The Film Daily (1919)

tMA DAILY Wednesday, January 29, 1919 In the Courts I decision has been handed down justice Platzek of the Supreme It conditionally denying the apKon of the Appollo Amusement for a temporary mjunct.on to train United Picture Theaters of Erica Inc., from using the name We" as tie title of the sx re:' "Je in which Kitty Cordon is r for United. 'he action for a temporary inction came on for argument at Special Term of the Supreme „? before Justice . PlatzeJ u and papers in opposition subm.ttcd the United Picture Theaters of terica, Inc.. emphasized that there no element of deception inled in the case, that the motion ture production "Adele' was a ! production of a digml.eddramai nature, and was in no way nde.l upon the story of the mus1 comedy "Adele." United also tended that it had spent large s of money in giving the widest iritv to the fact of its release an'uary 26 of the motion picture uction "Adele," that it had been Scrupulous in setting forth the that its production was founded £dele Benea-'s hr»->k. "T^e ■se's Story," ard it further inti«d that the attitude assumed by plaintiffs in waiting until the of the release of the deant's picture before it made t^is ication was indicative of bad on its part. ■pre^e Court Justice 'Finch has ed the application by Jacques ol for an iniunetion restraining Maytrix Photo Plays Inc.. from frig further releases of the film, id the Children Pay." The court 1 that t'-e Mavtrix may continue osi"g of the film if it gives a 1 of $15,000 to protect the cla m le plaintiff, who alleges that $7,is now d"e him and unpaid. The t ruled that the contracts in the re mn«t be made with the con Iof Tvrol but t'-e decision w II prevent either side from asking 1 receiver. |§rrol alleges that the defendant jfailed to account for the sums him and also neglected to mn him as to contracts made. He alleged that the foreign rights : d''snosed of for $2 -00 when he sted that they should bring $25,he Maytrix by Samuel B. mer as president, alleged that a accounting has been made to «ol up to January 2 last, and that mv of all contracts has been fured. Kramer said that if Tyrol in his contention that the conts made by Maytrix for the its to the film should be set e the Maytrix will suffer heavy es through claims for breach of xact and will have no recourse nst Tyrol. Selznick Corp. Address. le new Selznick Pictures Corp. ofat Room 1503, SOI Fifth »vc"ne been opened. Randolph Bartlett charge of the office. Griffith Forgets the War and Puis Over a Heart Interest Winner D. W. Griffith presents "A ROMANCE OF HAPPY VALLEY" Art craft DIRECTOR D. W. Griffith. AUTHOR Mary Castleman. CAMERAMAN G. W. Bitter. AS A WHOLE Beautiful production filled with human touches, genuine comedy and irresistible heart appeal. STORY Simple narrative of country folk; natural up to final sequences wh.ch run into some unexpected drama. DIRECTION Characteristic of Griffith in perfection of treatment of situations and dandling of players. PHOTOGRAPHY Flawless LIGHTINGS Superb; artistic effects that suggest the paintings of a land-cape artist. CAMERA WORK On a par with the lightings and photography. PLAYERS Lillian Gish, Robert Harron and George Fawcett give notable performan-es; remainder of cast uo to Griffith standard. EXTERIORS Couldn't be better in carrying the atmosphere of a country town. INTERIORS Always in the tone of the action. DETAIL Shows genius in picking out the trifles that give significance to life. CHARACTER OF STORY Refreshing, sympathetic and w'-ole'ome. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 5 90S feet. The war is over. Griffith has demobilized his soldiers, converted his trenches into corn fields and stacked his guns in an armory. He is back again among simple, oeaceful folk whose problems and struggles are in their own hearts. He is doing1 nrv-e superbly than ever, what he has done so surpassingly .veil in the past. Recall Griffith's early Riographs: then consider the great advance made in photoplay techn-'que since those days, alco the development in the screen impressiveness of such players as Lillian Gish and Bobby Harron: take into account the improvement in the art of the master director, imagine a de luxe vers:on of one of his little masterpieces, and you will have an idea of the type of pict're issued under the title of "A Romance of Happy Valley''. As an accomplishment in photography, beautifully artistic lightings and settings perfectly in harmony with the