty Katrina Van Tassel in the tuneful mysteries ol "singing-school." Will Rogers was a happy selection for the central role. He IS the Connecticut pedagogue in person and character. ONE EXCITING NIGHT MR. GRIFFITH has achieved the plaudits of the masses so frequently that one is inclined to accept his pictures at his own valuation. In his own words, ONE EXCITING NIGHT is "a little romance; just a little mystery; we hope just a few thrills." And one readily concedes that the film is all of that. In this, his most recent offering, Griffith has departed from the romance and