The Film Daily (1920)

Sunday, December 12, 1920 s!i^ DAILY Ina Claire, a Real New Star for the Screen Ina Claire in "POLLY WITH A PAST" Metro DIRECTOR Leander de Cordova SUPERVISED BY Maxwell Karger AUTHORS George Middleton and Guy Bolton SCENARIO June Mathis CAMERAMAN Not credited AS A WHOLE. . . .Light and pleasing comedy lacks stage appeal but presents new screen star of versatility and ability STORY Mildly entertaining, telling how bashful, hesitant lover falls in love with wrong woman after scheming to make another woman marry him DIRECTION Quite satisfying PHOTOGRAPHY Averages good LIGHTINGS Usually effective CAMERA WORK Satisfying STAR If Metro hasn't her under contract it's a pity; a real star has come to the screen SUPPORT The usual beautiful million dollar country estates INTERIORS Very good DETAIL Well handled CHARACTER OF STORY Good enough for any house; a few titles may shock some ultraconservative LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 6,000 feet When David Belasco presented Ina Claire in "Polly With a Past," several years ago he brought a new star to the stage. In turn, Metro has done the same thing for the screen. The biggest pity of all, is that Miss Claire has been allowed to keep away from the silver sheet so long. She makes "Polly With a Past" stand out strong enough to be mighty fair screen entertainment, although the material hardly justifies screen presentation. When she is away from the camera the story lags and the entertainment is weakened considerably. When she is there she is a positive delight. She has all of the many charms of Connie Talmadge and some few added bits that promise to make her an important acquisition to the screen, if she is given proper material and the right kind of direction. Despite the stereotyped, oldfashioned situations which Director De Cordova has not improved, and which easily might have been, Ina Claire with her infectious smile and her cleverness will put the picture over. She not only gives a splendid characterization, but the screen version allows her opportunities to display her ability as a mimic and also as a dancer. And she does them both splendidly. The story tells of how Polly, the daughter of a small town minister, failing in her effort to take les sons in singing in Paris, becomes the maid in the apartment occupied by two bachelors, who are friends of a rich young man, and who with Poll/ perfect a scheme, the purpose of which is to have a wealthy young woman become actually in love with their pal, played by Ralph Graves. Polly is presented in the scheme as a French adventuress of international fame and flirts so desperately with Ralph that in the end he realizes he never has loved the other woman and the end comes with everything happy between Polly and Ralph. Use Belasco's Name With That of the New Star Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor If you handle this right the chances are you can do very well with it. But to do this you will have to emphasize very strongly that you are showing the screen's latest star, Ina Claire. In this you have a definite and absolute bet. In connection with this you can talk of her as being with the David Belasco organization and point out that she made her first hit on Broadway in the same play. Also that for the past several years she has been appearing in another Belasco play, "The Gold Diggers," and is now accepted as one of the real stars of the stage. You have little enough opportunity to use the name of David Belasco in connection with the screen and you should make the most of this because he is one of the master craftsmen in the theatrical world. If you use his name in connection with the star that should be sufficient to get them in. And when they do they are going to see a fairly interesting piece of entertainment. And when they go out they are going to talk about the new star, because she is there. If you use catchlines something like this might work out : "Polly Had a Past — Oh, what a past — but not the kind you believe. See just what the past was at the blank theater." "Polly's past was supposed to be full of home wreckings. Instead of which her only past was that of an innocent girl in a small town, but see what complications were raised by Polly at the Blank theater."