The Film Daily (1923)

THE ■3tfr1 DAILY Sunday, January 21, 1923 Not At All the Right Vehicle for Jones Nor a Good Entertainment Charles Jones in "THE FOOTLIGHT RANGER" Fox DIRECTOR Scott Dunlap AUTHOR Dorothy Yost SCENARIO BY Dorothy Yost CAMERAMAN Dev Dennings AS A WHOLE A very tame offering for this star, wholly unlike what they expect from him STORY Gives Jones quite a vacation; poor drama that isn't always wholesome either DIRECTION Fair; didn't do anything that would lift material out of the ordinary class PHOTOGRAPHY All right LIGHTINGS Adequate STAR Does well enough but belongs in western dramas SUPPORT A satisfactory supporting company includes Fritzi Brunette, Lillian Langdon and Henry Barrows EXTERIORS Suitable INTERIORS All right DETAIL Ample CHARACTER OF STORY Ranger, in love with actress, follows her to New York where he saves her from attack by her manager LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 4,729 feet Wherever the Fox scenario department saw possibilities in this story as a vehicle for Charles Jones isn't at all obvious, not so much that Jones doesn't handle the role he is given satisfactorily, but that the whole atmosphere and plot does not suit his personality nor is it the thing he does best. Folks have come to look for live westerns with plenty of good action as the Charles Jones features, but they are due for a disappointment in "The Footlight Ranger." The role of Bill Moreland gives the star very little real opportunities and hardly any chance for his typical line of action. There is a fight or two but very tame affairs in comparison with what you usually get from Jones. The idea of a regular cowboy hero following an actress around with nothing particularly exciting happening makes a slow-moving and rather dull picture and even when the girl becomes the subject of the manager's unwelcome attentions and Jones is kept busy protecting her, things are not over interesting and the story drags along to an equally tame finish. There is no suspense nor attempt to build toward the climax. And the situations are not what might be called altogether wholesome. They make it very plain what the manager's intentions are toward the girl he plans to star in a Broadway show and the private dining room sequence at the notorious inn isn't exactly what folks will want their young daughters to see. All of which emphasizes the fact that the story is wholly inappropriate and unsuited to Jones, from whom his admirers have come to expect clean, wholesome western entertainments. It is very amusing to read the synopsis contained in the Fox press sheet and compare it with the story as it appears on the screen. Evidently it was written before the picture was made, or else the one that wrote it took a poor guess at what the picture contained. Some of the posters included on the press sheet also indicate incidents that never occur, such, for instance, as the fire at the oil field. There is no such sequence in the picture. Jones does good work, but it is hard to figure him in a picture of this kind. Story : Bill Moreland meets Janet Ainslee, a stranded actress, and by selling his dogs secures money to pay her way back to New York. Later Bill goes to the city and again meets Janet, who is about to be starred on Broadway in a show backed by David Marsh, whose attentions to Janet are unwelcome. How Bill saves Janet and they go back west together completes it. Will Disappoint Star's Admirers Who Expect Action Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Probably Jones' admirers will accept it without much fuss but they are sure to wonder why he was ever given such an ill-suited story as this one. It all depends upon how well they like the star. Of course if you don't have to worry about regular patronage, you can use your own judgment. Probably the story would just appeal to your folks. You know them best. But make it clear just what sort of a story this is and you won't make it very clear if you use the variety of stills and posters suggested in the Fox press sheet. They look more like the usual Jones offering. Also do not reprint the synopsis as printed in the press sheet. It is not the story as it appears on the screen.