The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Theatrical Film Critique 155 11 the aggressive conceit portrayable pressed itself whenever Wesley ap- ared on the screen. The story was bit drawn out* yet any such handi- p was overcome by some genuinely nny situations and titles. But any igh was immediately hushed in the ce of this disagreeably look-at-me :itude, this exploitation of all that ould have remained sweet and tural. What happened to Jackie )Ogan in Peck's Bad Boy has hap- ned to Wesley Barry with alarming ncentration. The pranks of the liool boy, under his self conscious portance, become impertinent rude- sses. Wesley Barry has never im- essed us as a typical American boy. t he has been less offensive in cer- n of his productions. That the dience enjoyed him immensely only oves the tremendous danger of what > work represents and the aching ficulty of correcting it. THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE OCALYPSE (Metro). To review this film at the late date of its mlarly-priced showing holds both advan- es and disadvantages. One is fully are, in the first place, that the public ex- its sheer excellence of production. Ad- lce advertising, enthusiastic applause m the high-priced initial run, and the y concrete fact that a conservative stern University awarded to Director x Ingram an honorary degree for his >duction, are some of the preconceived as to be faced. r j,rhe picture is, with no shred of a doubt, finest American film ever produced, top of that superlative statement, it is, lerally speaking, one of the greatest pie- ces this department has had the pleasure of commenting upon. It has, however, one terrible and distinctly unnecessary fault. The Stranger who typifies the spirit of Christ's philosophy, perhaps Christ him- self, if one wishes to carry the implication to literal meaning, is overdrawn in all his action. The man's face is a marvelous countenance,—sensitive, gaunt in its suffer- ing, beautiful in its strength. But the eyes are widened to a straining point, betraying a connotation of fanaticism that ought not to characterize the symbolism of a Christ spirit in this picture'. You may, personally, believe that the man, Christ, was a fanatic, but that interpretation has no place in this film. The Stranger t ypifies the wide- armed love for humanity in its ridiculous but tragic quarrels down through the ages, that became the heart and essence of the brotherhood teachings of John and his master. Any stiffness of gesture maud- linizes the effects of that symbolization; any strained expression made fanatic some- thing that should have had depth and steadiness. There was a saccharine sadness about the Stranger when he answered Julio's Father, "I knew them all." The landscape of hills and crosses was a simple, gripping picture, spoiled by a weak senti- mentalism about the man who played the Stranger. Too, when the Stranger ex- plained the meaning of the Beast and his Four Horsemen, there was an element of the overdrawn in his gestures and expres- sion. The fault was lost, here, however, because of the presence of the actor, Ro- doph Valentino. At this point, too, the con- ception of something we will call Hell for lack of a better name, was amateurish. So much for the one fault of the film. Great though it was it can be overlooked in the light of all the tremendous power of the whole production. In the first place, this director succeeded in giving us a thor- oughly continental atmosphere, an old- world reality, a perspective of ages. For example: The first two leaders with their accompanying footage of vast Argentine