Harrison's Reports (1928-1928)

106 HARRISON’S REPORTS “The Magnificent Flirt” — with Florence Vidor {Paramount, June 2; 6,440 ft.; 74 to 92 min.) A good picture for the high-brows, but it is unlikely that the rank and file will find any enjoyment in it. it is light comedy, with the characters in silk hats and beautiful evening gowns. Miss Vidor, as the heroine, takes the part of a women who, although past nineteen, still carries on flirtations with men, even though they are of the innocent grade. A French count likes her, but only as a companion; he does not think her good enough for a relative. His nephew loves her daughter and, in order to put an end to the love affair he offers to prove to him that the mother of the girl is not a proper person for a mother-in-law. As per arrangement, the nephew is hidden behind a velvet curtain while the uncle was dining with the heroine. But the heroine cleverly turns the tables on him, with the result that there are two marriages, the one uniting the nephew with the heroine’s daughter, and the other, the count with the heroine. The production end is magnficent. Mr. d’Abbaddie d’Arrast directed the picture with great skill. His comedy touches are intelligent. He seems to belong to the school of Ernst Lubitsch, the man that directed “The Marriage Circle,” with Adolphe Menjou. Miss Vidor does good work. So does Albert Conti, whose role is somewhat similar to the roles that have been given to Mr. Menjou. Loretta Young is charming as the daughter. Ned Sparks contributes considerable comedy as the bored American millionaire, spending his money in France to have a good time. Matty Kemp, Marietta Millner and others are in the supporting cast. The story was written by the director himself. “Modern Mothers” — with Helene Chadwick, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Barbara Kent {Columbia, May 13; 5,540 ft.; 64 to 79 min.) Just fair. The parts of the heroic characters are not sympathetic. As a result, the spectator’s interest is not aroused very strongly. It deals with a mother, who makes fame in Paris as an actress, but, who, when she returns to America, refuses to make her identity known to her daughter, because she felt that she would be a hindrance to her career. The daughter is in love with a young “nobody,” who aspires to become a playwright, but her relatives want her to marry the young son of a wealthy family. The daughter refuses to do that. Daughter and mother establish a friendship, the mother telling the daughter to call on her for help anytime she needed it. The daughter sends her sweetheart to her to help him produce one of his plays. The mother in time falls in love with the young man. The daughter visits her mother and finds her and her sweetheart in a passionate embrace. She is schocked. After the young hero is gone, the daughter comes out from behind the curtain and upbraids her mother. The mother, who had not yet disclosed her identity to her daughter, for the first time learns that her daughter was in love with the young man. She determines to sacrifice her own love. When the young man calls again, she tells him that she does not love him. He is shocked, goes back to his sweetheart, and begs her forgiveness. He is forgiven. The story and scenario are by Peter Milne. Phil Rosen has directed it. Ethel Grey Terry, Alan Roscoe, Gene Stone, George Irvin and others are in the cast. Note: This is a substitution. See analysis in the issue of June 9. “Madamoiselle from Armentieres” {Metro-Gold. -{British) ; June 2; 5,441 ft.; 63 to 77 min.) A fair program picture; it is still another war picture with considerable love interest and some thrilling scenes of the war fought between the British and German lines. Estelle Brody (heroine), as Mademoiselle, the French barmaid that had fallen in love with the British soldier (John Stuart, hero,) is pleasing enough. She arouses sympathy because she accepted the duty imposed upon her by the French Officer to find out if a supposed farmer was not really a German Spy and is discovered by her sweetheart entertaining the Officer in her rooms where the spy is hidden. She is not able to give an explanation and her sweetheart mistrusts her. The scenes where she is shown following her sweetheart’s troop re Ju!y_7,J928 mind one of the scene in “The Big Parade,” where the heroine had tried to hold on to her lover. The scenes where she is shown slipping onto a big truck and entering the German lines are thrilling, as are those in the trenches where the English troops are almost wiped out to give the French troops a chance to stengthen their weak defenses. Most suspensive are the scenes in the German quarters, where the heroine and the hero (one of the few survivors) are brought before the Commander, she being accused of being a spy. They are almost suffocated when the place is bombarded but are rescued in time. Explanations clear up the mistrust the hero had for the heroine and they marry. Alf Goddard as the hero’s buddy contributes the comedy. The picture is based on a story by Victor Saville and it was directed by Maurice Elvey. “The Foreign Legion” — with Norman Kerry, Lewis Stone and June Marlowe {U niv. -Jew el, Sept. 23; 7,828 ft.; 91 to 111 min.) Evidently Universal tried to make another “Beau Geste.” But it has not succeeded, even though it has made a pretty good picture out of it. As the title indicates, “The Foreign Legion” is a picture that revolves around the French Foreign Legion, which is stationed in Africa, and into which are inducted every nationality’s persons that want to drop out of sight either for a while or forever. The main situation in it is the revelation to the commander of the regiment that the soldier whom he had just condemned to death for rebellion is his own son, whom he had not seen since childhood. There are several emotional scenes in that part of the film. Mr. Kerry awakens considerable sympathy as the English officer, who lets himself be thought of as a thief rather than tell the court martial that the thief was me husband of the woman he had loved, and who, thus disgraced, had joined the Foreign Legion to be forgotten. He awakens more sympathy in the part of the film that shows him, as a Legionaire, assuming blame that was not his. Mr. Stone, too, awakens sympathy as the commander of the regiment by his humaneness. Mary Nolan does well in an unsympathetic part; she assumes the role af an unfaithful woman. The plot has been founded on I. A. R. Wylie’s novel, “The Red Mirage.” It has been directed by Edward Sloman well. “The Cossacks” — with John Gilbert {Metro-Gold.-Mayer, June 23 ; 8,600 ft.; 100 to 122 min.) Whether your customers will like this picture or not will depend on whether they like strong melodramas or not. It is a strong melodrama. How strong it is you may judge from the fact that in one situation the Turks, with whom the Cossacks are shown to have always been at war, blind the hero’s father with a red hot iron and nearly do the same thing to the hero. To tender-hearted people this should prove sickening. And yet, if one is to judge from "The Sea Beast,” the Warner Bros, picture with John Barrymore, which was produced three years ago, one cannot help coming to the conclusion that there are more people with strong stomachs than there are with weak stomachs; the situation in “The Sea Beast,” in which the hero’s leg was shown cauterized with a red hot iron, was if anything stronger than the situation referred to in “The Cossacks.” The picture is full of action. The story is not very strong, but Mr. Gilbert helps it considerably. There is a love affair, too, between the hero, son of the leader of the Cossacks, and a girl of the tribe. Mr. Gilbert is shown performing some remarkable horsemanship; he does it like a genuine Cossack. Ernest Torronce is very good as the hero’s father, leader of the tribe. Mary Alden, David Fuller, and others are in the supporting cast. The plot has been founded on the novel of the same name, by Leo Tolstoy. It has been directed with skill by George Hill. Mr. Hill has preserved the atmosphere of the novel well. Note: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer started out to make “The Cossacks” a two-dollar picture. They imported genuine Cossacks at a great outlay of money. This they did for publicity. That they have not succeeded in making it such a picture may be judged by the fact that they have shown it at the Capitol for the first time, at their regular admission prices, instead of at a legitimate theatre, where they have been in the habit of showing all their pictures that they thought were either genuine two-dollar pictures or “cousins” to them.