Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1921 - Mar 1922)

January 28, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD ICES YOU SIT UP!' olon Picture Critic of The ounce Reed in PANTHER'S CUB" C;rl Sandburg in the Chicago Dily News The Black Panther's Cub'' is a production one would be inclined lo i itify as of French origin and inspiration, even if the information wenot vouchsafed by the Ziegfeld theatre management that it is from the rectorial hand of Emile Chautard. The producer is celebrated, and e story goes back to a poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne, that aub 1 haired English poet who in his writings was always more kin to Par and the French provinces than to the people of Galsworthy and Ha.'. lorence Reed carries three roles, that of "The Black Panther," who run: high class gambling joint in Paris; the Empress Faustine, who was vict of a lust eased only by the sight of blood, and little Faustine, the dai ter of "The Black Panther," who is offered as evidence that a kitten borfrom a bad black cat may be a nice white kitten. \s acting goes Miss Reed delivers good characterizations. Her pece live. She has a sense of direction, knows what she's trying to do, ha nought it out in a way exceptional among film players. Ligh Metcalfe in Chicago Jurnal of Commerce "Here is a motion picture in which one actress plays four roles. Tl is entitled to supersede the heretofore magic achievement of a 'double ro The name of this picture is 'The Black Panther's Cub,' and the ac ss who agilely shifts her roles is Florence Reed, of some fame, who ha he habit of disappearing from the screen every so often and then pc ing up again for a single picture. Doubtless she is determined never to irmit us lo become fed up' on her acting. The picture is powerfully ha.led, and stands up among the city's offerings. It will grip you, and thgh you may not like some of its terrific moments, you will go away fr the theatre charmed." lob Reel in the Chicago Ivening American "We behold in Florence Reed a superb example of histrionic ability ■a execution. She is perfect as the Roman Empress; she is delightful a he gently bred English girl ; and she is pathetically wonderful — and a ittle startling — as the Faustine who has wasted her life in the r'isian underworld. I hope you don't miss it. Virginia Dale in The Chicago Journal "Miss Reed plays three distinct parts, the daughter, mother and a flash or two of Swinburne's Faustine, introduced briefly for the purpose of allegory. The interesting thing about Miss Reed's portrayals is not the difference in the characters, but the change that comes with the years to the same ones. There are bits that are highly artistic delineations. Chautard, baptized Emile, who directed the photoplay, displays, as always, a sense of the theatre and theatricals — that infinite aroma of conceit and awareness that follows through all his productions. In less alert hands than his 'The Black Panther's Cub' would have been cheap melodrama. As it is, it is excellent drama, sketched fine' and with sureness." Genevieve Harris in The Chicago Evening Post "Parisian gambling palaces, Apache dens, English mansions, hunting fields, these are among the settings in which this story is told. Lords and adventurers, ladies and courtesans, these are some of its characters. It is a highly colored tale, lurid at times, sensational and improbable, but entertaining, somehow, perhaps because it is so fantastic. She plays three separate characters, two of whom are shown at contrasting periods in their careers. She is seen as 'The Black Panther,' a noted adventuress, first at the zenith of her career and later at its miserable close. She is Faustine, Roman Empress, in a vision episode in the play. And she is Mary, the Black Panther's Cub,' first as an innocent English-bred girl, later as an imitator of her notorious mother. The production is lavish. The action is rapid and the story carries one's interest along. Observer in the Chicago Herald and Examiner "A picture far out of the ordinary in tone, plot and presentment is The Black Panther's Cub' at the Ziegfeld. The actress meets the demands of all these versatile parts with wonderful histrionic skill. The ordinary 'dual role' is but a pigmy beside these conglomerate efforts, and it is doubtful if the screen has ever seen their equal in the hands of one player. The picture has an undertone of awe-inspiring tragedy and reality. Yet through it all there runs a throbbing tale of love. It is a palpitating story with its varied scenes colorful to an unusual degree. The scenes and sets boast more than ordinary elegance. The screen version is an adaptation of Ethel Donoher's story suggested by Swinburne's poem, 'Faustine,' and it is the initial offering of W. K. Ziegfeld as a film producer — an auspicious one, we will say, and a premiere that it will be hard to live up to. " Film Corporation Toy Building MILWAUKEE