The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

January, 1923 School Department 19 Ichabod is accused of being a witch-doctor (it is a question as to whether any added knowledge of the supernatural would not rather have endeared him to the credulous inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow), he is plotted against by Brom Bones, his resignation as schoolmaster is demanded, and preparations made (and dangerously near carried out) for tarring and feathering him, and riding him out of town on a board. A public apology on the part of Brom restores Ichabod to his school and the story to its original course. The film, although slow-moving as to plot, is rich in skillful settings which do the maximum in furnishing delightful background and atmosphere. The old stage on which Ichabod rides when he makes his first appearance, the schoolroom with its rough wooden benches and the high desk of the master, as well as the interior of the old meeting house— all are fine touches. The quaint Dutch houses, their spinning wheels, ancient clocks and rows of pewter dishes, are faithful reproductions of the originals — except that in the case of the Van Tassel home, the furnishings and finish seem a bit too modern. Much of the charm of the reels lies in the richness of incident which is permitted to follow closely Irving's descriptions : Ichabod's instruction of the class in Psalmody; the old quilting bee at the home of the Van Tassels, and the dance at which Ichabod so excelled. Nothing which photography could do was left undone in the case of the night ride of Ichabod and the Readies.", Horseman — although after the manner of the movies, the Horseman must throw off his dark robe and show us that he is in reality only Brom Bones. Contrast that with the delicacy of suggestion in Irving. The acting leaves nothing to be desired. Lois Meredith makes a Katrina as vivacious and piquant as the original, the old Dutch characters are delightfully portrayed, and Will Rogers does a careful Ichabod— even to the finer touches. There may be a question as to whether Roger's Ichabod is grotesque enough. Certainly he does not cut as ridiculous a figure as a cavalier mounted on the steed Gunpowder, as he might have, had he taken Irving's description literally. His language — as the film makes him speak words— falls flat. It must be admitted there is no obvious cue to follow — scarcely is there, a set of quotation marks in the whole of the Legend— but fancy the uncouth Ichabod as saying to Katrina who stands on the shore of a little lake, "From a distance I thought you were a lovely swan that had forsaken the water." Even the explanatory titles might have been more successful had they all been allowed to follow the wording of the Legend itself. Those that do, stand out in refreshing contrast with those that do not. Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Hodkinson.) Another of the American Author Series, produced by the Kineto Company of America— this one deserving to rank as one of the most successful attempts to bring something of the spirit of an author to the screen. It follows the usual plan of the series, first showing Hawthorne's birthplace, in Salem, and then the Salem Customs House where the discovery of some old records inspired Hawthorne to write "The Scarlet Letter." Among other landmarks of Salem is its pride, the House of Seven Gables — the original of Hawthorne's best known work. And here, in a most skilfully managed transition, with the words, "Even in this day it is not difficult to imagine Phoebe Pyncheon . . .," we see re-created the characters of the story, moving among familiar surroundings. There are Aunt Hepzibah who opened her little shop in the House of Seven Gables, and the half-demented Clifford, and Jaffrey Pyncheon, the wicked judge. Quite as naturally as though it were the outcome to be expected from the judge's morning call at the shop, there follows the "big scene" of the story— after which poor Clifford, standing over the Hmp body of the judge, exclaims: "Let him be quiet What can he do better? As for us, Hepzibah, we can dance now! We can sing, laugh, play, do what we will — the weight is gone, Hepzibah!" James Fenimore Cooper. (Hodkinson.) American Author Series. In comparison — or contrast— with the reel on Hawthorne, very little can be said to laud this effect at visualizing Cooper's settings. No attempt is made to dramatize, and the film confines itself to one scene after another of the Leatherstocking country around Otsego Lake near Cooperstown, N. Y. Present-day views of the spot where Deerslayer killed his first Indian, or the place where Judith bade farewell to hfer beloved Deerslayer— such scenes looking thoroughly up-to-date, with even a motor launch skipping over the water— fail to be convincing. Still less reminiscent of the time of Leatherstocking are the vacation ceremonies of some imported "pale-face maidens," dressed in Indian costume, who frolic in "Pathfinder Lodge"