The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, November 17, 1918 DAIILV 27 Very Forceful Visualization of International Tragedy Will Impress Julia Arthur in "THE WOMAN THE GERMANS SHOT" Plunkett & Carroll Special DIRECTOR John 0. Adolfi AUTHOR Anthony Paul Kelly SCENARIO BY Anthony Paul Kelly CAMERAMAN M. Snyder AS A WHOLE Has exceptional patriotic appeal strength and is satisfactory technically. STORY Blends sufficient fiction with facts in in= ternational case to hold interest very nicely. DIRECTION Atmosphere generally rather con= vincing and held as drama through most of sequences. PHOTOGRAPHY Generally very good, but varied in spots from very fine to ordinary. LIGHTINGS A few exceptionally good, generally satisfactory. CAMERA WORK Varied from good to fair STAR Exceptionally well fitted for part and made many scenes very impressive by her presence. SUPPORT Quite satisfactory, except too much mustache=pulling by Germans. EXTERIORS Blended nicely for atmosphere ef= feet; some very well chosen. INTERIORS Some very good; generally satisfac= tory. DETAIL Many incidents particularly well handled for proper propaganda effect. CHARACTER OF STORY Should have excep= tional influence at this time in hardening those who are calling: for negotiated peace. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 6,ioo ft. THIS production is not the best offering of recent months so far as technical treatment is concerned, but so far as the general public goes, it is more than satisfactory in its handling of a subject which is particularly timely. Right at this moment when peace is being talked about, and you can depend on it, whether the Germans surrender immediately or not until next spring, it is a safe bet that peace will be talked about as to the details of the agreement, for some months after the Germans surrender, this film is particularly timely. This story, which visualizes the facts concerning the story of Nurse Cavell. as presented by the report of Brandt Whitlock. U. S. Minister to Belgium, will do more to stir mi Americans to the realization of just what happened in Belgium than any fifty or hundred sermons or editorials on the same subject. It is one thing to read about wounded soldiers being mistreated and German officers running wild among the women of an innocent country, and still another to see these facts pictured in such a manner that the visualization remains with you. Little touches like the bit where a German soldier threw a cigarette where a wounded English soldier might reach it and then jammed a bayonet through the boy's hand, will be remembered long after columns of printed type have been read and forgotten. There is a touch of fiction added to th » historical facts in presenting the screen version, but it must be said that this was done both intelligently and sympathetically so that at no time did the visualized story jar particular because of a noticeable variance from the facts as generally known. Julia Arthur gave dignity to the character of Nurse Cavell and it is really quite fortunate that Miss Arthur has been presented in such a character rather than to make the mistake of so many of our prominent stage folks who have attempted to do ingenue parts after their day. The remainder of the cast was quite satisfactory so far as most of the principals were concerned, but towards the end of the offering, the continual mustache caressing upon the part of the various Germans became a bit tiresome and somewhat funny. It seemed that each of the players doing the German officer part felt that it was quite necessary for him to stroke his mustache, several times during each scene. While the plot carries through the idea that Nurse Cavell was helping English prisoners purely because they were kept in such filthy surroundings, it would certainly have been much better had it been made more clear that her offense was not punishable by death even under the German military law. This was stated in a title, but the statement was hardly specific enough and many may be under the impression that her offense was much more serious than it really was. There was considerable dramatic value to the action due principally to the introduction of some melodrama right up to the moment when the shero was arrested. From the arrest up till the time when the American officials demanded her release, the interest lessens somewhat, but from that time on to the finish, it held nicely, with the finish where a great army of marching soldiers faded in over the death before a firing squad, was truly effective. Creighton Hale as the young man, son of an old friend of Miss Cavell's, who was aided by her to escape from the German prison; put over his melodramatic scenes quite effectively. Others in the cast were Aimee Dennv, George Le Guere, J. W. Johnston. Paul Panzer, William H. Tooker. Sara Alexander and George Majeroni. A Chance to Stir Your Community. Boost it Right and Do S. R. O. The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor This should be a great, big clean-up right now because everywhere the attention of the American public is being centered upon the atrocities committed by the Germans and the wrongful acts of past years which are now to be weighed in the balance in conferences having to do with a possible peace. I would not promise that this is a perfect production or anything of that sort, because very frequently the dramatic moments are not handled as perfectly as they might have been, but certainly this is a timely subject and the interest is held throughout, with the technical treatment good enough that none of your fans will ever think of complaining. What I want to suggest is that it is unnecessary to compare this to "Hearts of the World" or make other statements about it being the greatest film of the year, etc., because those exaggerated claims are discounted and they only cause unnecessary and possibly disadvantageous comparisons. Concentrate upon the idea that this is a visualization of the real story of the martyrdom of an English nurse whose death was to a great extent responsible for a wonderful impetus in the recruiting of the great English army. In your advertising, play up the fact that the death of "The Woman the Germans Shot" raised an army over night in England. Play up the lines: "'Do you know the facts about Nurse Cavell?' Do you know the truth about what the Germans did in Belgium? You will be able to talk peace more intelligently after you have seen the story of 'The Woman the Germans Shot.' " The name of Julia Arthur, if properly advertised, should be worth considerable at the box office, but I feel that you will have to make it clear that this is the very well-known star of theatricals, because she has not been particularly prominent in recent years outside of New York City, and many of your regulars may have forgotten her or may fail to connect the name with the well-known theatrical star unless you make it very clear who she is.