The Film Daily (1919)

In the Courts harges of deception and false Station are made by the ^Russian Film Ccrp., and ErMattsson in their answer to a by Wil iam C. Thompson, prest of the Royal Cinema Corp., ecover a balance of $4,000 due on sale by tne plaintiff of the him, ►thers of Liberty,' in which the ndants ask that the compiamt De lissed. and that they have juugt for the $1 000 paid and tor $050 ;nses in having copies of the film e, he answer alleges that the plainrepresented that "Mothers of »rty" had been copyrighted, and plaintiff conveyed to f e defenct1 the sole distributing rights of world with the exception of the ted States. Canada, the Phihp:s and China. The defendants tl'at during the Fall of 1014 the Photo Film Co.. produced the its, "Ordeal" which was regred and shown throughout the Id. except in Germany, Austria, garia and Turkey. he defendants say that prior to ■ the Life company ceased to t and surrendered its stock to nard Lowenthal who had been president and he purported to "Ordeal" without the copyright Beck & Weiss. Beck & We:ss 1 conveyed the fiiro to George M. rick, and ve disposed of it to trie ?1 Cinema Corp.. of which the ntiff was president and the fi'm then produced as a supposedly picti're. "Mothers of Lilertv,* :h is practically the same as the irrighted picture, but no notice he fact was given to the public it is claimed the plaintiff atpted to deceive the public and motion picture trade into be!ng t,-e picture was a new one. He defe dants say tue plaintiff Sr acquired the copyright to the sold tLe defendant, and for the ion that tlie "Ordeal*' had been wn throughout the world the delant« were unable to dispose ot distrib/'ing rights. They aho t'-at tie United States Trade imission has brought proceed: against the Royal Cinema Corp. unfair trade practices in produca picture almost like the orig"Ord<-n''' and selling it as a new ure. Iipreme Court Justice Pendleton directed Max Ehrenreich to file sw complaint in a suit against the Film Corporation to recover $20,damages for causing the plaintiff's st and trial on a charge of stealthe film "Cleopatra" from the Fox It room, where the plaintiff was Joyed. He was acquitted of the •ge. Ehrenreich sued both for his |st saying that although he was icent the defendant by making de|»tory statements concerning .his [SSty caused him to be discharged other film companies whp emjed h'm, and that he managed to in his place with the Universal pse his immediate superior knew isfcjA DAILY Monday, January 20, 1919 Farce Too Mechanical to Register First Class Entertainment T~hn Barrvmore in "HERE COMES THE BRIDE" Paramount. DIRECTOR Jchn S. Roberts-n. AUTHORS Max Marcin and Roy Atwell. SCE^AT;HO BY Chides E Wh tr-ker. CAMERAMAN Not credited. AS A WHOLE Mild farce which registers a fsw laughs, but not enough to carry five reels. STORY Adaptation of stage play; without dialogue much ct the humor is missed. DIRECTION Tempo a trifle slow for farcical situations; star given plenty or opportunity to "act". PHOTOGRAPHY Generally clear; nothing difficult attempted. LIGHTINGS Some of the interiors appear dulL CAMERAWORK Satisfactory. STAR Fac'al expression good; works hard to put comedy across. SUPPORT Fairs Binney mak-s passable sliero; nt^prs do what roles require. EXTERIORS Don't figure much. INTERIORS .... Conventional sets answer the purpose. DETAIL Occasional laughs, usually due to Bar rvr^ore's hu^^rcius bits of business CHARACTER OF STORY ...... Keeps clear of any th'ng effen'ive. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION ...About 4,800 feet The mechanics of t' is farce are too apparent, li :s so intentionally funny in the develonment of complications that you can't quite forget that the author >nd player's have worked very conscientiously to get laughs, and as a result you don't enter freely into the ■nood of t^e comedv. Save in a few instances, the whole affair seems forced and it hasn't speed enough *o c?rry you along by the sheer momentum of rapid tction. Robbed of the dialogue, which had considerable to do with giving snap to the stage play, this becomes iust a passable offering, depending largely upon the f^ersonplity of John Parrymore, whose comedy method is distinctive enough to give vah-e to scenes that otherwise wouldn't register anything in particular. There is no fault to be found in the farcical situations merely because