The Film Daily (1924)

THE Sunday, January 13, 1924 'The Great White Way" Goldwyn-Cosmopolitan I a Whole BIG SPECTACULAR PICTURE DESTINED TO PLEASE THE CROWD THAT LIKES .VARIETY. WILL PROBABLY MAKE GOOD IF SfOU DON'T MIND ADVERTISING ANGLE. 1st. ... Hearst just called for a copy )f his payroll and put everyone to vork, from Arthur Brisbane down 0 the office boy and then coaxed t few celebrities to lend their fiames to good advertising by "dopg a turn." They include Tex tickard, Irvin S. Cobb, H. C. Wither, Ned Wayburn and many nota>le Hearst publication artists and vriters. Anita Stewart's work is ■leasing. Oscar Shaw foregoes peronal appeal to be a convincing iug, and T. Roy Barnes gets over lis comedy business satisfactorily. pe of Story Once they get hrough exploiting Mr. Hearst's mployees and showing the workings of his newspaper office and resses "The Great White Way" ets started. It's a late start for he story, especially since there is 0 much of itself, minus the pubcity trimmings that are padded i. The plot, credit for which is 'mply given H. C. Witwer, is the verage "movie" meller with just bout one new angle to give it some ybstance — that of a press agent |rho plans to boost two people, ne a dancer and the other a fight r, by a tie-up arrangement which rovides his paper with a nice sen ational yarn and at the same time, Sains the desired publicity for his Hients. The idea, from here on, jermits of the usual display and pectacle. It rings in the Follies, abaret scenes, a prize fight, the iaces, a fire and about everything pat the exhibitor recognizes as re-fire audience getters. The fire d the fight offer good thrills and ey've apparently spent consider le upon the production even ough many of the mob scenes e news reel excerpts. Office Angle. . . .Whether or not u can use the names of the earst writers and artists to advan ge is a question, but you will un nubtedly interest them with the >mbined names of notables and ayers who appear. The picture, inus its advertising angle, should »ve a good plav. iloitation Names galore for F>u to use and a title that will itice them. There's a certain lure »out titles that suggest a theatri 1 atmosphere. They'll fall for is one and for the benefit of the en folks, be sure to talk about prize fight. Use a trailer to ve a hint of the variety the offerg contains — bits of the fight, fire d stage sequences. If they're terested in statistics, Cosmopolin will furnish figures. ■ction E. Mason Hopper; quite 1 right. nor H. C. Witwer fcario Luther Reed leraman . . Harold Wenstrom and enry Conjager tography Good tie New York Ijth ' 10,000 feet Norma Tahnadge in "The Song of Love" First National As a Whole NORMA TAL MADGE IN SHEIK STORY THAT IS QUITE INFERIOR TO WHAT SHE REALLY REQUIRES; ATMOSPHERE LAID ON THICK AND STORY SLOW MOVING. Star. . . . Handles the role capably and is effective in emotional bits. Seems to have been stricken with modesty. Dancing girl garb appears to embarrass her. Usually quite well photographed. Cast: Arthur Edmund Carewe gives a good performance as the desert chieftain and Joseph Schildkraut profiles his way through in the romantic role which he fills correctly. Others are Laurence Wheat, Maude Wayne, Earl Schenck. Hector Sarno. Type of Story. . .Drama that is poorly suited to star. Instead of exploiting the ability and charm of the star, the prominence goes to the conventional sheik business in which a would-be desert King plans an attack upon the white natives with his scheme thwarted by the dancer whom he loves but who sacrifices her life to warn her white lover of his danger. The actual plot is slight but director Franklin has padded it out to nearly eight reels with the result that "The Song of Love" is a slow-moving, over-detailed picture, which, consequently drags to its final conclusion, the inevitable happy ending uniting the dancing girl and her white lover. There has been too much time spent upon unimportant detail, — too great an attempt to build up a suspense over a piece of intrigue, the substance of which doesn't warrant it. The love story angle is pleasing, only it would be so much more pleas ing if they would have given it a better place and made less of costumes and atmosphere. Box Office Angle Not likely to pull as big as her pictures usually do. Too much of everything but Norma. Exploitation. .. .It depends upon just how big a drawing card Norma Talmadge is in your house. She's supposed to be one of the biggest. In that event you'll probably want to play "The Song of Love." Whether or not it will please is a matter of conjecture. Let them know just what to expect: — the star in the role of Arabian dancer who betrays her native admirer to the white man she loves. In view of the popularity of Sheik stories, it's possible that the atmosphere will warrant exploiting. Use stills and trailers to give them a better idea. Direction. ... Chester Franklin and Frances Marion; good but picture far too long. Author Margaret Peterson Scenario Frances Marion Cameraman Tony Gaudio Photography Good