The Film Daily (1922)

Some Short Reels "A Ladies' Man"— Hunt Stromberg Prod. — Metro Type of production 3 reel comedy Bull Montana plays the leading role in this very novel three reeler filled with laughs and amusing situations. The story is told of a child who is adopted into a rich family. He is brought up like any good little boy but turns out to be a rough-neck. He runs away from home when he is quite young and the picture really begins when he returns home. For this occasion his mother has invited a large gathering of society folk and you can imagine their surprise when dear little "Oswald" turns out to be a regular hard guy — as hard as Bull Montana ever appeared. Then the fun begins. Oswald brings his pals along with him and they provoke a good deal of laughter when they try to play the part of gentlemen. At first they receive a cold shoulder from the society guests but after a little encounter with some burglars they become idolized heroes. That is how Oswald becomes "A Ladies' Man." Now Oswald did not care very much for the stock and bond business and decided to open a gymnasium to accommodate the fair sex. The last scenes in this very laughable comedy are laid out in the suburbs in a house where two maiden ladies are being harassed by ghosts and terrorized by intruders. The ladies' man arrives with his two fisted assistants and cleans out the place. Bull Montana presents a new type of comic character that is full of possibilities and also full of laughs. The humor is whimsical and at the same time in keeping with the story. This comedy is not a mere collection of gags but contains a real story that is at the same time funny. It is certain to entertain and wring laughter from any audience. It is novel and presents a comedy character entirely different from anything yet done on the screen. Use Bull Montana's name when advertising the picture to your public. "At Large" — Universal Type of production 2 reel western Here is one of the very best that Tom Santschi has made in some time. The story is good, the photography excellent and the acting above the average for a two reel western. Besides this a child adds a great amount of human interest stuff and gives the production everything that a western needs. At the start of the picture Dan is unable to get medicine for his sick wife. Illness has taken his child from his and now his wife is threatened. He steals a horse to get the money to buy the medicine but is soon tracked to his home. When he is accused of being a horse thief, the excitement proves too much for his wife and she falls back apparently killed by the shock. Now Dan has nothing to live for and in desperation he rushes out of the room and jumping on a horse rides into the desert. Here in a shack he finds a baby girl who has just lost her mother. He buries the woman and takes the child with him. In the meantime the sheriff and his men are hunting the desert and one of the men, Pete, finds himself lost and without water. When Dan arrives he is too weak to shoot and falls from exhaustion. The hero gives him water and risks his own life by bringing in the sheriff's man and the homeless child. He is pardoned his crime and is taken home where he finds that his wife had only fainted and was on the road to recovery. It is difficult to foretell the end but it all turns out very satisfactory. The picture was directed by Robert North Bradbury and the excellent photography is by Virgil E. Miller. On the whole this is one of the very best that Tom Santschi has done in a long time. "The First Barber"— Tony Sarg— Educational Type of production 1 reel cartoon Here is the first of a new series of Tony Sarg's Almanac to be released by Educational. Sarg's silhouette . cartoons are already well known to the average audience. The figures are cut in amusing forms and are manipulated in a manner that adds greatly to their humor. These shadow cartoons are different from anything presented on the screen and their novelty alone is enough to warrant their success. But added to this there is a clean, keen humor which is irresistible. It will make a dead audience laugh and a live audience scream. Yet it is all so simple. In "The First Barber" you see how a tonsorial artist looked in the cave man days. Trimming is an old art. As far back as Adam and Eve, trimming was a gentle art from which few could escape. Tony Sarg cuts the little figures to fit the time and shows you a little domestic comedy filled with human interest. His beard was so long that it was difficult for the cave man to keep birds from building nests in his hair. Surely it was time to go to a barber! Here the fun begins. The barber has many devices for amputating a gentleman's locks. The shoe shine boy comes in for his share of the fun and the manicure girl shapes the ends of our prehistoric hero. A little bay-rum and lavender water sprayed lavishly finish the gentleman. But when he arrives home his wife is much upset over the smell. It was not at all to her liking and was enough to start a row. The remedy lay in a skunk who supplied an odor more agreeable to the woman in the story. After the husband has tampered with the skunk and finds himself back in his wife's graces he is led to remark — "Oh! Well, you can never tell what a woman will like." It doesn't seem that any theater owner can go wrong in booking a series as novel and whimsical as Tony Sarg's Almanac. "Official Urban Movie Chats" No. 28— Hodkinson Type of production 1 reel magazine Views of Rome with its old castles and churches form the first chapter of this number of the Official Urban Movie Chats. A factory where overalls and mackinaws are made, comes next. Here each step in the process, from the cutting of the goods, hundreds at a time, to the finishing and packing, are shown. General Grant's old home in Point Pleasant is illustrated in another chapter of this review which ends with some views of a bare-footed boy fishing by the bank of a shady stream. There are not very many subjects in this number of the Movie Chats but what there is is well photographed and interesting. Pathe Review No. 169 Type of production 1 reel magazine A special feature of this number is a chapter called "Super Golf." Joseph Kirkwood, the Australian Champion illustrates some very direct and some very tricky shots on the links. Slow motion photography shows you exactly how it is done. Other chapters of this review show scenes at the sailor's home in Staten Island and the modern cave dwellers in France. Some beautiful shots of cloud effects form an attractive chapter in this review which is up to the standard of the series. The subject matter is interesting and will hold the attention.