The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

22 School Department The Educational Screen the flag was formally adopted. In 1778 it was first recognized by a foreign nation, when France saluted the flagship of John Paul Jones. In 1784 the number of stars and stripes is shown to have been increased to fifteen— the flag under which Perry fought.' The remainder of the reel is devoted to scenes of Fort McHenry, the defence of which inspired the writing of our National Anthem; the statue of Francis Key Scott; and the only attempt at dramatization in the reel; a scene showing Scott as he witnessed the bombardment of the Fort from a British battleship in the harbor, watching through the night for a glimpse of the "star-spangled banner." A most dignified and beautiful visualization of the story— such a valuable contribution that it must needs find a place on every school and community program. Abraham Lincoln. (Vitagraph.) Another of the American Statesman Series— but one it were better to have left undone. It is hardly short of sacrilege to dismiss the subject of America's Emancipator with the scrappy treatment of this reel— and certainly if nothing more charitable could have been said about Lincoln's early home life, it were far better to have left the subject strictly alone. Except for the few scenes of the boy Lincoln and his mother, there is nothing to justify the footage expended. The scenes descend to the level of slapstick comedy when the father and sister are introduced. The elder Lincoln is made to appear hardly more than a lazy, drunken tramp, who tears up the boy's copybook, and is in turn beaten over the head by Lincoln's sister who evidently rules the household. The whole thing degenerated into a cheap family squabble. After such an introduction to Lincoln's great career, we jump immediately to his election to the presidency in 1861; and again a leap takes us to a view of the present day Lincoln Memorial, just completed on the banks of the Potomac. An old print (reproduced in film form) shows us Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address, the lines of which furnish the "THE CHOSEN PRINCE" creates a desire for *'THE BREAD OF LIFE" Temple Pictures, Inc., 2303 Prairie Ave., Chicago, 111. titles, "cut in" with panoramas of the battlefield and cemetery of Gettysburg. The reel closes with a picture of a Lhicoln monument — one of the poorer ones. A distinct disappointment, as an effort to picture the career of Lincoln. Not to be shown under any circumstances, if the reverence with, which we usually regard Lincoln's memory is to be passed on as a heritage to present-day youth. SCIENCE The Mystery Box. (Hodkinson.) A most timely exposition of the transmission of sound by radio, produced by the Bray studios. The name Bray associated with the production is assurance enough of the cleverness in animation which the reel displays. At the start, a little animated figure, the "Radio Bug," in a display window is shown attacking passersby. He stings a small boy severely, the doctor examines the patient and leaves directions which the family discover prescribe a radio outfit. Once it is set up, it becomes the center of the family entertainment. The remainder of the reel takes us to the broadcasting station (Westinghouse, N. J.) where we are shown the antennae from which are sent out waves. Sounds at the sending station cause modulations of the radio waves. These in turn are detected by the radio receiver, and translated by a "detector," which reproduces waves exactly like those of the sending station. A most entertaining subject, and one sure to interest and instruct the thousands who have marveled at this modern "mystery box." Bird Life. (Fox.) A short reel containing some really remarkable views of birds in their natural surroundings. Good scenes show coN lectors securing eggs for breeding from perilous situations on the face of the cliff. Only one egg is taken from a nest, and the young birds are never molested. A splendid closeup shows a wood thrush building her nest, the eggs in the nest, and later the young birds being fed. The fishhawk and her young are shown, as well as splendid views of sea gulls, the bird of paradise and finally the regal white peacock of India. Some excellent material, but seriously marred for any strictly educational use with children by the exceedingly bad titles. If William Fox is at all concerned