they arc inherently improbable; but in order to be:ome genuinely entertaining they must be given a degree of lifelike ness through interest aroused in tl e embarrassment of the characters. The characterization in this is '■atl er negative, except in the case of Mr. Barrymore, who registers perplexity and dismay with considerable effectiveness. Playing a poor lawyer in love with the daughter of a millionaire merchant, he encounters an unusual opportunity to acquire $100,000, thereby overcoming the opposit on of t' e g'rl's father, who will not listen to the match until Jo''n has made good. Through a peculiar will, involving the inheritance of a fortune, it is necessary for a woman, just arrived from South America, to prove that her dvorced husband, Frederick Tile, has remarried. Her lawyer hits upon the happy idea of finding a man in New York by the name of Tile and marrying him to someone, making it appear that the groom is the former husband ot the South American heiress. If he can do this the forture is safe. Tile happens to be the name of the lawyer played by Barrymore and he is offered $100 00 if re wdl jro through a formal ceremony with some person secured by the lawyer, it being understood that a divorce proceedings shall be started immediately. Barrymore marries a veiled woman, not knowing that his sweeheart. Faire Binney has left home intending to become his wife. desn:te fam'lv opposition. They get sorre humor out of John's efforts to explain to the girl why he cannot marry her immediately and add to the complications when Faire's father, discovering a marrirge licence announces in the newspapers that the wedd ng has taken place. Meanwhile Barrymore's legal wife, a frightful looking creature, completes the house party by appearing with a demand for more money in payment for her part in the bargain. At a convenient moment her former hus1 and, just released from Sing Sing, puts in an appearance and mat'ers are slraightenea out with the understanding that the young people shall be marriea as soon as tie law permits. In the cast are Frank Losee, Frances Kaye, Alfred Hickman, William David and others. Make Your Main Bid For Patronage on Fame of Play and Star Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. As a real laugh getter this doesn't look like much to me, but it should be possible to slide it through without causing adverse comment. Don't ask folks to take your word for it being a winner; just advertise what you have and let them judge for themselves. Make a special play on this being a screen version of "Here Comes the Bride," the famous farce by Max Marcin and Roy Atwell, presented in New York in 1917. Even if your fans don't quite place the title it will be apt to recall something that tliey have read about and heard praised. An equally strong advertising appeal may be made out of the presence of John Barrymore, whose nariie ^as come to be connected with screen farces of a high character, such as "The Dictator", "The Man From Mexico" and "On the Quiet". *11 of which should be referred to in your bid for fair patronage. Then go after the theatrical e'ement, to which the name of Baiymore signifies a good deal, by using some reference to the star's stage fame, calling attention to his great artistic and popular successes in Tolstoi's "Redemption" which has' been running all season in New York. Catchlines: "Would you marry a veiled woman for $100,000 if you were promised a divorce in ortfer ttiat you might wed the girl you loved? John Barrymore tried it in 'Here Comes the Bride' and got into a peck of trouble." Another might read: "When the bride came, she found another in her place. See how John Barrymore weds for money that he may re-wed for love, in 'Here Comes the Bride'." he was honest. The new complaint filed as a result of the court order is based solely on his arrest. QUOTATIONS Famous Players — Bid Asked Sal. Lasky 33 38 3: World H V* Triangle % V2 Bi'lie Burke, with baby Patricia, is sojourning at Palm Beach. Commodore J. S'uart B'ackton recently used a Brooklyn cathedral to stage a big scene in "A House Divided." "The Echo of Youth," Graphic, will have a private showing, for trade and press, on the New York Roof at 2.30 P. M., Jan. 28th. Self-reliance is all right, but independence is out of the question. No man gets along in life without the cooperation and support of other men.