The Film Daily (1922)

THE Sunday, December 17, 1922 j5B^ DAILY II Jess Robbins' Third a Fine, Glean-Gut Comedy That Is Real Entertainment Edward Horton in "A FRONT PAGE STORY" Jess Robbins Prod. — Vitagraph DIRECTOR Jess Robbins AUTHOR Arthur Goodrich SCENARIO BY F. W. Beebee CAMERAMAN Vernon Walker AS A WHOLE Sparkling comedy number that is very enjoyable entertainment; lots of laughs and they are sure-fire STORY Original newspaper yarn that has fine situations and they are splendidly used DIRECTION Excellent; shows fine appreciation and understanding of comedy values; lots of good stuff in this PHOTOGRAPHY Good LIGHTINGS Good STAR Deserves the title; an interesting comedian with personality and individuality SUPPORT Lloyd Ingraham ideal type and does great work as small town mayor;' James Cor rigan, Edith Roberts and others well suited EXTERIORS All right INTERIORS Good detail in print shop DETAIL First rate CHARACTER OF STORY City chap arrives in small town and settles dispute between editor and mayor in spite of themselves LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 6,000 feet This is the third and best of the Jess Robbins productions for Vitagraph. They have all been comedies but there are more laughs and original comedy business in "A Front Page Story" than in the other two put together. Robbins and Edward Horton team up ideally in the making of humorous entertainment and after "Too Much Business" and "The Ladder Jinx" Horton has finally secured stellar prominence which his work in the first two certainly gained for him. Horton has individuality and a dififerent comedy talent that makes his work all the more interesting. He is very real and his characterizations so natural that they make the parts seem thoroughly convincing. Another bit of good fortune, as far as Horton is concerned, is the fact that he has been lucky enough to h.ive roles particularly well fitted to his personality. As Rodney Marvin, Horton will surely gain many admirers. He certainly injects a lot of pep and entertainment into his performance. Arthur Goodrich's story is one of the best newspaper yarns that has come to the screen. It is original and bright with novel situations and any number of clever comedy twists that make it an unusually wholesome and entertaining feature. They pull some more or less familiar stuff with a Ford but otherwise the gags are new and thoroughly amusing. Jess Robbins proves that he has a keen sense of humor in the way he has handled the story. And he hasn't spent a lot of money to do it either. The piclure is most unpretentious as far as production is concerned, but when it comes to laughs and sure-fire entertainment, "A Front Page Story" is there. Robbins has secured a fine supporting cast for Horton that includes Lloyd Ingraham, erstwhile director, in a mighty fine characterization as Mayor Gorham, Edith Roberts as daughter of the village editor and James Corrigan as the editor. The sub-titles are numerous but they are very good. Story: Matt Hayward, owner of the Gazette, and Mayor Gorham had long been at odds. Rodney Marvin, a new comer in town, saves Hayward's paper from going on the rocks at the hands of Gorham. Hayward rewards him with half interest in the paper. Marvin's scheme to bring the two men together is unusually clever comedy business and the romance of Marvin and Hayward's daughter touches it off nicely. Promises Are In Order For This O ne and You Can Be Sure They'll Laugh Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor You should be able to do fine business with "A Front Page Story" because it is a really delightful comedy offering that contains sure-fire humorous situations and plenty of laughs if they want to laugh. And it is wholesome. You can promise them the funniest and best newspaper story they have seen in a long time and in case you played Jess Robbins' two previous productions in which Horton appeared, recall the titles, and promise them a much better entertainment in his latest, "A Front Page Story." They'll surely like Horton's work in this. Where they like good wholesome comedies you won't want to miss this one. It has a lot of clever touches and original comedy gags that are going to send them out happy and unmindful of the time it takes to run off the six reels. You can safely make promises and feel sure of pleasing them. Let them know Edith Roberts is in the cast also.