The Film Daily (1918)

Sunday, November 24, 1918 ttfcjft DAILY Western Crook Play Registers Convincingly Because It's Human Harry Carey in "THREE MOUNTED MEN" Harry Carey Prod. — Universal DIRECTOR Jack Ford AUTHOR Eugene B. Lewis SCENARIO BY Eugene B. Lewis CAMERAMAN B. F. Reynolds AS A WHOLE. . .Human characterizations in interesting western meller has been given careful, convinc= • ing production. STORY Man unknowingly causes apprehension of sweetheart's brother and later aids his escape. DIRECTION. .. .Developed characterizations and indi= vidual touches in a way that made this register as human and real all the way. Provided very good atmosphere. PHOTOGRAPHY Very pleasing LIGHTINGS Very fine; many effective bits CAMERA WORK Intelligent STAR Acts natural and made characterization human and convincing. SUPPORT. . .Miss Gerber very pleasing; others balanced nicely but Carter frequently over=reached. EXTERIORS Provided good atmosphere INTERIORS Generally very well handled DETAIL Many effective touches CHARACTER OF STORY Nothing to offend LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 5,560 feet I FEEL that most folks are goiiig to figure that this ranks among the best things that Harry Carey has done. The plot is rather elementary but we have a few good twists and the handling and effective characterizations throughout make it register as very interesting and human. It gets away from the routine western as to situations and treatment without losing any of the elements that lovers of the rugged, out-door type of Offering demand. This opened up in a western penitentiary where Har.y Carter, the crooked son of the warden, is appropriating government money with the aid of a former forger who works in the clerienl department. Harry Carey is another convict who is sentenced to solitary confinement because of a battle with the forger. The forger is pardoned and when he continues to blackmail Carter after his release, Carter effects Carey's pardon that he may go out and "get" the forger. After Carey lias found his man, he frames him to take part in a stage hold-up, having previously arranged with the prison deputies to have him caught in the act. After the pinch Carey Learns that the forger is the brother of his sweetheart and we have him pursuing the posse with his two brothers and bringing the forger back to his mother and sister again. We had some very good scenes in the vision which explained Carey's first meeting with Shero Neva Gerber at a country dance and told how he had been arrested and sentenced to the penitentiary after a run-in with his rival for the girl. The get-away of Carey and his brothers the "Three Mounted Men." was very well done. We had many effective bits of handling all through this which registered because they were human and convincing. The scenes where Carey is admitted to daylight again after having been in a dark cell for a long period was very well brought out by showing the effect of the light on his eyes. The planting of the telegram where the forger would get it was exceptionally well handled and gives this a good twist because you didn't know until the framed hold-up, where Carey turns the forger over to the deputies, just what this was done for. Another effective bit of detail was where Carey was allowed to pick out his clothes after his pardon. The convenient meeting of the three brothers after Carey's release was covered nicely with a title that made it seem plausible and it was this effective handling all through the production that made this register as a much better than average offering of its type. The general atmosphei*e and lightings were particularly pleasing. Harry Carter, as the crooked son of the warden, was much too wicious in most of his scenes, but the other roles were all very well handled. Neva Gerber, as the sister of the forger, was pretty and appealing: Ruby Lafayette gave a lovable characterization as her mother, and Joe Harris was satisfactory as the forger. Charles Hill Mailes gave a good characterization as the warden, and the man who played the role of Carey's brother who framed Mailes, was a very good type. LOUISE GLAUM PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION A Cvirrent Release -. "A Law Unto Herself"