The Film Daily (1918)

12 DAILY Sunday, September 29, 1918 Stars Cannot Overcome Footage. Dodge It Unless Cut The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Edwin Arden, Julia Dean, Claire Whitney and Earl Schenck in "RULING PASSIONS" Schomer Photoplay Prod. Co., hie — State Rights Despite the terrible slowness of this, and the fact that it never gets anywhere in particular, it is built on elemental, established human incidents that may hold the interest of a non-critical audience if they don't go to sleep, because of the excess footage. It is really a pity that this should be offered in the present footage, because if ever a production needed cutting, this is it. As you all know, a five-thousand foot subject is better commercially than an eight thousand-foot subject, so there seems no sane reason why this should not be trimmed. Since this will undoubtedly be offered as an independent release, it would seem to me that it would be de cidedly advisable to side-step it entirely, unless it is trimmed. Your folks who know will all become tired and there will be very few who will know exactly why they are bored. When this was screened for a private showing, it ran only a minute or two under two hours. I don't have to preach to you about how good a film must be to hold for two hours. The title really suggests a strong dramatic subject, whereas the story itself is rather noticeably lacking in real dramatic clashes. This makes your advertising difficult because you cannot promise powerful dramatic situations, and even the title suggests these, which places yon in a position of indirectly misrepresenting it. Cut to five reels, this would move quite satisfactorily, be rather interesting and please generally. In its present form I consider it very, very sad. TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS of the first JOHN ANITA EMERSON L 00S ii Production for Paramount Come On In" starring Shirley Mason and Ernest Truex What some of the critics said: Wid's : — " We might have known when John Emerson nnil Anita Loos started out on their own that they'd hand us something with lots of pep and plenty of laugh's. They have." Moving Picture World:— "One of themost novel and refreshing releases of the year. A satire as clean and cutting as a razor blade." Exhibitors' Trade Review: — "'Come On In!' strikes an entirely new note in war films. It provides much bubbling fun, and is full of adventure and excitement, pep and appeal, and through every reel the patriotic note is finely trumpeted." Moving Picture News:— "The first half of this piciure will make your sides ache from laughing. The other half will make you sit on the edge of your seat from excitement and thrill." New York Telegraph :— "To those who follow the films the names of John Emerson and Anita Loos were a sufficient guarantee that the feature would be novel and gen uinely humorous. And it more than realizes all expectations." S. Jay Kaufman in The Globe: — "When brains and experience combine the result is certain to be better pictures. 'Come On In!' came to the Strand yesterday. You will see it. EmersonLoos, welcome! Ernest Truex is the intellectual Chaplin. He's a delight." Evening Mail: — "'Come On In!' is mostly all fun, plus a great dose of patriotic thrill. Mr. Emerson and Miss Loos prove that with Paramount facilities they can turn out a mighty entertaining product, and One which again serves to prove the power of the motion picture in stimulating the right sort of spirit among the people for carrying on the war to a victorious conclusion." New York Tribune: — "The picture is what one man we know calls a 'community picture.' He says that means a picture that gets the people laughing together." New York Globe: — "'Come On In!' is by far the best photo play that has been written about this' long suffering theme (German spy film) and in many ways the best play about anything at all that has appeared on the screen for some time."