The Film Daily (1923)

THE m -%tl DAILY Wednesday, August 22, 1923 ■ 26 Fox Educationals Next Year Twentj "Educational Enter tainments" will be released by Fox season. JIMMY AUBREY in THE LOBBYGOW his first two reel comedy Alfred Bornigia, largest theatre operator in Rome, Italy cables: First tzvo Aubrey comedies wonderful. Productions of this type will make Aubrey the comedy star of the year. Want option for all comedies he makes in next four years. CHADWICK PICTURES CORPORATION 729 Seventh Ave., New'Tork^City I am in New York to buy 365 features for Cuba— Submit price and details to me by mail. Address H. A. KELLY Room 817 McALPIN HOTEL FILM DAILY GOLF TOURNAMENT SEPTEMBER 18 Are You Ready? Buy your new golf outfit at SLAZENGER'S First to mfg. and sell golf tapplies in U. S. A. 12 East 43rd Street New York City Newspaper Opinions "Drifting" — Universal — Capitol DAILY NEWS As Chinese pictures go, the one we're talking about is a good piece of tilm production. Plenty of bad characters, and fights and tins, but, alas and alack; not enough of the spooky * * * Come to talk about casts, Priscilla Dean as feminine lead is a peach. EVENING JOURNAL— It is dramatic, heartrending and thrilling. * » * All the acting is clever and the photography is excellent. There are two great fights.* * * Priscilla Dean lias the leading role. Her acting won high pra MAIL — Most of the sensational features have been much elaborated and indeed improved. * * Some of the sets are really picturesque and impressive and others resemble the architecture of our larger chopsuey palaces. Priscilla Dean makes the intrepid Cassie a vivid and volcanic figure, and Matt Moore is suave and immaculate as the highly moral captain. M 0 R NING TELEGRAPH—* * * Although Miss Dean is an artist we did not think she was always the Cassie Cook of John Colton's play. * * * The settings are distinctly of the lotus blossom type, and there are lots of Chinamen. The invasion scene is quite well done and works up to the big moment. Priscilla Dean does her best work when she is trapped in the tnissionaires' house. * * * The story is not unusual and the characters are conventional types, and yet the picture as a whole is fair entertainment. POST — Priscilla Dean is an expurgated edition of the Cassie Cook "as she was spoke," but looks and acts the required part decidedly well. Wallace Beery is a sinister Jules Repin, and, of course, one always expects and gets fine character acting from him. * * The staging and photography of this play are good, but the sum of the matter is that the story doesn't ring true. <|TV -Here is another case of a play that is a failure turning into a movie that is a success, for the screen allows better opportunity than the stage. * * * TELEGRAM— The role of Cassie Cook, * offers a range of dramatic possibilities suited to the dramatic talents of Miss Dean. In transferring the play to the screen the story gains in scope and is magnified to a real motion picture thriller. TIMES — The Chinese atmosphere * * * has been unusually well carried out, and although the story has a somewhat abrupt termination, it is nevertheless interesting and in spots quite thrilling. * * * Priscilla Dean and Wallace Beery are capital in their respective parts. TRIBUNE—* * * For Priscilla Dean, leaves us as cold as a lemon ice, no matter what she does. * * * The story is decidedly incoherent. WORLD—* * ' Without the blaze of torches in the night and the calvary dashing up at the last moment there wouldn't be much of a picture. The introduction of "little Bruce," the nary's small son, helps out some. Miss Dean must share the honors of a good characterization with Miss Wong. SUN — * * * She is a very good actress. In fact, as the wife * * * Miss Joy repeats the very fine impression she made in "Manslaughter." * * * TIMES Owetl Moore plays the part of Cuburn, He is not particularly good in this production. * * * One of those foolish parties has been incorporated in this photoplay * * * "nice little picture." TRIBUNE — It is just another one of those "Home-Sweet-Home" with variations stories, * * * Any picture would be interesting with Leatrice Joy and Owen Moore in it. for they are two charmingly human, likeable, goodlooking persons whose vicissitudes you follow eagerly. WORLD — What's wrong with the picture — the slender plot ; the stereotyped characterization : the dredging for morals. What's worth while — Leatrice Joy. "The Silent Partner"— F. P.-L.— Rivoli AMERICAN— It was a very simple and ingenuous story, with one bold, bad man in it. * * * 1 cannot say of "The Silent Partner" that it gave me brain fag. EVENING JOURNAL— Leatrice Joy, * plays her part well and others in the cast * * help materially in making a lively picture. Mr. Maigne deserves praise for the photoplay. * * * MAIL — It is a sympathetic theme, made doubly so by the restrained and unimaginativework of Leatrice Joy, who made the heroic wife a tense and convincing figure. MORNING TELEGRAPH— As a matter of fact "The Silent Partner" is the merest bit of dramatic down and a zephyr of content or discontent is sufficient to blow it into your esteem or out of it. POST — Leatrice Joy * * * makes her part of the far-seeing wife a living, sympathy-inspiring thing. The cast is well chosen throughout and it is a generally entertaining picture. "The Midnight Alarm"— Vitagraph — Rialto AMERICAN — E v ery ten-twenty-thirtycent situation, except tieing the girl to the railroad tracks is in "The Midnight Alarm." * * The film is crammed with action of the most melodramatic kind. EVENING JOURNAL— The filming is on an elaborate scale and much attention was given to many scenes, particularly that of the fire. HERALD — A typical nickel picture — badly acted, badly directed and absurd in its plot. Even its numerous thrills are phoney. If there is one legitimate moment in the film we missed it while we were trying to read the program in the dark. MAIL — The fire scene is excellent and the flames and smoky confusion have very genuine thrills of their own. Unfortunately none of their exciting qualities are shared by a very wooden cast. MORNING TELEGRAPH— In this Vitagraph offering things happen quickly enough and it contains the essentials of good melodrama, * * * Is regular ten-twenty-thirty melodrama, but as such is pretty good entertainment. TELEGRAM—* * * A powerful story* * * TRIBUNE — The suspicion did cross our mind that it was not intended to be taken seriously. It must be burlesque. It is done broadly, and if you can go to the Rialto and accept it in that spirit you will have a marvelous time. * * * Our advice is, sincerely, do not miss "The Midnight Alarm." But mind you, it is not to be taken seriously ! WORLD — What's wrong with this picture— its appalling senescense; the substitution of property destruction for drama. What's worth while — the struggles of the competent cast to render their material credible. Newspaper opinions from out-of-town papers will only appear when the feature reviewed has its world's premiere in that city. New York newspaper opinions will also be published when the production reaches Broadway. "To the Last Man"— F. P.-L.— Metropolitan, Los Angeles (Special to THE FILM DAILY) Los Angeles — Newspaper opinions on "To the Last Man," now at the Metropolitan are as follows: EXAMINER— The picture is a thriller in every sense of the word * * * an admirable cast. EXPRESS -The title well describes the tense atmosphere * * * the backgrounds are unusual in their wildly picturesque beauty. RECORD— The title is literally correct. Murders and killings take place regularly * * * a good cast. TIMES—* * * Beautiful photography* * * Fairly interesting and entertaining* * * High lights are found in the cast, however. SHORT SUBJECTS September 2nd