Educational film magazine; (January-December 1920)

REVIEWS OF FILMS Editp,l'.hy^GLADYS BOLLMAN WHEN A NATlOiN NEEDS FRIENDS A TACTFUL, genuine, and forceful appeal to ])atri- (ilism of the highest type is made in Thr Land of Opportunity. A radical young man. w.ho contin- ually preaches his doctrines at his club and else- where and who refuses to be convinced by any of his wealthy friends, is finally converted to reason by the relation of an incident in Loncoln"s career. The incident chosen is that in which Lincoln walked twenty miles and broke a campaign engagement to defend the innocent son of a woman who had once been kind to him. Back in the days when he was a young woodsman, often hungry and sometimes discouraged, she had encouraged him —with a hot meal, and with such sage advice as "Look hard; and use your hands and head while you are looking.' Lincoln never forgot her and what she did for him. He defended the boy successfully and after the trial was over told him. "If you are guilty you will curse me a million times for what I have done for you this day." But the boy was innocent, and has in some measure repaid the debt by a long, upright, contented life. It is he who tells the story to the radical, and it matters not that he is a steward in the radical's club—he is an honest, self-respecting, and thoughtful American. He argues soundly against Bol- shevism and when he makes his final plea—"Nations some- times need friends who believe in them, as Lincoln believed in me'"—it carries weight. This picture is of the greatest value. It reveals the humble circumstances from which Lincoln rose in this land of opportuintv. It shows him as a young woodsman, as a speaker, as a lawyer. It also emphasizes the truth that al- though men mav do different work in life, thev are not therefore necessarily unequal. It defends the honest and philanthropic man who has made wealth—"Any man who has earned his mone\ through hard plugging and gives it away is worth a carload of Bolshevists." It brings out the point that many radicals are natural rebels against all forms of law and order, and that it is they who create tur- moil and trouble for the nation. It makes a striking plea for the nation's friends to come to her aid in a time when everything looks dark and there is none to defend her good name. The scenes are all extremely well staged and played. Ralph Ince gives a fine characterization of the sturdy, am- liilious Lincoln of 18.S3. The picture cannot be too highly |)raise<l, and we are glad to know that there are others of the same kind to follow. This series of fifty-two pictures is being made by the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry in cooperation with former Secretary Lane of the Interior and at the request of Congress. Secretary Lane said, in speaking of this series, "We are not unappreciative of the service—the immense service-- thai was Hone by the induplry during the war: we think that the ihing that you did thi-n did mucli In strengthen yiiur standing as a permanent factor in the development of the conception of the motion picture as an educational force in the United Stales. That undoubt- edly is true. "There was your opportunity. You took advantage of it, and you made the people of the country feel that the motion picture was as real as the newspaper or as ihe pulpit—as real, probably, as the pulpit used to be when religion had more definite hold upon the people. "Now your opportunity is to continue to emphasize that spirit and that attitude. Instead of simply giving a certain degree of amuse- Ralph Ince as Lincolis in "The U\!nd of Opportunitv" ment to the people, you want also to convey to them ideas that are stimulating—that man has a finer nature as well as a grosser nature. "Democracy is just this: It is a lifting of the inhibitions that are upon men, so as to give them an opportunity to show themselves. That ideal cannot be realized immediately. ... It does not mean that it is going to make a man out of a corn-stalk ... it does not mean that there is any miracle by which you transmute dross into pure gold: it means that if there is the pure gold in you it will have a chance under, freedom to show itself. .\nd that is the significance of as .\mericans. ... I have no doubt that you will put into the mind of the .Xmerican bo> and girl and man and woman . . . the thought that this is the land of hope." The Land of Opportunity. Produced by Selziiick. Distributed br Ki-piiblic. 2 Reels. 'JUBILO" ■"Second thoughts on first sights" often reveal new charm in a picture. .\ film which easily bears two sittings is Jubilo, issued under the Goldwyn standard. The cover of the Jan- urary 1920 number of this magazine bore a picture of the 20