The Film Daily (1918)

Wednesday, November 13, 1918 DAILY Artistic Photography and Atmosphere Help Human Characterizations In Classic W. A. Brady's Production of "LITTLE WOMEN" Brady Special DIRECTOR Harley Knoles AUTHOR Louise Olcott SCENARIO BY Anne Maxwell CAMERAMAN Rene Guissart AS A WHOLE Very artistic photography and pleasing, human characterizations make sim= pie, quiet classic good entertainment. STORY Quite lacking in what is generally termed dramatic incident, but has undoubted appeal as character study, and reputation as classic will make it impressive. DIRECTION Centered all attention on characters and kept tempo and atmosphere in harmony, but occasionally permitted interest to lag a bit. PHOTOGRAPHY Exceptionally artistic, particularly some exteriors. LIGHTINGS Generally excellent, some exception= ally artistic. CAMERA WORK Generally splendid; exterior composition very fine, but same angle used too frequently in many interiors. PLAYERS Girls quite pleasing, but men failed to register particularly pleasing personalities. EXTERIORS Excellent composition and lighting made them distinctive. INTERIORS Very good, although same angle in some sets became a trifle monotonous. DETAIL Many splendid touches CHARACTER OF STORY A study of New Eng= land home life of 50 years ago. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 5,500 ft. THIS latest W. A. Brady Production is exactly the opposite of his recent melodramatic offering, "Stolen Orders." Going entirely away from the action plot, we find here a quiet, human study of New England home life, with very little incident and much characterization development. By truly artistic photography, careful handling of characterizations, and a nice, even tempo, this famous classic lias been transferred to the screen with considerable of the atmosphere which will be particularly appreciated by the hundreds of thousands who have read the book. For the film fan who knows nothing about "Little Women," or the fact that it is a classic, the offering may seem quite slow and uninteresting at times, because it does lag in places, but I feel that even the fan who loves melodrama will appreciate the score or more human moments which are deftly registered in this offering. Rene Guissart, who is responsible for the photography in this, is certainly to be complimented most sincerely. The composition in many of the exteriors makes what would otherwise be ordinary shots, so artistic as to be almost like paintings, and with this work following the delightful photography registered by Mr. Guissart in the making of part of the Tourneur production, "Woman," this artist has surely established himself as one of our very best motion photographers. The entire cast wras quite satisfactory as to type except that the three young men, Henry Hull, Conrad Nagel and Lynn Hammond were not particularly appealing or attractive personalities. Of the three men, Nagel was decidedly the more pleasing, with Hull handicapped by an appearance that failed to win sympathy. Of the four sisters who were all "Little Women" Dorothy Bernard as Jo, had the more prominent part, and she registered very well indeed. Kate Lester as the mother was perfectly cast, and decidedly sympathetic. The remainder of the cast was quite satisfactory. Seldom have we had presented on the screen a story which offered less in the wray of actual dramatic incident. If this film is a success, and it probably will be, it will prove conclusively that the day of melodrama is very rapidly giving way to the day of characterization. Of course, the fact that this offering will travel more or less on the reputation of the book, with this reputation impressing many to the extent that they will not feel free to criticize, does not make this offering a true test. In other words, many people may think this tiresome if they do not know that it is the picturization of a classic. I believe that there were spots where the action was slower than necessary with the continuity construction frequently registering many flashes which did not help either in registering characterization or in maintaining the interest in the action. Since "Little Women." as a picture, was really a character study, however, no one can fairly criticize the visualization here presented on the screen because of a lack of action incident. Certainly the production, generally speaking, is an artistic one, and is remarkably well handled in visualizing the atmosphere of fifty years ago, in New England. Reach Especially For Those Who Know Book. They Will Like It The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Certainly this is an artistic human, very much worth while production, because of . the tremendous vogue of the book, it should get you a lot of money if you advertise it properly. It is absolutely" essential, however, in considering the presentation of this offering, to appeal to that part of your public which will understand and enjoy what you are giving them. You should he able to bring in hundreds of folks who have either never been in your theatre, or have been there very seldom, because those who know "Little Women" just as a book, have not been for the most part, the regular attendance at the film theatres. Yon can safely promise thai this is exceptionally artistic and that the atmosphere of the book has been very carefully maintained with the lovable characters brought to life in a manner which will be thoroughly appreciated by all who have felt for years as if Meg, Jo, and the other characters in the famous book were their friends. You can. of course, get the co-operation of your book stores, on your booking of this film, and I would suggest that you go to your public library and try to find out how many times "Little Women" has, been read, and possibly work up a revival of interest by telling how many copies the library has, and suggest that everyone read it before seeing the film. This is one of the few stories that will be thoroughly enjoyed if the book has been read, because it does not depend upon action, but rather upon the lovable characters of the various folks who wei*e brought into the story. It might be well to refer to the fact that this story has been successful as a play, having been shown recently in New York at Mr. Brady's Playhouse. I would not lay much stress upon the players but Dorothy Bernard is fairly well known and her work as Jo is good enough to justify your speaking of her appearing in that character.