The Film Spectator (Mar-Dec 1928)

'March 17, 1928 good as It. Red Hair is about the same story as the other Clara Bow opuses, but Clarence Badger's direction and George Marion's titles have made it much better than usual. Marion is to be congratulated on his titles, as they are the best he ever has written. There is no attempt to make them the main features of the picture, as they are funny only in legitimate places. Therefore, they are very good. Of course, Clara had to gallop around clothed only in a worried look or it wouldn't have been a true Clara Bow picture. I don't suppose it is her fault that all her pictures have a lot of undressed stuff in them, but she ought to do something about them, because a lot of epidermis gets very tiresome after awhile. There was one sequence in Red Hair which was shot in color and it certainly was beautiful. It wouldn't have hurt to have kept on with the color, as there were several places where it would have fitted in very well. Lane Chandler, who played opposite Miss Bow, is new to me; but he looks as though he had possibilities. He is good looking and possesses a good screen personality. William Austin is the only other member of the cast whose name I can remember, but the rest were all good. MY Best Girl is rather amusing in places, and on the whole is a pretty good picture. Mary Pickford is always good in anything she does and this was no exception. The story is as old as motion pictures, but Samuel Taylor, the director, has put in so many adroit touches that it is amusing. One particularly good scene is where the two of them, Mary and Charles Rogers, walk across the street so wrapped up in each other that just by miracles do they keep from being run over. Another good place is where they do a scene on the back of a truck. However there were poor scenes. One in particular was the scene where she pretends she is a gold-digger to keep The Latest Books Are Always Obtainable at The Hollywood Book Store OPPOSITE HOTEL HOLLYWOOD Artistic Framing Stationery and Circulation Library ISorman^s ART SHOP The Home of HARMONIC FRAMING Paintings Restored and Refinished VISITORS WELCOME 6653 Hollywood Boulevard THE FILM SPECTATOR from ruining Rogers' career. A little of it would have been all right, but it was dragged out until it became so tiresome that it lost all its power. The picture was too small and unimportant to be worthy of Mary Pickford. Charles Rogers, who played opposite her, is a distinct find. He may not be such a wonderful actor, but he has one of the most likeable personalities I have seen in a long time. Lucien Littlefield, as Mary's father, was splendid as usual. Hobart Bosworth, as Rogers' father, was fine, too. Vera Gordon and Carmelita Geraghty were very satisfactory. WHEN His Country is released, it will be hailed as the finest picture ever turned out by De Mille. It is the best picture I have seen in the last six months. Splendid performances by Louise Dresser and Rudolph Schildkraut combined to make it a classic. If it had been the first of these human interest stories Page Seventeen with the war as a background, it would have gained a place among the greatest pictures ever made. As it is, it probably will be among the ten best of the year. How William K. Howard, who is still very young, can put so much feeling into his direction is a mystery. To look at His Country, one would arrive at the conclusion that the director was an elderly man who had been of a philosophic turn of mind all his life. With the possible exception of Joseph von Sternberg, Howard is the best director we have. Frank Borzage can make a Seventh Heaven, but if he were handed a prize-fight story like The Main Event, which Howard made into such a good picture, he would be terribly at sea. De Mille, Clarence Brown, Murnau, Niblo, Rowland Lee, King Vidor Lubitsch, Herbert Brenon, and Raoul Walsh, who are the best directors we have, never could make successes of both a human interest story and a prize-fighting one. John Ford might ATTRACTIVE LAMPS AND SHADES AT REASONABLE PRICES J/f C^ousofld <Sifts of Distinction' 6326 H^LLyW79l7-BLVC7, H7UyW7^77-^Ur« SHOP AT BALZER'S— "TWO SHOPS"— JUST WEST OF VINE ANATOMY OV MOTION PICTURE ART By ERIC ELLIOTT A penetrating survey of motion pictures, its bearing and influence upon modern existence, its future and past. Anatomy of Motion Picture Art is uncommonly constructive in its attitude, leaving no stone unturned, opening up many neglected side-issues and pointing out ways of improvement. At the same time, it is never prejudiced or dogmatic, though its suggestiveness cannot fail to impress the reader with its keen insight and stimulating soundness. Eric Elliott has condensed the whole aspect of the film world, its problems, its failures and its achievements. 200 Pages — Price $2.50 Postpaid FILM ARTS GUILD, Dept. 100—500 Fifth Ave., New York >'..>4