Show World (December 1909)

10 THE SHOW WORLD December 11, 1909. COMBINED SYNOPSIS AND CRITICISM OF FILMS RECENTLY RELEASED BY WILL REED DUNROY HIS REFORMATION, Drama, Es- sanay: This is another one of those scenic- ally beautiful films from the Essanay firm. It is western in style and at¬ mosphere, and the story is melodra¬ matic but wholesome. A western “bad man” receives a letter from his mother back east, and resolves to re¬ form. He applies for work, but his shady past stands in his way and he is, driven back into his old ways. He steals a horse and revolver and goes out to hold up a stage. To his dis¬ may he finds his own mother in the stage coach. She forgives him, the passengers make up a purse for him, and he goes back east with his mother to live an upright life. There is much action in the story, and the pho¬ tography is clear. It is a film that should be popular in any moving pic¬ ture theater. THE KEEPER OF THE LIGHT, Drama, Edison: This story is not a very strong one, but it has many exciting features. In brief, the daughter of the old light¬ house keeper is in love with a young man, who is objectionable to the old man. The father drives the young man forth with curses, and is stricken with paralysis, is chained to his chair and the daughter is compelled to care for the light. The lover goes to sea, his vessel is wrecked, and he floats to shore on a spar and is rescued by the girl. There is a reconciliation scene in the lighthouse. The scenic features are the better part of this film, and they are remarkable. It is a film that is bound to please all lovers of the sea, and the big storm scene is sure to arouse enthusiasm. THE GEISHA WHO SAVED JA¬ PAN, Drama, Kalem: This is supposed to be the true story of the life of Marquis Ito, the great Japanese statesman. In his early years a price was put upon his head and his life was saved by a lit¬ tle Geisha girl, who later became his wife. The story is well and forcefully told and the costumes and scenic ef¬ fects are in the best of taste. It is a novel story and a novel film, and is popular. THE DEATH DISC, Drama, Bio- graph: This is a film depicting an exciting and thrilling scene of the time of Oliver Cromwell. In those times there was religious persecution, and some were put to death by the Puri¬ tanical rulers who dared to profess the Catholic faith. In the present in¬ stance, three Catholics are arrested and imprisoned, but they are allowed to cast lots, and one is to die and the other two to escape. This they refuse to do, so Cromwell sends for a child, the first the messenger may meet, and this child is to be the messenger of death to one of the_ soldiers. It so chances that the child of one of the soldiers is found, and she takes in the three discs, and, childlike, she gives her father the “prettiest disc,” the “death disc.” Cromwell has given the child his signet ring, owing to her prettiness, so the story ends happily, and the soldier is saved. The pho¬ tography is good in this film, and the story well presented. The costuming is a feature. THE LIFE OF MOSES, Biblical, Vitagraph: In this film the Vitagraph company has succeeded in presenting an inter¬ esting and instructive series of scenes having to do with the finding of Moses in the bulrushes, according to the biblical story. This is the first in a series of films which will deal with the great law giver. The groundwork for these has been ar¬ ranged by Rev. Madison C. Peters, who has traveled in the Holyland, and who is familiar with the customs, the costumes and the people of the Orient. The first film is crowded with people and with incident, and contains much that is picturesque and fascinating. The photography is good for the most part, and the acting is adequate. The series should prove a boon to those who are seeking to raise the tone of their picture thea- LISTEN, Comedy, Gaumont: This story illustrates the perversity of things which always seem to hurt a person in the same spot where he has been hurt. A fussy old man re¬ ceives a bump on his head, and he starts out to get a remedy, and on his way he is bumped time after time on the same* spot, and finally goes home and. decides that he will not even tell anyone about his injury. The story contains several laughs and has con¬ siderable human nature in it. TOP-HEAVY MARY, Comedy, Gau¬ mont: Here we have a funny story of a stout woman, who is advised to ride a bicycle in order that she may re¬ duce her weight. The unique experi¬ ences of the stout woman as pictured in this film cause a great deal of fun and