The Film Daily (1918)

Tuesday, September 24, 1918 DAILY Has Been Well Done But Is Too Heavy For Present-Day Consumptiorf Emily Stevens in "KILDARE OF STORM" Metro MANAGER OF PRODUCTION Maxwell Karger DIRECTOR Harry L. Franklin AUTHOR Eleanor Mercein Kelly SCENARIO BY Jere Looney and June Mathis CAMERAMAN Arthur Martinelli AS A WHOLE Forceful treatment of heavy do= mestic meller not a pleasant theme but has been well done. STORY v . Triangle idea with Hero serving time for murder of Shero's husband; is cleared by confession at finish. DIRECTION Held interest and made dramatic moments convince with intelligent treatment to individual incidents. PHOTOGRAPHY .....*. Decidedly classy and distinctive all the way. LIGHTINGS Artistic; some exceptional bits CAMERA WORK, t . . . Very good. Excellent composi= tion and angles. STAR. . . .Played convincingly but has taken on weight and is losing her beauty. SUPPORT King Baggot effective willun ; Crauford Kent very good; entire cast balanced nicely. EXTERIORS .Very fine; many beautiful shots INTERIORS. . .Convincing and in good taste throughout DETAIL Very good CHARACTER OF STORY Questionable for present= dav consumption but hardly objectionable. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 4,900 feet WHILE many exhibitors, most of them in fact, will argue — and rightly — that this type of story isn't what present-day audiences want, I want to give Metro credit for having given us a mighty goood production. The photography, lightings, direction and general treatment all through this are of the highest order but the wife-beating incidents and other depressing spots all through the story make it a questionable bet from an audience standpoint, to my way of thinking. They'll probably accept it, but very few will be glad they saw it. This starts off with the marriage of Miss Stevens to King Baggot, whom she has never loved, the marriage being one for money and social position engineered by Shero's mother. Willun King Baggot had already been married to a mulatto, unknown to anyone, and maintains her silence by the threat that her child will be killed if she tells anything. A sweet thought. After willun has established himself as a thorough brute by a serious of atrocious incidents we have the wife leaving the house at night and going to the home of Crauford Kent, a former friend of willun's. Realizing that he cannot help her so long as she is the lawful wife of King, a thought impressed upon him by his aged mother, he bids her return. The next morning willun learns Shero and Kent have met the night before and threatens to kill him. They meet on the road and in a struggle. King is killed, the mulatto being a witness to the tragedy. Kent is sentenced for life but is pardoned at the end of Ave years through the efforts of Shero. He purposely avoids her upon leaving the prison and several years later we find him at a sanatarium where he has donated his professional services. Through a convenient coincidence, the mulatto, heart-broken, finds her way to the place and realizing that she is about to die, sends for Shero. Upon Shero's arrival, the mulatto confesses to the murder, a vision explaining how she had really killed willun after Kent had left him for dead after their struggle. Shero meets Kent outside of the sanatarium and all ends happily. The vision explaining the killing was effectively handled by showing the shadows on the road of the mulatto beating willun, after which willun's body falls into the picture. Not pleasant to be sure nor are any of the wife-beating and atrocious incidents that precede it. but they have been well handled from a technical viewpoint. The point to be regretted is the fact that such technique and artistry were wasted on a story that is so undesirable, especially now. Too bad, also, that they had to bring King Baggot back to the screen after a long absence and hand him a brutal role like we get in this. Others in the cast were Florence Short, Helen Lindroth and Maggie Breyer. They'll Probably Accept It But It's Heavy and Depressing The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor It's too bad that producers insist on wasting the efforts of capable directors and players on a subject that hasn't a semblance of audience appeal, even in script form. Because this has been well handled throughout and given an artistic production it will probably get by but you can't make me believe that present-day audiences want it. From a production standpoint, no one will be able to find fault with this but the grim theme of the story itself, accentuated by the realistic detail brought out by the director, certainly isn't going to build for future business for the producer or star. If the producers have planned the production of this on a "make 'em like it whether they -want-it-or not" basis, I am confident that a few more along the same lines will convince them that they are wrong — and it will be a costly experience. If they conscientiously believe that the public wants this kind of material, then it's up to you fellows .to set them right by a series of intelligent letters direct to the big men in the organization. If you play this, the best thing for you to do is to get all the business you can on the strength of the star and support, emphasizing the artistic production and taking your chances on the after effect upon your audiences as a result of the depressing theme. The "Kildare of Storm" title won't mean anything to your audiences as it fails to suggest the nature of the story or create a desire to find out. It's "just a title" and merely serves to distinguish this attraction from the ones you have played.