The Film Daily (1921)

Short Reels "This Is The Life"— C. B. C. Film Sales Corp. Pathe Review No. 84 Type of production. This a Hallroom Boys comedy with Hugh Fay and Harry McCoy as Percy and Ferdie. Polly Moran is also featured in the cast. There isn't much good stuff in this one, and the laughs are so few and the action so obvious that it falls flat except for a small portion of the footage in the second reel. The boys are seen at the start, in their hall bed room, from which they have difficulty in escaping, on account of the watchful landlady. Finally making their getaway, they ruin their clothes when chased by a bull, and immediately appropriate the apparel of a shimmie teacher and his companion, who are in swimming. The two boys follow directions of a letter in the pockets, and call on a wealthy young lady who is desirous of learning the' shimmie. There is some fair business in this part of the piece, but it doesn't last long. Most of the gags are old stuff, and the picture will prove disappointing after the last of the series which held a lot of real comedy. "Screen Snapshots"— No. 15— C. B. C. Sales Corp. , 2 reel comedy Type of production 1 reel magazine This starts off with some artistically tinted views of Nikko, Japan, in winter. A Japanese lady is seen leaving her home to attend services in the temple. Some views of the temple itself are shown, and a part of the religious rites. Widely different is the next subject, which is a few shots of a sausage factory, showing how link "dogs" are made. Following this, is a view of the farm at the junction of Riverside Drive and Broadway, and a shot of the two avenues only a few blocks below. The Hy Mayer Travelaugh is the next thing in the reel, and this one shows the city of Provincetown, on Cape Cod. Some fishing scenes, a view of the town square, and a relic of the past in the form of the town crier are shown. The reel concludes with a unique shot of an ancient belfry in Seville Spain, showing the bell ringers swinging from the huge bell ropes. Of average interest with nothing of particular importance. The Sleepyhead"— Pathe Type of production 1 reel fan magazine Type of production 1 reel comedy This series of peeps into the private affairs of people prominent in the screen world starts off with a few views of Marion Davies making "stills" for advertising purposes. Charles Hutchison, the thrill maker, is next seen making a fight scene in a serial. There is also a short shot of Hutchinson and Josie Sedgwick arguing with their director. Teddy, the Mack Sennett dog, is seen next with hsi real owner enjoying a day off, and performing a few tricks. Anetha Getwell is shown driving an army tank over some rough country, in a very professional manner. Doraldina, the dancer, next insures her limbs before the camera, with a close up study of the much touted members. Frank Borzage, who directed "Humoresque," is seen at work directing an exterior scene, and the reel concludes with several shots of the Bushman family, Francis X, Beverly Bayne, son, Ralph and the baby. This reel should prove as interesting as the others of the series to your fans who crave intimacy with the stars. "All Stuck Up"— Fox Type of production 1 reel animated cartoon Mutt and Jeff take to the wild west, in this one, to sell the stickiest brand of flypaper in the world. Jeff does a little demonstrating of its power by walking around the ceiling on it. Beautiful Nell rushes in to escape from a bad gunman. Mutt offers to save her but when the bad man comes in looking very tough, Mutt loses his nerve, and the gunman shoots off all his clothes. Jeff turns the trick by tripping the bad man into a batch of flypaper and wins the girl. There are about the usual amount of laughs in the reel, which is on the whole, more amusing than the average of the series. "All Wrong"— Fox Type of production 2 reel comedy Clyde Cook is in this speedy and very unnatural picture of army life, and it provides good material for this recent addition to comedy stardom. Cook, although he uses familiar methods, and make-up, including the much worked trick mustache, is able to get results out of even old gags, and puts over some new ones for several big laughs. The limber comedian makes full use of his contortionistic ability in this number, and makes both reels hold up well by fast work all the way through. It starts out with a company drill, and Cook, as Private Wright, is always wrong in the maneouvers. This provides some very funny business for a while, but is kept up too long and finally gets monotonous. The company is put on guard duty at the Mexican border, and Cook gets a lot of good stuff in with the boundary line, the Mexican sentry, and a gang of whiskey smugglers. The second reel finds Private Wright doing secret service duty in plain clothes, and includes several good bits in a tough bootlegging saloon. Cook has a terrible time keeping clear of the gunmen, and finally rescues the Captain's daughter from the villians. It is almost all good stuff, and the piece should make a very good comedy offering. Jack Blystone directed. Eddie Boland and the Vanity Fair Girls are seen in this, which gets over all right, although there isn't a lot to it. It's faster than some of the previous ones of this series, and while the girls are not as much in evidence as before, they look very attractive when they are in front of the camera. The scene of this one is laid in a private sanitarium where the patients are half dead old men. Boland is the doctor's assistant, and the Doc puts him in full charge. Eddie fires the homely nurses and gets a bunch of stranded show girls in their place. The girls do wonderful things to the morale of the old men. Incidently Eddie gets his grip mixed with that of a prominent safe blower, and has difficulty getting his own back. The reel is shy on laughs, but moderately amusing all through. It is snappy, and should prove a satisfactory filler. "A Tale of the Far North"— Educational Type of production 1 reel travelogue This is one of the Hudson's Bay Travel Series, and comprises a familiar study of the everyday life of the Eskimos who inhabit the Baffin's Bay region. The picture is presented in a novel mariner which makes even more interesting, a very good travel reel. It is offered as the life story of one of the tribe, who is seen telling it to the white man over a camp fire. The customs of the people of the far north are little known, and they are explained, and their mode of existence pictured in a highly entertaining way through the story of this one native's life. The picture follows him from the time he is a baby until his marriage, and all the events in the life of the man have been acted out by Eskimos. They are shown engaging in peculiar wrestling games, seal fishing, canoe racing, and preparing the furs they have gathered for the Southern market. The entire footage of this one is good stuff, bound to be interesting to almost any audience, and the picture is an exceptionally good offering of its type. "No Hope For The Drys"— Chester— Educational Type of production 1 reel scenic and fish study The first half of this Chester "Screenic" is devoted to a study of various sea fish. The Sea Hare, Anemone, Sea Urchin, and others are shown at close range, and some of them prove interesting specimens. A community of sea gulls is photographed, showing the mother birds and young. A flock of pelicans offers several comical glimpses of the solemn faced birds. The last half of the reel, and by far the best part, is made up of some really beautiful shots of the Canadian Rockies. Most of the scenes are on the shores of Lake Louise, and the cameraman has chosen some admirable locations to shoot from. The beauties of that country are brought out better in this short bit of film, than in the average scenic. This part has been titled, "Silver Silences," and in addition •> the above, some very clear shots of the Victoria Glacier, bringing out the hugeness of the ice formations are presented. This part of the reel makes it an attractive offering, and the balance is interesting enough to carry it over as a good filler.