laughter. It is a good comedy film, well pictured. IN A PICKLE, Farce, Gaumont: A studious and absent-minded pro¬ fessor is seen in this reel in all sorts of odd “stunts.” He sits on a baby in the park, gets in the wrong room,' and puts the lighted end of a cigar¬ ette in his mouth among other ludi¬ crous feats. The story causes laugh¬ ter. It is well ohotographed. THE SECRET CHAMBER, Drama, Urban-Eclipse: This is a love story of early times, with medieval garb and scenic sur¬ roundings. The story concerns a girl who loves a young soldie.r, but whose parents want her to wed a rich young nobleman. The girl finally weds the nobleman to save the life of her lover. She discovers a secret chamber, which reveals to her the fact that her hus¬ band is a highwayman. The husband is finally killed in an encounter with a posse who attempts to capture him, and the story ends happily for all but the highwayman. The photography is clear and the story well told. CAPTURING THE NORTH POLE, Farce, Urban-Eclipse: This is a burlesque on the discovery of the north pole, with many interest¬ ing features. The central figure goes alone to the pole, discovers it, saws it down, and hypnotizes a polar bear and makes him carry it back to civili¬ zation. It is a timely film, and con¬ tains much action and some little scenic beauty. DAUGHTERS OF POVERTY, Dra¬ ma, Gaumont: This is a French story, concerning a poor man’s daughter and her infatu¬ ation for the son of a rich man. The father discovers the clandestine meet¬ ings and drives the girl from home. He takes to drink, and finally at¬ tempts to kill his daughter by putting logs where her automobile will strike them in the night. Her sister, who attempts to remove them, is run down by the machine and injured seriously. Finally the rich lover, the erring daughter and all meet at the bedside of the injured girl and the betrothal is announced and all ends happily. The story is not always clear, and the photography is blurred at times. THROUGH THE BREAKERS: Drama, Biograph: This is an exposition of the slaves some people make of themselves to society. The central figures in this silent drama are a man and woman who become so interested in society and clubs that they neglect their child and allow it to pine away and die. The husband then leaves the wife, and the woman in despair repairs to the grave of -her child to weep in contri¬ tion. The husband wandering there also, meets his wife and there is a reconciliation. The story is well told and it contains much that will appeal to the average audience. THE HEROINE OF MAFEKING, Drama, Selig: In this film we have another one of the Boer stories for which this firm has gained deserved recognition. In this instance, however, the photog¬ raphy is almost uniformly bad, and the pictures are seriously blurred. It is a costly film, in which are em¬ ployed a large number of actors and many mechanical appliances. The stirring events in the Boer conflict are used as a strenuous background for a love story of two of the British no¬ bility. A realistic battle scene is por¬ trayed, and there are many exciting scenes and stirring incidents, and it is too bad that they are not more clearly and effectively portrayed by the camera. DOUBLE SIX, Drama, Ambrosio: The story of a man who enters the good graces of a certain family for the purpose of stealing a box con¬ taining some valuable papers. His host leaves his keys upon a table. The thief extracts the one he desires and then departs. Meanwhile the little son of the family, while playing with dominoes, puts the “double six” in the treasury box, which is con¬ cealed in the sideboard. Night ar¬ rives. The thief returns and steals the box, but in the tussle which fol¬ lows, with the man of the house, the burglar escapes with his prize, but leaves a muffler behind him, by which the detectives later, trace him. He denies his guilt and points out that mufflers of the kind are very common. But the detectives have heard the little child tell how he put the “double six” domino in the treasure box, and just as they are about to give up their captive, believing him to be in¬ nocent, the missing domino is found upon the floor of his apartment. He is arrested. The story holds interest throughout, although it is ! by no means up to the Ambosio standard in photographic quality—a fact which will not discount its dramatic strength. A MOTOR CYCLIST, Comedy, Ra¬ leigh and Robert: A splendid successor to “Jergensen’s Motor Skates” is this series of ad¬ ventures of a. man trying to manage a motor cycle. The importers