The Film Daily (1920)

Sunday, February 22, 1920 jshd^v DAILV 17 Jack Pickford at His Best as Kentucky Mountain Lad Jack Pickford in "THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME" Goldwyn DIRECTOR Wallace Worsley AUTHOR John Fox, Jr. SCENARIO BY Elliott Clawson CAMERAMAN Don Short AS A WHOLE Human interest story admirably told in artistic screen presentation. STORY War romance flavored with all the emotions caused by conflict ; realistically told. DIRECTION Very good especially for the manner in which coherence was maintained. PHOTOGRAPHY Excellent LIGHTINGS Sepia tints and night effects fine CAMERA WORK Splendid STAR Perhaps the best thing he has done SUPPORT Entire cast well suited to respective roles. EXTERIORS Wonderful locations representing Kentucky. INTERIORS Accurate Civil War atmosphere DETAIL Well handled CHARACTER OF STORY Cumberland mountain youth comes out a hero on the Union side and wins over his Southern sweetheart. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 6,000 feet Goldwyn couldn't have made a better selection for Jack Pickford than "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," for it gives him every opportunity that could be offered a juvenile and the star's realization of the part is indeed meritorious. He certainly makes an interesting figure as "Chad," a product of the Cumberland mountain wilds. Throughout the production his performance holds the spectator's interest with little or no variance. As far as the production itself is concerned, every detail denotes extreme care and a genuine Southern atmosphere, made unusually real because of the accuracy of locations and settings. There are some very beautiful shots of real country in "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," which are shown to particularly good advantage because of the lightings. The night scene in the quaint Kentucky village is splendid. It does seem that the war sequence has been carried to an unnecessary length for the purpose of completing the romance between Chad and Margaret for that's about all that it does. Of course, it gives hero Jack a chance to prove that he is true blue even if he did join the Union Army. Chad runs away from his mountain home after the death of his foster-parents and is taken in by the Turner family in the Valley of Kingdom Come where he works for his board and that of his dog. The schoolmaster in the Valley takes a keen interest in the lad because of his diligence and rewards him with a trip to Lexington. Chad bids good-bye to Melissa, secretly very fond of Chad, and the rest of his friends and starts on his vacation. In Lexington he attracts the attention of Major Buford and when he misses the train for home, the Major invites him to his place. The Major has a sort of instinctive attachment for the lad and without much coaxing Chad agrees to stay but it isn't long before General Dean, a neighbor, objects to the presence of Chad because he knows nothing of his parents. In the end, after Chad returns from the war, the deathbed confession of an old mountaineer, clears his name and he wins the daughter of General Dean. The supporting cast consists of a long and well known list of names, among them Pauline Starke, the little country girl Melissa, who died of a broken heart, Clara Horton, J. Park Jones, Clark Marshall, Edythe Chapman, James Neill, R. D. McLean, Aggie Herring, Dwight Crittenden, Nick Cogley and others. Start Them Coming Your Way for This. They'll Like It Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Jack Pickford is coming up stronger all the time and in "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" he does some fine work in a part well suited to his personality. Admirers of the star are going to like him as Chad, the Cumberland mountain lad. He plays the part with genuine feeling and really gets the sympathy of his audience especially in moments where he is friendless except for his dog. Your folks will like this one so go after outside business. If the star's producers continue to give him stories like "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" you can keep building up additional patronage when you show his name. Catchlines could read : "A lad and a dog went down into the Valley of Kingdom Come. But go to the blank theater and see what happened after the lad went out of the Valley." Or, "See Jack Pickford as 'Chad' the Cumberland mountain youth in a vivid picturization of John Fox's 'The Little Shepherd, of Kingdom Come' at the blank theater."