The Film Daily (1919)

Hilda v 1W tM^ DAILY Trite Meller Is Poor Vehicle for Prima Donna's Screen Debut Anna Case in "THE HIDDEN TRUTH" Select Special URECTOR Julius Steger. CENARIO BY S. M We'ler. '.MAN William Crowley. iOLE Doesn't come up to "Special" standard in any c,e~artment. TORY Trite meller with no indication of fre h inspiration. HRECTION Permits quite a bit of "acting" and doesn't succeed in making the film seem real. •HOTOGRAPHY Frequently lacks clearness. JGHTINGS For the most part too uniform. IAMERA WORK Ordinary. TAR Good to look at in most poses, but fails to register much as an actress. UPPORT Satisfactory for a "movie" of this type. :XTERIORS Not many. NTERTORS Meet requirements. IETAIL Noth'ng to brag about. IHARACTER OF STORY ...... Censor won't kick. ■ENGTH OF PRODUCTION 5,050 feet This strikes me as being a decidedly commonplace ffering with many draggy sequences and nothing to istify its being touted as a special. The plot theme .-.ted and there is nothing novel in the treat lent to raise it above a low level of mediocrity. If se is going to take picture work seriously she id better hunt around for more likely material. As a screen star, she seems to have possibilities but ley need development. She photographs well, has a leasing smile and the noise of a woman accustomed ring be Tore an audience: but her acting lacks iriety and expression. Her most characteristic pose. d one that is used too frequently in this film, is that I a concert singer standing on a platform with her ;ped Tt should be stated to her credit. owever, that si e <loes not over-act, which is more than can lie sa;d for some of tho e in the supporting cast it is appropriate that Mi^s Case's screen debut should a story having a singer as the central character. !y the plot were less trite and artificial and the scenes less wearisome. There is a good deal thai conies under the head of padding and attempts at 1 n are dangerously close to being maudlin Tie whole atTair is too conventional to be diverting and lacks the illusion of reality. (.'ase is a dance hall singer 111 a rough mining town where her "golden voice'' brings tears to the eyes of the hardened miners They ring in the o'd on of an attempted swindle through worthless property is to be unloaded on an investor The willun goes west to report on 1 1' e value of the mine and enters into <* fifty-fifty bargain with the crooks. To account for the dance hall singer going fast and entering the househc Id of the propo-ed victim of the fra d. there is a series of scenes showing the shooting of a brutal husband by his abused wife. Anna is in t'e room at the time and is arxused of the mur der but s'-e is acquitted, owing to the dying confession of the woman, who <'ives the girl a letter to her father's former partner. Naturally, this man is none other than the investor whose ruination is planned. From the viewpoint of act:on and interest, the scenes laid in the west are apt to register b< tter than the re maining sequences transpiring in the east where Anna develops under the kindly guidance of her benefactor But of course the willun is still in evidence and tries to break up the happy hen losing the girl's dance hall past and resurrecting her alleged connection with the murder. Py this t'me the fatherly atttude of Anna's guardian has changed in'o that of a lover and after the crimes of the willun have been properly exposed, there is nothing to prevent a marriage. The audience is usually about a reel ahead of the storv in guessing what is going to happen F You Run it, Go After Folks That Know About Anna Case's Career as a Singer Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. fe drav ing proposition this looks decidedly rabtfnl. Tt isn't a strong picture to begin with and pna Case probably is not known to the average pic'Ire fan. Unless you are hard up for material, I can't le any reason for taking a chance on a production of (is stamp. Providing you decide to use it. there is little to do laying up the star as a grand opera prima •nna and a concert singer of note, who is making her 1st appearance in pictures. Miss Case, in the course 4 many concert tours may have visited your town, L which case I would bring her to the attention of iur music lovers who may be interested in seeing ■w the singer appears on the screen. Bfou might go after this element in your community ■ugh a special line of advertising, calling attention to Miss Cage's connection with the Metropolitan Opera Co., and mentioning any concert appearance in your locality. In order to reach people likely to be familiar with the star's career, it wou'd be well to seek the co-operation of your music dealers at least to the extent of having pictures of Miss Case placed in store windows, along with the announcement of the date of her appearance at your theater. Heralds also might be distributed at music stores. In all your hilling, make a big point of the star's celebrity as a singer and speak of the picture as a human interest drama based on the rise of a young western girl from mining town dance hall to the place of famous prima donna. Miss Case's pictures will look well in your lobby and 1 would feature them to the exclusion of everything else, because others in the cast don't warrant particular notice.