The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

October, 1923 The Theatrical Field 395 here merely to warn you off. It is excessively dreary, and the audience viewed it is abysmal silence. I was sorry the producer and the entire sales force could not have been there. SALOME (Allied Producers and Distributors) Not exactly Oscar Wilde's "Salome," but a very gorgeous and artistic rendering of the drama. The appeal is almost wholly pictorial. The drama is there, very subtly expressed, but it is subordinated. Personally I felt that the poster effect was marred by failure to select decorative people for certain important parts, and ineffective grouping of elaborately costumed actors against bizarre, figured backgrounds. Costumes and settings were designed in the manner of Aubrey Beardsley, by Natacha Rambova, who perhaps had not as free a hand in the actual production as in the planning. Nazimova's great dramatic instinct shows only in flashes. For the most part she poses — beautifully, it must be admitted. Owing to some quirk in the channels of distribution, you will not find "Salome" at the big theatres. You will have to hunt it out, but it will be worth the effort. THE FAMOUS MRS, FAIR (Metro) Echoes of the late war have been a long time taboo. Here, fortunately, they are very faint — just enough to establish the story of a woman who left her husband and daughter at home to follow her son to France and become famous as a Red Cross worker. Then, having tasted applause, she was not content, after the war was over, to remain at home and piece the bits of her broken household together again. Myrtle Stedman makes a sincere and charming Nancy Fair; Huntly Gordon does fine work as Jeffrey Fair ; Marguerite de la Motte, Helen Ferguson and Cullen Landis represent the younger generation. An excellent picture directed with all of Fred Niblo's sane judgment and even tempo. SOFT BOILED (Fox) Tox Mix with horn-rimmed specs and his hair parted in the middle is a decided change from his usual character, although he does appear in chaps and sombrero for a few minutes at the beginning of the picture. This time he inherits along with the time-honored fortune a hasty temper, which he is required to tame before he can claim his money. Various obstacles placed in his way by the villains, and a little romance as a side issue provide the interest. Billie Dove supports the star, and Tom Wilson as an old negro servant is responsible for a good many laughs. GARRISON'S FINISH (Associated Producers and Exhibitors) While this is not a picture to haul you out of your chair and make you cheer wildly, it has some interesting, even exciting moments. The familiar story of the race track, and the jockey whose disgrace was brought about by a trick, has been carefully if not brilliantly done. Jack Pickford, whose features and little tricks of gesture and expression are at times uncannily like his famous sister's,\ is pleasing as Billy Garrison. Madge Bellamy is a picture — not an actress, but you can forgive her because she is a picture. Lydia Knott, Ethel Grey Terry and Clarence Burton add good work to the general ensemble. A safe picture for the family. THE SPOILERS (First National) This is a re-rendering of the Rex Beach novel already pictured some years ago. A bright and shining lot of stars, careful direction throughout, and what would be technically termed a "whale" of a fight between Milton Sills and Noah Beery, make this picture. It should be popular, and it doubtless will be, in spite of the fact that stories of the gold rush to Alaska no longer hold the interest they once did. HER REPUTATION (First National) A not uninteresting story sugar-coats a rap at sensationalism in newspapers. A young and innocent girl acquires an unsavory reputation through the misguided efforts of a zealous reporter. The action plunges at feverish tempo through fire, flood, and accident, to end happily and point a moral. There is a good deal of "hokum," but it will pass. May McAvoy and Lloyd Hughes are featured. The Better Films Committee of the Parent-Teacher Associations found too little material to make recommendations worth while in this issue. Mrs. Charles E. Merriam, the chairman, will have the usual page again in the November issue, with some additional comments.