The Film Daily (1921)

Sunday, January 9, 1921 sfe^ DAILY 11 Star And Some Bright Comedy Make This Fairly Good Entertainment Viola Dana in "CINDERELLA'S TWIN" Metro DIRECTOR ..'. Dallas M. Fitzgerald AUTHOR Luther Reed SCENARIO BY Luther Reed CAMERAMAN John Arnold AS A WHOLE Good in spots, not plausable at any time, drags toward end STORY Entertaining comedy in the story of a modernized Cinderella DIRECTION Hasn't made much of the love scenes, and action slows up noticeably toward finish PHOTOGRAPHY All right LIGHTINGS Fair CAMERA WORK Satisfactory STAR Gives pleasing and humorous performance. Looks attractive SUPPORT Principals adequate, some minor roles poor EXTERIORS Only one INTERIORS All right DETAIL Fair CHARACTER OF STORY Crooks play "fairy godmother" to modern Cinderella, in order to rob wealthy family during the ball, and she catches them LENGTH OF PRODUCTION. . . . About 6,000 feet The old story of Cinderella is carried out even to the lost slipper found by the prince, in this up-to-date version of the fairy tale. And the original is scarcely more improbable in some of its happenings than the present tale, no part of which is plausable if it be regarded as anything but a fairy story. There is a fair amount of g-ood comedy running through the piece, but instead of being evenly distributed, it has been bunched, leaving some portions rather flat. The comedy is of the kind that almost any type of audience will enjoy, and there is probably enough of it to put the picture over in most houses. It is well directed for the greater part, but the scenes between the star and the hero are not well clone. They are devoid of romance and most of them are insipid. Viola Dana is well cast. She takes the part of Connie McGill, a little scullery maid, in the kitchen of the newly rich Valentines. J Laving seen a picture of Prentice Blue, one of the society lights, in a magazine, she calls him her Prince and builds castles in the air with Prentice as the hero. Connie sees Prentice as the guest of the Valentines, who are trying to marry him to their daughter. An accident in the dining room brings her to Blue's attention. Blue, who has nothing but his social standing, is also sought by the wealthy Nathaniel Flint, for his daughter, Helen. Flint advertises extensively that at a gorgeous birthday party he is giving for Helen, there will be half a million dollars worth of jewels on display. The value of the gifts attracts the attention of "Ma" 1 higeen and her band of crooks. False credentials assure the admittance of one member of the party. But upon arriving at the ball, the crooks find that the detective on guard knows them, and when Connie, standing in the crowd, audibly wishes she were going to the party, she soon gets her wish through the aid of the crooks. Attired in borrowed finery, she meets Blue, who falls in love with her. The jewels are stolen just as she leaves the house, and Blue is suspected, because he has in his pocket the slipper Connie has dropped in her flight. The crooks need the slipper which holds the key to their hidden wealth, and Connie, in fear, attempting to get it for them from Blue, captures both the hand and her Prince. Star's Name The Best Bet, And You Can Promise Some Good Comedy Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor The star's name offers probably the best point of exploitation in this, and if Viola Dana is well liked by your patrons you should be able to play this one up successfully Tell them that the star's performance is highly amusing, and let them know that she looks very attractive and charming. It will also be safe to promise a good amount of real comedy and you can link this up with something about the comparison of the little maid and the daughter of the newly rich. Talk about the jewel robbery, and the slick crooks. You can find some good lobby and stunt features in the fact that it is a modern Cinderella story.