The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Xovcmber, i()2^ The Theatrical Field 451 straight, and a Broadway-wise young fellow who is really in love for the first time in his life, Tom Moore in support of the star. THE LAS T HO UR (Mastodon Films Inc.) Milton Sills as a reformed crook who is so noble that he gets himself into all sorts of difficulties trying to protect his unreformed friends. His extreme nobility finally brings him to the scaffold, where he spends a very trying few minutes while everybody else in the cast is racing to save him. They fail to arrive in time! The trap is sprung! — but it doesn't work. We learn that it will take one hour to repair it. Hence the title. That last hour, of course, gives the guilty person time enough to confess, and the picture fades on Mr. Sills still noble, and beautifully tailored as usual. TO THE LAST MAN (Paramount) Hopefully we went to view .this Zane Gray picture, endorsed in a caption by the author himself, and great was our disappointment. It started out with a populous cast, but the title said "To the last man!" and faithfully the plot carried out the injunction. One by one they were popped off, until only Richard Dix was left, and even he was badly wounded. The monotony was slightly offset by some effective scenery, and the not so effective spectacle of Lois Wilson (of all people!) trying to behave like a "hussy." THE FIGHTING BLADE (First National) The days of Charles Stuart and OHver Cromwell come back to us on the screen with the romance of pretty Thomsine Musgrove, betrothed of Lord Carisford, and Karl Van Kerstenbroock, the famous Flemish duellist, whose name was a terror to every swordsman. Kerstenbroock came to Oxford on an errand of revenge, fell afoul of a roistering cavalier, Wat Musgrove, and promptly challenged him. Thomsine, fearing for her brother, put on boys' clothes and went to prevent the duel. She led Kerstenbroock on a wild chase and caused him to miss his appointment, to his great rage, for honor was a very touchy point with him. But when Thomsine fell into a muddy stream and lost her big boot, and Kerstenbroock discovered her high-heeled slipper in it, his sense of humor got the better of his vexation, and so, when the two lost their way and blundered into Cromv/ell's headquarters, he agreed to enter the general's service in return for safe conduct for "the lad." Then he was sent as a spy to Staversham castle, the royalist stronghold of Thomsine's family. There he was caught and tortured by the cavaliers, and found by Thomsine, who hid him and helped him to escape. With his Roundhead forces he returned in time to spit the villains on his famous sword and save Thomsine from a loveless marriage. Pure romance, as you see, well cast, beautifully photographed, and dominated by the wistfully appealing Richard Barthelmess in a new personality. A large part of his charm is in his naturalness, which does not suffer even in this artificial atmosphere. Dorothy MacKaill is thoroughly pleasing as Thomsine. To John S. Robertson again goes credit for smooth and sympathetic direction. THE RUSTLE OF SILK (Paramount) Betty Compson and Conway Tearle in the rather ordinary story of a lady's maid who falls in love with the master of the house. Carefully handled by the director, Herbert Brennon, it achieves at least the distinction of good production, but is, after all, very slight material. POTASH AND PERLMUTTER (First Nationa) On the whole, a satisfactory picturization of the troubles and the triumphs of our famous old friends in the cloak and suit business. Titles are amusing and characterization well done, Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr as the kindly partners seem not so much to play the characters as to be them, so excellent is their work. Fully up to standard and worth seeing. {Sec also page 458.) DOES IT PAY? (Fox) Without exception the worst picture I have ever seen. It was so awful that I was fascinated. It had everything — the vain husband, the wronged wife, the pet daughter, the old lawyer-friend-of-the-family, the faithful negro servants, and the vamp. It ran according to the old formula: the husband divorced his family for the vamp. He learned that she had a lover. Whereupon he squinched up his eyes and his fists and went home to make a scene. He discovered the lover kissing his new wife's little finger. Aha! Then came the scene. And so on. And on top of the story, a cast that acted all over the place. They sawed the air, they tore every passion to tatters— but they acted! William Fox was responsible.