claim that a half dozen motor cycles were smashed to pieces by this daring film actor and that he spent eighteen days in a hospital after his experiences, all of which may well be believed when one has witnessed the hair¬ breadth dodges of death made by this foolhardy rider. His first encounter is with a lamp post. His wheel strikes the curb and he turns a com¬ plete somersault, strikes the post and knocks it over. Among other objects are a donkey cart, which his wheel strikes, knocking over the donkey, cart and driver. So his adventures continue, and, usually, each adventure adds to the number of victims who join in a chase to capture him and wreak their vengeance. He finally rides over the river bank, is rescued by his victims, and soundly thrashed. A film which will be welcomed by any audience. Despite the fact that it bears the names of Raleigh and Robert, it is probably not of their make, the names appearing, merely to signify tjieir agency; an arrange¬ ment which has occurred many times before and by which the real manu¬ facturers obtain no credit. MARVELOUS SHAVING SOAP Comedy, Deutsche Bioscope: * A clever comedy conceit, which may well be warranted to evok- laughter from start to finish. It is broadly farcical. A man, seated in a barber chair is waiting for a shave. The barber, however, is much oc¬ cupied in flirting with the lady at¬ tendant of the shop and he not only smears the shaving lather all over the customer’s face but over his clothes as well. Also, as he is shaving flic stranger, tie razor slips and a deep gash on the cheek is'tfle result. He rushes out in despair, but on his way home he passes a street fakir who is demonstrating a magic shaving soap; it is in powder form; it is sprinkled upon beard or hair and the hirsute portion is then wafted away by means of a pair of bellows which are fur¬ nished with each package. The man buys an outfit and takes it home, ex¬ plaining its workings to his father and mother and his two younger brothers. The old folks fall asleep after dinner and the two boys get busy. They remove father’s beard and mother’s hair; they remove the bristles from the servant’s brushes and play numerous other pranks, finally removing all the hair from the shaggy house do- at which time they are caught and soundly spanked, THE ENGINEER’S DAUGHTER, Drama, Selig: This is a melodrama, in which nu¬ merous players take part, and in which railway trains figure. It is a costly film, and were it clearly photographed would be much more effective. It concerns the story of a girl, the daughter of a railway engineer, who, with his son, his fireman, are caught in a railroad wreck. The father is killed and the son crippled for life. A city chap, who has happened along, is attracted by the pretty face of the en¬ gineer’?. daughter and has made love to her, just for fun. When the father dies and leaves his insurance to his daughter, the city man woos her, and finally gets the money on promise to invest it. Once obtaining the money, he goes back to Chicago and begins to court the daughter of a rich man. The western girl, penniless and help¬ less, goes to Chicago, and it so hap¬ pens, obtains work as a maid in the home of the girl who is being courted by her former lover. There she ex¬ poses him, and the man of the house gives the villlain the alternative of re¬ funding the money to the poor girl or going to jail, and he hands back the money and the story ends well. There is much action in the story, and it should be popular in industrial neigh¬ borhoods. LA GRANDE BRETECHE, Pathe. (Film d’art.) A pictorial presentation of Balzac’s masterpiece, splendidly acted and photographically perfect, and follow¬ ing the story as closely as possible, The sub-perfect of Vendome is the host of a Spanish nobleman on parole who wins the affection of his hostess. The husband traps the couple and the nobleman hides in a closet. The wife denies his presence and declares that if her husband doubts her word she will leave him. The husband, gnawed with suspicion, dares not enter the closet, but orders the door walled up with masonry. For twenty days he keeps watch, his wife in the mean¬ time dying of anguish, while the im¬ prisoned nobleman is slowly passing away. Alternate scenes are shown of the prisoner and the husband and wife, and the effect is highly dramatic. PINE RIDGE FEUD, Selig. In this picture Selig has woven an interesting story of an old-time feud and a love story. It is an exciting melodrama, well acted, and showing excellent photography. While a num- (Continued on Page 30.) fl