Locale Arabia Length About 8,000 feet Viola Dana in "The Heart Bandit" Metro As a Whole.... VIOLA DANA IN ONE OF HER TYPICAL ROMANTIC COMEDIES, SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF SEVERAL OF HER PREVIOUS RELEASES. SHE'S A GOOD BAD GIRL WHO REFORMS. Star Will please her following. Resorts to all her old tricks and makes the most of opportunities that come her way. Doesn't photograph as well as usual. Cast Milton Sills opposite star. Gertrude Claire, Bertram Grassby and Wallace MacDonald. Type of Story Comedy-drama. Runs along pretty much the same lines as many of the preceding Dana vehicles, the sort of situations and atmosphere that suit her particular personality best. She has a rollicking time of it playing a tough kid who chews the end of a cigarette while she shoots dice with the chauffeur, talks slang to her benefactress and generally succeeds in convincing you that she's hard boiled. Of course it's all to be taken pretty much for granted — this idea of the kind old lady taking the injured girl into her home and supplying her with not only necessities but luxuries while she's trying to recall her identity which she cleverly pretends to have lost track of when thrown from a machine. Naturally there's a leading man in the same household who supplies the romantic angle and when Wallace McDonald, who threatened, at the outset to fill this position, becomes superfluous, he's killed off conveniently. "The Heart Bandit" is an amusing picture, agreeably entertaining and there's not too much of it to make it tiresome. Box Office Angle Your folks will like this one, or at least they will if they're out to be amused. In case they happen to be looking for something to criticize, they'll probably find fault with things in the story but, on the whole, they should be pleased. Exploitation Tell them "The Heart Bandit" is an amusing story of a girl crook who suddenly finds herself being patronized by a rich old lady who has plenty of money and a wonderful son. That ought to be enough to let them guess the rest and get them sufficiently interested in the unusual heroine, to bring them in. Show them a trailer of Viola playing "galloping dominos" with the chauffeurs. Direction Oscar Apfel; especially good in that he knew when to stop. Author Fred Kennedy Myton Scenario Thomas Hopkins Cameraman John Arnold Photography All right Locale New York Length About 5,000 feet. "Black Oxen" Producer: Frank Lloyd Prod. Distributor: Asso. First Nat'l Pict. As a Whole. ..SHOULD PROVE AN EXTRAORDINARY BOX OFFICE SUCCESS PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF ITS APPEAL TO WOMEN. NOTHING INTERESTS WOMEN SO MUCH AS AGE— THE CHIEF POINT OF THIS POPULAR STORY. Cast. .. .Headed by Corinne Griffith and Conway Tearle. They make a tremendously interesting pair of lovers. Clara Bow a hit as the "flapper." Alan Hale excellent. Others unimportant. Extras hardly looked the part of members of New York's most exclusive set. Rather they looked cheap. Type of Story ... .Tremendously interesting theme of how woman of 60, through the Steinach gland treatment, appears as a woman of 25 or 30, falls in love with a young playwright, but in the end realizes they cannot marry and leaves him to take up her former work of rebuilding Austria. One of the best box office stories of the year, based on Gertrude Atherton's best seller of the same name. Tearle as the handsome lover gives an unusually fine performance. Corinne Griffith does all that was expected of her, and more. She handles a bit of character work excellently in the brief flash of the old woman. Clara Bow as the flapper gets all the laughs. She has a "fat" part and gets a lot out of it. Corinne Griffith loses none of her famous sex appeal. Lloyd gets a lot from his leading players. Tearle is unusually good. There are many striking costumes worn, Miss Griffith having a different gown for almost every new sequence. The production runs a little too long and could be cut to advantage. Box Office Angle. .. .This should be sure fire. Flappers in raccoon coats and old women in sables jammed the Strand at six o'clock Monday night — so you can figure what business this will do at regulation times. Should prove a big matinee puller. Exploitation. . . .Should be easy. You have the name of the book — it was a best seller last year and is still going strong. It's appeal to women will be almost universal. Then you have the names of Corinne Griffith and Conway Tearle to entice them. You can easily make promises. They deliver the goods. Don't overlook Clara Bow and tell them that she was in "Down to the Sea in Ships." Then you have the name of Frank Lloyd, whose direction of Norma in "Ashes of Vengeance" and other notable pictures has made him a well known figure among fans. Direction. .. .Frank Lloyd; excellent as a rule; types selected without great consideration. Author Gertrude Atherton Scenario by Mary O'Hara Cameraman Norbert Brodin Photography At times poor; too much lighting Locale New York and an Adirondack Lodge Length 7,937 feet.