Motion Picture Classic (1923, 1924, 1926)

Lament (After the Greek) WEEP, all ye Muses and true lovers of Art. They have put wig on Farina. They have put Farina in a wig. They have gilded the lily and brought a ton of egg to Newcastle. They have carried cows to Moscow. Farina, who was perfection, who was the Darling of the Gods, has been mutilated. Weep for the disgrace, all ye Muses. No more shall I gaze upon the classic simplicity of the countenance of Farina. My eyes are blinded with tears of rage ; my body shaken with sobs of disappointment. Yes, they have no discernment. O mighty Roach, O bluff Prince Hal, take off Farina's wig and let us rejoice again ! Hear my prayer. Heed my lamentation •b + + The schrecklichkeit that prompted the above has eaten into our soul and led us to compose a fantasy, or whimsy, or fable, as it were. It is just crawling with symbolism and is called "What Makes the Movies So Terrible." Cinema is the questionable illegitimate offspring of Proteus, the God of things as They are not. Her mother was Mazuma, wayward daughter of Mammon. When Proteus saw little Cinema for the first time, being a crabby sort of an old goof, he cursed her. "May you always strive for perfection," said Proteus, "and never attain it. If by any mischance perfection shall be within reach, may you be so blinded by your futile efforts that you will never know how close you have come to it, but will spoil everything with your next attempt." And so far as we can make out, the curse is still holding. 4* + + Gloria Swanson endowed Zaza with a volcanic temperament, but for Slavish outlay of emotion, Pola Negri leads all the rest. + + + If, however. "The Spanish Dancer" turns out to be at Hollywood as "Bella Donna" and "The Cheat," it W-H-MANf-nANN Poor Fish ! would look as if there were going to be a total extinction of the Pola system. + + + We are just childish enough to wonder if movie star? could enjoy a formal dinner if the host did not provide paper caps or toy balloons to bat about. Personally, we wouldn't take the l. chance. •f" + + The general histrionic ability of the profession has put a new interpretation on the old saw, "Be good and you will be lonesome." -r* 4 + Nevertheless, and in the face of all tradition, we are going to come right out and lead a cheer for Edward Horton. "Ruggles of Red Gap" is conceded to be a general disappointment, yet it does show that Mr. Horton has all the promise of a unique gift. He is a quiet actor. His is not the Reubens sandwich style of technique, wherein you are offered far more than can be digested — ham on top of Swiss cheese surmounted by sliced tomatoes, cole-slaw and Russian dressing. "For this relief, much thanks." Jetta Goudal is another person who takes her talent much the same way. And we certainly hope they will both win the renown they deserve for their daring unconventionality. + "b •%• Every so often the movie magnates explain that as yet they have hardly scratched the surface of the Great Art. Hardly scratched the surface, our eye ! They have gouged, gored, mined, stabbed, punched, riddled, reamed, ripped and all but staved it in. ■i" + •b "I doubt," says Carl Laemmle in a foreword in_the program of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." "if Victor Hugo ever heard of Hollywood." If he had, Mr. Laemmle, it's a certified Grade A cinch that he would never have given you the picture rights to his novel. (Continued on page 92) (Fifty)