Exhibitors Herald (Oct-Dec 1922)

November 11. 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 59 SPECIAL CAST IN NIGHT LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD (ARROW) This picture, properly exploited, will cause many exhibitors to sit up late at night counting box office receipts. In addition to an alluring title it deals with a subject that every theatre-goer is deeply interested in and wants to know more about. When the A. B. Maescher Productions conceived the idea of making "'Night Life in Hollywood" it was with the idea of offsetting the harm done to the fair name of the California city by the custom of the newspapers of the country constantly picturing it in print and head lines as a modern Gomorrah — a Hades on earth, with many modern improvements over the original one. While the conception of the production was one of propaganda, the result was a picture that is an entertainment feature of exceptional interest, and one that should fill every theatre in which it is booked. Skilfully directed, with many beautiful and carefully chosen settings, enacted by a good cast, it shows many interesting places and people of Hollywood. A number of the most prominent of screen celebrities are shown in their own homes, surrounded by their families, and engaging in their customary pursuits and pleasures. There is also shown in rather daring manner many of the orgies and near orgies which the layman has been led to expect are every day and every night occurrences in the screen capital, but which the people who know Hollywood never see because they never happen. Around this is woven a charming lovestory which is the outcome of a trip to Hollywood by a young countryman who found himself disillusioned with shocking frequency by what he really found and the people he met. The story opens in the home of a country merchant in a little town in Arkansas. The merchant has a son and daughter who have read so much of the deviltries of Hollywood that they decide to go there and experience some of the thrills of a really wild life. The son, a typical country yokel, but a regular cutup in his own home town, finally reaches Hollywood. After a dream in which he goes through many experiences of the wildest kind of wild life, and in which wine, women and automobile parties run rampant, he makes the acquaintance of a motion picture actor who volunteers to show him the real Hollywood. With the high jinks idea paramount in his mind he gets into trouble almost everywhere he goes and has some really rough experiences trying to treat actresses he meets as he conceives they are accustomed to being treated. Finally he wakes to the fact that he is all wrong He goes back over his studio tour, admits his error, apologizes and finds he is among regular people and is being treated as a regular fellow. During his first trip about he has met a picture star, and after his awakening and apology, they become good friends and this friendship ripens into love and a wedding. As the yokel, J. Frank Glendon gives a good characterization, although at times an exaggerated one. The girl is played by Josephine Hill who is sweet and charming, in spite of her ability to take care of herself under all circumstances Others in the cast are Gail Henry, Jack Connolly md J. L. McComas. WILLIAM FAIRBANKS IN PEACEFUL PETERS (ARROW) Here is one of the best Westerns offered to the state right field in a long time, and one which should do well for any exhibitor whose patrons like this class of entertainment. Has plenty of punch and exploitation possibilities that make it go big. "Peaceful Peters," the latest Ben Wilson production, is a strong and thrilling picture made from W. C. Tuttle's Short Story Magazine story of the same title. It is generally conceded that one of the essentials which make the Tuttle stories so popular is the excellent dialogue injected by the brilliant writer of Westerns. As a result the putting of a Tuttle story on the screen without losing values is a difficult problem for any director. In this picture Director Ben Wilson has succeeded in accomplishing this to a remarkable degree. All of the Tuttle action is there and the titles, without being too wordy, retain sufficient of the writer's charm of expression to make the picture as interesting, if not more so, than the original story. "Peaceful Peters" is a young prospector who has wandered all through the west in search of gold. Ordinarily he is as peaceful as his name might imply, but when occasion requires he goes into action about as peacefully' as dynamite and with results just about as dire. In the course of his prospecting travels he finds Uncle Billy, a well known old desert rat, wounded and left to die on the desert. With his last breath Uncle Billy tells Peaceful that he has at last struck it rich, but that his claim has been jumped by Jim Blalock, who had shot him and left him for dead. Uncle Billywants Peaceful to get the mine away from Blalock and see that it goes to "Buddy's Gal." Before he can make further explanations the old man dies. Blalock. a saloon and dance hall proprietor in the town of "Fools Gold." has as a fellow conspirator Pete Hunter, the official assayer of the community, and the combination practically rules that part of the country. To Fools Gold goes Peaceful and there he has a series of quick action adventures which go to make up the thrills of the picture. His battles with "Cactus" Collins, and "Sad" Simpson, satellites of Blalock, are most realistic, as is also his rescue of Mary Langdon. who has come to Fools Gold in answer to an advertisement for a dancing teacher and is working for Blalock. Plots and counterplots come thick and fast. The bank is robbed by one of Blalock's men disguised to look like Peaceful. The robber is chased on horseback by Peaceful, who in turn is followed by a sheriff's posse, and a thrilling ride with much excellent horsemanship is shown. Peaceful Peters wins out, captures the robber, turns him over to the sheriff's posse, and returns to Fools Gold in time to rescue Mary Langdon, who turns out to be "Buddy's Gal," the daughter of old Uncle Billy's brother. The romance ends with Peaceful and the girl riding to the home of the nearest minister, sixty miles away. CARTER DE HAVEN IN ENTERTAINING THE BOSS (F. B. O.) This latest Carter DeHaven comedy should find a ready welcome in any firstclass theatre. It is "polite society" stuff with well-written subtitles and snappyaction. The story concerns a young married couple who plan to give a dinner to the boss and his wife. They hire a colored lady, who is on her way to deliver the family wash to the boss' home, to wait on the table. The gas is shut off and they have to take the dinner to a neighbor's to cook it. The family dog invites all the stray dogs to the house, they soil the master's shirt and he is compelled to borrow one from the laundry basket, also a table cloth and napkins. When the boss discovers his property he discharges the young man, as the latter "fires" his drunken cook.