The Film Daily (1918)

10 Su-'iav, November 24, 1918 Exceptionally Human Characterizations Helped Decidedly by Great Titles Mitchell Lewis in "SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY" J. Stuart Blackton DIRECTOR J. Stuart Blackton AUTHOR Anthony Paul Kelly SCENARIO BY Anthony Paul Kelly CAMERAMAN George Brautigan AS A WHOLE Very pleasing character study with great titles registering timely thoughts. STORY Simple plot theme, embellished with splendid characterizations which held interest. DIRECTION Gave pleasing atmosphere and held attention by general use of closeups and me= dium shots. PHOTOGRAPHY Not particularly artistic but quite satisfactory. LIGHTINGS A few good effects, generally quite acceptable. CAMERA WORK Not particularly distinctive, but frequently effective. STAR Very pleasing human characterization SUPPORT Little pal a continuous laugh; others very good types. EXTERIORS Registered satisfactorily for atmos= phere. INTERIORS Not exceptional but were subordi= nated to characterization. DETAIL Several very pleasing little touches CHARACTER OF STORY Has sure=fire audience ap= peal. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION About 5,500 feet THE gink who has a notion that titles are unnecessary in a film production, should slip his glimmers over this latest offering of Commodore Blackton's. Time after time we have very short flashes of action and some times only, closeups cut in between comparatively long titles, and those titles not only put the action over with a bang, but register scores of laughs that are spontaneous. The underlying thought of this, centers around General Crowder's "work or fight" order, and most of the action was given over to a presentation of two distinctive types, the bum who had never worked a day in his life, who was "happy as hell" as he put it, and the wealthy idler, son of a millionaire ship-builder, who fel that he had a right to lie in bed mornings and spend hi dad's money because he had been born to it. Of course, they eventually round up both the bums and the idlers, and the work in the shipyards made mei of them. Oddly enough, the love interest was rather secondai throughout the story, and it will hardly be missed because there is so much pleasing comedy and so many incidents registering the development of character. Mitchell Lewis was presented as a big husky bum, and his philosophy of life was registered in the vernacular in such a manner as to guarantee it being sure-fire with any audience. One of the best scenes in the film is that in which lie has a talk with the little stenographer who had married the wealthy idler, and had then left him only to find life so hard that she was ready to kill herself. Gus Alexander, who stands about four feet, was Lewis' pal, and a funny little bum he was. He was played for comedy from start to finish and won his audience, and held them as solidly as any character I have seen on the screen in a good while. A lot of his stuff was hokum but it was helped by very good titles and if certainly registered without a slip. Ruby de Remer as the ste^o^rapher-bride was pretty and appealing, and handled her scenes in a very pleasing manner. Helen Ferguson as the idler sister, made this bit stand out by her enthusiasm and sincerity. Eugene Strong did very well as the wealthy id'er and, in fact, the entire cast was very well chosen for types, and they carried every incident through quite satisfactorily. After the principals had been put to work in the shipyard, they slipped in a little melodrama with the I. W. W.'s trying to blow up the place, and our comedy bum discovering the infernal machine. He walked around with it for a while and then planted it on a fable in 1 front of Mitch Lewis, with the title. "What the hell is this, anyway?" While the atmosphere is quite satisfactory, this is not an artistic production but rather an essentially human, timely study in characterization. T believe that it will register a genuine success anywhere. Others in the cast were Ida Darling. John P. Wade. John Goldsworthy, ] John W. Martin, Sidney D'Albrook and Bernard Randall. This Should Get Money and Please Them. Go After It Hard. The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor It seems to me that this is a sure-fire bet anywhere, because you can guarantee to your fans that they are going to enjoy it. Emphasize the fact that this is not a war story but is a human character study of conditions in this country, caused by war, with plenty of comedy. Make it clear to your fans that this is a character study rather than a preachment, and you might use such lilies as: "Have you ever realized that work makes men of idlers, be they rich or poor?" Commodore Blackton has had one or two special produstions that have been very successful at the box office. but I can tell you without reserve, that this is by far the best film he has ever produced. You may rest assured that your fans will like it. Since a great amount of the success of this offering is due to the theme and the splendid titles, I would ad vise that you play up quite strongly the fact that Anthony Paul Kelly is the author of this production. Most of your fans have heard of "Three Faces East." which is the bipirest success in New York this year, and it will be interesting to them to know that "Three Faces East" was written by Anthony Kelly who has, up until this year, been devoting his attention entirely to the screen. Mitchell Lewis will be remembered by all your fans for his work in "The Barrier." "The Sign Invisible,""The Bar Sinister,' 'and other special films, and I would particularly refer to him as the lovable Poleon of "The Barrier." You will find that Lewis is a decided favorite because he has a personality that is remembered and liked. Naturally, it is advisable to cash in on this as soon as possible because of the proximity of peace, but I can see no reason why this will not be a real success even after peace is declared, if you will advertise it intelligently.