The Film Daily (1921)

14 jM^c DAILY Sunday, January 2, 1921 Adaptation of French Play Provides Entertaining Farce Wanda Hawley in "HER BELOVED VILLAIN" Realart DIRECTOR Sam Wood AUTHOR Alexandre Bisson & Albert Carre SCENARIO BY Alice Eyton CAMERAMAN Alfred Gilks AS A WHOLE Good entertainment, lively comedy, well produced STORY Clean farce, with situations coherently developed, and interest sustained by sufficiently fast action DIRECTION Beginning might move swifter, rest adequate PHOTOGRAPHY Fair LIGHTINGS Fair CAMERA WORK Satisfactory STAR Attractive and pleasing. Comedy work overshadowed by support SUPPORT Tully Marshall carries off comedy honors EXTERIORS Few of them INTERIORS All right DETAIL Satisfactory CHARACTER OF STORY Man decieves girl's suitor in order to marry her himself, then has trouble explaining the deceit LENGTH OF PRODUCTION. 4,646 feet In "Her Beloved Villian," Wanda Hawley has been given an adaptation of the French play "La Veglione," by Bisson and Carre, and while the production provides good entertainment, it is not overly due to the work of the star. The picture starts out as straight drama, but quickly assumes all the ear marks of a farce. It is an amusing farce too, with enough variation from the standard one or two plots common to this type of picture, to make the theme novel. Although Miss Hawley offers one or two bits of real comedy, she is somewhat thrust into the background by Tully Marshall, who easily dominates the piece, with a very amusing performance. The director has pretty well exhausted the comedy of the original, developing each situation to the fullest extent. The balance of the cast including, Templer Powell, Ramsey Wallace, and Lillian Leighton, all fit in well. The scene of the story is laid in France. Louis Martinot is in love with Susanne Bergomat (Wanda Hawley), and upon being hastily summoned to America, requests his friend Dr. Blythe, to investigate her family, and report. Blythe, falling in love with the girl himself, reports that her father is a drunkard and her mother a cabaret singer ; and then marries her himself. Martinot appears sometime later, ignorant of Blythe's marriage, and Blythe is at a loss as to how he can keep his wife and Martinot apart. Blythe persuades his partner, Dr. Poulard (Tully Marshall), to take Susanne to her mother in a neighboring town. Instead of going home Susanne drags the erstwhile staid doctor to the carnival at Nice, where he shows his first excessive liking for champagne. Their arrival home the next morning discloses the fact that they have not been to "mother's," resulting in near tragic domestic trouble in both families. Affairs are finally untangled when Dr. Blythe confesses that he deceived Martinot, and Susanne in turn confesses that her escapade was only to teach her husband a lesson. Martinot gracefully accepts the situation, and Susanne's parents are convinced that no one thinks they are drunkards, and the whole party joyfully celebrates the Blythes' first wedding anniversery. Promise Them a Clever French Farce and Use Star's Name Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Notwithstanding that Wanda Hawley 's is not the best performance in the production, you can use her name to advantage. You can also use Tully Marshall, commenting on the comedy merit of his work, as his ability has been widely demonstrated. Play up the fact that this is a real French farce. Don't fail to emphasize the novelty of its situations, and the abundance of humor in each. You can make good use of the title in teasers and you can build innumerable catch lines about it. The theme of the picture offers many possibilities for a catchy and amusing exploitation. Catch lines on this order might be used : "One man told the other that her parents were drunkards — and then married her himself. See what happened then in "Her Beloved Villian."