The Film Daily (1921)

Short Reels "Sneakers" — Christie — Educational Type of production 2 reel comedy This is an average comedy production which holds the interest quite well, but presents little that is very new or very funny. A great many extras are used in the gambling house raid, which appears in the end of the first reel. The raid scenes are very effective and well done. The story is simple. Hubby receives a telephone call from the boys and tries to tell his wife that he must "sit up with Bill." His wife, however, keeps a card index and reminds hubby that according to his report a week ago Bill had died. Then she receives a 'phone call from some of her friends inviting her to visit a notorious gambling house and she steals out of the house. He too gets out, and they are both present when the house is raided but escape. After a good deal of difficulty they escape from the cops and steal back home, each believing that the other has remained in the house all night. In the end they discover that they have neglected the baby whom they fortunately find asleep with the dog. The action in this comedy is quite brisk and the interest well held throughout. The production as a whole is not much above the Christie average and certainly not up to his best. "The Skylark"— Universal Type of production 1 reel comedy This is an out-of-jail-and-run comedy. It presents nothing that is very new or original and the laughs are few and far between. The comedy is built on very old fashioned lines and runs through without a single surprise. The jail bird escapes at the very start of this reel, and the remainder of the footage is used up with the usual chase. Some trick photography is used and two or three street shots well registered. In the end an aeroplane chase is planted and the jail bird drops out and lands back into jail. A great many more laughs would have been obtained if the audience were not let into the secret of what the surprise is going to be. In almost every climax the trick leaks out, and the thunder is lost before it gets the chance to develop. "A Handy Husband" — Gayety-Educational Type of production 1 reel comedy "A Handy Husband" is a single reel farce in which most of the fun is obtained from a pair of detachable mustaches. The story has been done so many times before that it is difficult to get a genuine laugh out of it. The young people run away from papa and are married in secret. Her brother arrives in town and the husband becomes very jealous, not knowing the relationship that exists between this man and his wife. The young husband then poses as the new butler using a pair of black mustaches to disguise his real identity. Sometimes the mustache is used for side whiskers and sometimes they become bushy eye brows. Each member of the household sees the butler looking differently until in the end the discovery is made. Henry Murdock, Teddy Samson and Thornton Edwards are featured in this single reel comedy. There are a few good exteriors in this reel, but the interiors, in which most of the action runs, are quite poorly put together. "The Rim of the Desert"— Universal Type of production 2 reel western For a western there is very little action in this one. The story too is not very convincing. Two young men are in with the same girl, and in order to test their love, she ■-ays that she would marry the one who would first bring her a flower from the well in the center of the desert. Now such a test as this could prove a man's endurance or a man's willingness but hardly his love. It will be hard for any audience •.allow this pill. The two men start their ride across the desert for the flower, and during one night the bad man empties the other fellow's canteen. The remainder of the story deals with the struggles of the hero in the desert. He looses his horse in a very realistic sand storm and chews up the earth as he lies dying of thirst. He is rescued by some ranchers and returns just as the bad man is about to claim the girl. Justice is then handed around — the hero gets the girl and the bad man receives a funeral. The director of this western certainly did not waste very much time with its production. Perhaps it could not have been helped very much anyway. The story is certainly not worthy of a better production. ''Man vs. Woman" — Christie — Educational Type of production •. 2 reel comedy This is an average Christie comedy of the slap stick variety. It moves along quite rapidly and presents the usual amount of laughs. Although this comedy is not below the average Christie production, it is certainly not up to Christie's best. The comedy is based on the cave-man theme. Jimmie, the hero, finds that his girl pays him little attention, and he proceeds to follow a tip and "treat 'em rough." Real cave-man stuff follows and the girl is won. But during the wedding the groom is kidnapped and forced to put on a convict's uniform. All is well until he meets a real gang of prisoners working on the road. The complications that follow may easily be imagined. The regulation kiss is saved for the last foot of film and all is well as it should be. The locations and photography of this are both good and it is sure to please, in a quiet way, your average audience. There are enough laughs to carry it over. "Movie Chats"— No. 49— Kineto Type of production 1 reel magazine This opens with views of a new method of picking cranberries. No longer are they gathered one by one in a long tedious process, but are combed from the ground with a device that rakes and gathers the berries. The camera then goes back several years to record an event of history. The crowd in front of the opera house in Paris on Armistice day is shown dragging the trophies of war about the streets. The scientific section of this reel deals with the raising of turtles for the market, and the gathering of sap from maple trees in Vermont. A fly catching plant is shown in operation. The leaves are clamshaped and are provided with interlocking thistles; the halves remain open and are lined with a sweet liquid to attract the fly. As soon as the fly enters he is certain to touch one or more of the three sensitive nerves and quick as a flash the halves close up tight as a clam. The body of the fly is absorbed in a remarkable digestive system possessed by the plant. This wonder of nature is certain to please and amuse any audience. Several oriental views are sandwiched into this magazine to round out the balance. Port Said, the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal, is shown, and camel transportation in E also appears in this. "The Fox"— Pathe Type of production 1 reel adventure scenic Bob and Bill appear in this red-blood out door scenic, and demonstrate to the city folks how a trap for a fox is set. The trap is planted in a hole filled with chaff, and to make sure that it springs fully it is wrapped in wax paper which protects the trap from the chaff and is easily broken through by the foot of the unlucky animal.. Before the trap catches its prey Bill and Bob decide to get as close to nature as they can; accordingly they discard their clothes and jump in for a swim. But the old farmer gives chase and in the end the dog recovers the clothes for the boys. Then they revisit the trap and find that it holds a grey fox. After a while they decide to give the beast its liberty and the frightened creature dashes off the screen. There are some very good locations caught in this adventure scenic and some nice photography, and what is more important, it is clean and amusing.