story, Griffith has done few things better than several reels of this production. But important as these elements are in making the picture interesting, they are not relied upon to compensate for the lack of other qualities. Using a stcry that in itself is not extraordinary Griffith has supplied such a wea'th of significant incident in the characterizations, that instead of being commonplace parts of the film stand out as a masterpiece of stcry telling art through screen impersonation. There have been many scenes in country churches, but don't recall any with an appeal equal to that dealing with the bringing of Bobby Harron into the fold. It has atmosphere galore and is delightfully played by all the characters, particularly Lillian Gish, as the shy heroine, who prays that the Lord may save 1 er swetheprt from "the devil and New York". This sequence marks one of the high spots of the film. In its essentials, up to the concluding reels, the plot merely concerns the romance of a little country girl and a farmer boy who longs for the greater opnorti'iv'tv offered in a big city. His family look with dread upon his leaving, as does the girl, who in her ■ ->e ljiv vnv uses simole a'ts to ma'<e him stay on the Kentucky farm. When Bobby goes it is with the understanding that he will return within a year, and each evenirg the lonesome little Li'lian marks off a day. At t'e end of seven years, with tears in her eyes, she writes herself down an old maid. Men -while Pobhy has been working on a toy frog, with the promise that as scon as he makes it swim he will receive $10,000. The struggles of the would1 e investor are handed in a way that works up quite a bit of suspense a-d when t' e frog actually swims, a real cl'max in the picture has been reached, in fact a more natural climax than that prepared for a melodramatic ending. Di'r'ng his absence Bobhy's father has lost aT his money a'd events are so arranged that the old farmer for'e'ul'y portrayed by George Fawcett. is on the poi-t of robbing his own son, on the night he returns with the $10000 and steals unrccosnized into !the home of his boyhood. The complications in the wind up arc swift and a bit illusive, demand!ng the closest attention on the part of an audience if they are to be corre-tly internreted. At this point, Griffith trusts to suggestion and a quick mental reaction to what transpires on the screen. Whether or not the ending Is artictieally ustifiahle in a production of this stamp is debatable, but there can be no question about the excellent qual'ty of the film in its entrety. The roma-T-e between Fohv and Lillian, of course, has * satisfactory conclusion. Play it up as a Special and You Can't Fail to Get Business Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. Having done about all that there is to do in the way of war dramas, most of your folks probably will be glad to find Griffith following his earlier style. I can't imagine any aud'ence that appreciates what is worth whi'e in photoplays failing to respond to th's, on acount of an artistic beauty and human qual.ty such as seldom are realized. It most certainly is worth running for at least half a week, if not a full week, for you will find that your audiences build up as the quality of the picture becomes generally known. Launch as big an advertising campaign as you can afford and take the angle that this is Griffith's first big production of recent years that has no bearing on the war. It is needless to say that there is no danger of your overplaying the name of the famous producer, in electric lights or through whatever medium you are in the habit of using. Folks have come to associate the players in this cast with the name of Griffith and although no one of them is billed as a star, several of the names have a star's drawing power. Publish the cast in full whenever you can, and in instances where you are limited to a few names, use those of Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, promising that they have never done better work than in this film. George Fawcett should not be ignored and some of your old timers will recall Kate Bruce as an important figure in many of the Griffith productions. If you play this at an increased rental don't bofher much about the rest of the show, because it is strong eno"gh to carry any program. THE WALLOP HERE! PHOSJF PRYAM-r ;u? NOW BOOKING WATCH WID'S FOR RELEASE DATE "THE TIDAL WAVE" SOLD! BEELEY FILM EXCHANGE ROOM f>0\ T>a 7-K AVF. » FW "» Of" CITV