The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, September 15, 1918 DAILY Well Played Mormon Meller. Serial Finish Leaves You Hungry William Farnum in "RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE" Standard — Fox DIRECTOR Frank Lloyd AUTHOR Zane Grey SCENARIO BY Frank Lloyd CAMERAMAN Billy Foster AS A WHOLE Interesting and well=played meller based on Mormon feuds in early Utah history. Serial ending may cause some to holler. STORY Series of exciting incidents leads up Hero and Shero hemmed in gulch and they slip us: "To be continued in our next." DIRECTION Provided very good atmosphere and kept characters human. Made action convinc= ing and developed suspense effectively. PHOTOGRAPHY Generally very good LIGHTINGS Generally pleasing; night stuff very good. CAMERA WORK Very good STAR Gave virile, forceful characterization SUPPORT Excellent types; Miss Adams pretty and Miss Mersh appealing. EXTERIORS Impressive INTERIORS Fitted atmosphere DETAIL A little too much stress on rock incident killed suspense somewhat when they got to it. CHARACTER OF STORY Mormons may resent it; others shouldn't. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 6,470 feet THEY sure pulled an unexpected twist at the finish of this by having Hero and Shero hemmed in a valley after eluding their pursuers, it having previously been established that they couldn't get out, and then giving us a title announcing a sequel. "Coming to this theatre soon, in which it is explained how Lassitor is saved from Sealed Valley." I'll admit that this was interesting enough to make you want to see the rest of it. but I'm wondering how some audiences are going to take to the idea of having a supposedly complete production being slipped to them on the installment plan without being "hepped" in advance. The forward of this tells us that the story is based on American history in the Utah mountains in '51. Bill Farnum is presented as a "vengeance" character who has hunted in vain for years to run down the man who abducted his married sister. For years he has made periodical visits to the Mormon settlement in quest of information regarding his sister, always killing a man on each visit upon failing to be enlightened, which makes the Mormons live in terror of his coming, although their lips are sealed by the church and they dare not give him any information. Hero Bill learns from Shero. Mary Mersh, that his sister had died two years a so. but she refuses to reveal her slayer. In the meantime William Scott, a gentile, comes upon a wounded girl in man's clothes in the mountains and takes her to a secret rendezvous in the valley, where he cares for her, the two falling in love. When Bill meets her through a meeting with Scott later, he recognizes her as his dead sister's daughter, through the remarkable resemblance to her mother. During the interim we had several fights in which the leader of the Mormons attempts to get Bill and whan Scott finally gets a confession from the girl, he kills Bobbins. Bill and Shero escape on horse-back, meeting Scott and the girl in the valley. Bill induces them to take their horses while he and Shero start for the valley for safety as their pursuers are seen approaching in the distance. There is a gun duel in which Bill runs out of ammunition and as a last resort, starts a large rock rolling down on his pursuers, killing them, but hemming he and Shero in the Sealed Valley. Then they give us the "Continued in our next" title. The characterizations and action made this interestins to watch all the way and we had some very good thrills and effective shooting incidents, the scene where Bill's horse is shot from under him being unusually well handled. The atmosphere was impressive and real throughout. Others in the cast were: Charles Clary. Marc Robbins and .Tack Nelson.