The Film Daily (1921)

Sunday, January 2, 1921 iMA DAILY 21 A Charming Star and Popular Appeal in This Madge Kennedy in "THE GIRL WITH THE JAZZ HEART" Goldwyn DIRECTOR Lawrence Windom AUTHOR Robert Shannon SCENARIO BY. . .Geo. Mooser and Philip Lonergan CAMERAMAN George Peters AS A WHOLE Really pleasing entertainment due to good direction and delightful personality of star STORY Not unusual dual role theme but gives star splendid opportunities DIRECTION Has done very well with fairly trite plot ; gets the most out of it PHOTOGRAPHY Very good LIGHTINGS Good CAMERA WORK Some of the best double exposure yet seen STAR Inimitable Madge charming as ever SUPPORT Good EXTERIORS Very few INTERIORS Many of them the real thing DETAIL Quite all right CHARACTER OF STORY Quaker girl comes to New York to marry a rich man but gets "cold feet" and has a telephone girl impersonate her LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 3,966 feet Madge Kennedy in "The Girl with the Jazz Heart" seems to have been a long time on the Goldwyn release schedule but now that it's here, it's a really very pleasant picture and satisfies despite it's being about one reel shorter than the usual feature length. But better quality than quantity, and that's just what happens here. Evidently the picture was originally much longer, but whoever took the scissors to it knew how to do it and with the assistance of the title writer "The Girl With the Jazz Heart" conies through the operation successfully. And Madge Kennedy — well, she's her usual charming self and even a little more charming. Her individuality is sure to appeal. She takes the part of a gum chewing, jazz loving telephone operator and also that of the quiet Quaker girl who comes to the city to meet her husband-to-be. Miss Kennedy handles this Former part so well that she should be given more opportunities like this. The camera work in this is really great. The double exposures are perhaps some of the best yet seen and where a double is used for the star it is so well done that it's almost remarkable. Miriam Smith, Quaker girl, is being forced into a marriage by her uncle who fears she might squander her fortune, so he arranges her marriage to a country swain. Miriam answers an ad in a matrimonial paper and later goes to New York to meet her husband-to-be. At the hotel she weakens and takes the telephone girl Kitty, into her confidence. Kitty thinks it a "swell" chance to grab "herself a man so she agrees to change places with Miriam. The husband-to-be arrives and there is a mutual disappointment. Miriam really likes him and he doesn't like Kitty and her common ways. Hpwever, Miriam decides to go through with the deception and the three go to a cabaret, Kitty dressed in pretty clothes Miriam had bought to meet the man. Kitty does the ordering and superintends the party generally. Then she gets into trouble by dancing with a professional dancer. His wife objects. After this argument is settled, a dectective arrives and demands that Miriam Smith return to her home. Then the truth comes out, and Miriam is escorted back to her Pennsylvania home where her uncle resumes plans for her immediate marriage. That night, however, the former husband-to-be arrives to claim his bride and they live happy, etc. A Jazz Campaign Ought to Get This Over Big Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Madge Kennedy is a favorite in a number of theaters, and even though she doesn't appear at great frequence, that should be all the more reason for them to want to see her when she does. "The Girl With a Jazz Heart" touches a rather incurable sentiment of the present day generation so the title should attract them. Tell them some of the scenes show the lobby of the Hotel Belmont in New York and then another shot taken in a well known New York cabaret and that part of the show is in the picture. Gilda Gray, the shimmy dancer, performs under a spot light and incidentally there is a very good effect here. The actual colors have been put in the film. Catchlines should get them. Say "Want to learn New York's latest dance steps. Let 'The Girl With the Jazz Heart' show you. Madge Kennedy in her most recent Goldwyn picture is at the blank theater."