The Film Daily (1922)

THE Sunday, July 16, 1922 ■e&H C^AILV One More Northwest Mounted to Add to the List Charles Jones in "TROOPER O'NEILL" Fox DIRECTOR C. R. Wallace and Scott Dunlap AUTHOR George Goodchild SCENARIO BY William K. Howard CAMERAMAN Lucien Andriot AS A WHOLE. . . .Conventional Northwest Mounted picture that contains fair action but nothing that is new STORY The same old situation involving love and duty; has one or two slight surprise twists DIRECTION Adequate but couldn't do very much with trite material; production is suitable PHOTOGRAPHY Good LIGHTINGS All right STAR Well suited and will please admirers SUPPORT. . . .Beatrice Burnham a pleasing heroine; nearly everyone overacts at times EXTERIORS Pretty INTERIORS Appropriate DETAIL Fair CHARACTER OF STORY Mounted officer, in love with girl he is forced to arrest, finally learns she is not guilty of the murder LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 4,862 feet The only difference between the latest Northwest Mounted picture, "Trooper O'Neill," and most of the others, is the absence of snow. It happens to be summer in the North during the action of this story but everything else runs true to the formula, making Charles Jones' latest release only an average entertainment because it is so very familiar and contains such trite situations. The Mounted Police offer is certainly working overtime on the screen of late, and the disappointing feature of it is that no one seems to get a new angle on it. It is the same old struggle between love and duty. Hero falls in love with a girl whom he believes is guilty of murder and he must sacrifice love for duty by arresting her. But that isn't all. There has to be a happy ending, and a deathbed confession clears the girl's name once more. There are one or two good bits of action, one at the start when the hero-officer battles with his victim on the precipice and continues the fight when they fall into the rapids below, and then again when he plans to trap another murderer by a ruse. On the other hand the picture does hot offer as much excitement as the usual run of Charles Jones' western features. The directors have probably done as well as they could with the story and it will prove thoroughly pleasing except in theaters where they have already had their share of similar stories. One very faulty bit of detail that the directors have overlooked entirely in the costuming of players. From all appearances it is summer in the Northwoods. The heroine wears summer frocks and in one scene picks up a bouquet, but throughout the entire picture the men wear fur or knitted caps and heavy jackets. Jones does his usual good work and Beatrice Burnham is a pleasing leading lady who photographs very well. The supporting cast is adequate but most of them overact. They are Francis McDonald, Claude Payton, Sidney Jordan, Jack Rollins and Karl Forms. Story : Trooper O'Neil is sent to bring in the murderer of Jacob Dell. He goes to the Saskatchewan country and poses as a trapper, meets Marie and falls in love with her. O'Neill has reason to believe that her brother, Paul, or Pierre, a suitor of Marie's sister Celeste, who died because Dell had refused to marry her, killed Dell for revenge. O'Neil reasons, from marks of shots fired, that the slayer bears a wound in his right side. O'Neil is forced to accuse Marie but Pierre's dying confession clears her name and the two are happy. Will Do Unless Your Folks Are Tired of a Too Often Repeated Theme Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor It is possible that you can satisfy your folks with Charles Jones' latest feature, but only in case you have not played many of the recent Northwest Mounted pictures. There have been so many of them that your folks are bound to tire of so much of the same thing. If the star has a loyal following you won't have to worry because they will likely be pleased with "Trooper O'Neill." The line "a tale of love and duty in the Northwest," will be all you need to let them know what to expect, and of course the title readily suggests a story of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police. Display some stills in the lobby showing Jones with his new leading lady and tell them they will like the romance contained in "Trooper O'Neil."