Motion Picture News (Apr - Jun 1914)

78 THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS and Cleo Ridgely. The scenery and the atmosphere are the strong points. Some of the minor scenes are poor, but taken as a whole the picture will be appreciated. The action is rapid and entertaining. Captain Lanning leaves Lieutenant Usborn to die in the quicksands. He thinks by his disappearance that he will be able to win Osborn's tiancee. But she remains faithful to her lover, who is rescued by the Filipinos, and finally restored to his sweetheart through the efforts of a Pliilippine maiden, who loses her life in freeing him. (Jsborn forgives Lanning. UNIVERSAL PROGRAM "Sophie of the Films." (Nestor. June 12.) — The .second installment of the four-part comedy, featuring Victoria Forde. Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran support her. Although a dismal failure in her lirst attempt to act, she is given another chance. But she again fails ludicrously to do her part. "The Man Who Lost but Won." (Imp. Two reels. June 8.) — The leading role is played by Alexander Ciaden. The picture was shown for review without sub-titles and was therefore hard to understand. The character work was excellent and the photography good. A young man, who later becomes a minister, is jilted by the girl he loves. Later he becomes engaged to another only to be tossed aside by her. He marries her to his rival and then returns to his first love who had reformed from her past dissipated life. June 7.) — A conventional "Western." A girl, by baking the money she had been trusted with in a p'e, fools the robbers. "Love and Electricity." (Joker. June 6.) — .\ side. splitter throughout. Due to his daughter, a love-sick electrician, and an elec ,trical salesman, father gets mixed up in some electric wiring. wi;h dire results. "The Girl Next Door." (Frontier. June 4.) — A conventional drama of Western life that will interest. Childhood sweethearts are thrown into each other's company after years of separation. The man saves the girl from death. "Their First Anniversary." (Joker. June 3.) — Fair burlesque. Slapstick variety. Novel in some scenes. Trying to smuggle his wife's present into the house through the cellar leads to all sorts of trouble. "A Shadow from the Past." (Frontier. June 14.) — The most commendable feature of this picture is the clever character work of Joseph Frantz. There is also a good fire scene registered. Joe goes crazy due to hereditary tendencies, ilusic soothes his mind. "The Sandhill Lovers." (Victor. June 15.) — J. Warren Kerrigan and Vera Sisson in the leading parts. Miss Sisson does some unusually good work. There is an excellent double exposure, representing the twin brothers. The timing is very good. His gambler brother ruins a girl. Jack forces him to marry her while he takes the gambler's place and eludes the posse. "A Quiet Day at Murphy's." (Joker. June 20.) — One of the best recent acquisitions to the Universal Pacific Coast stock is Beatrice Van, who plays the leading part in this picture. She has beauty and cleverness. A sanatorium story that will delight. The flirt's husband turns up at an inopportune moment. "Sophie of the Films." (Nestor. June 19.) — The third of the series. Victoria is given one more chance to make good. As usual, she fails. "Bess, the Detectress, or the Old Mill at Midnight." (Joker. June G.)— Played by Bess Meridyth and directed by William Wolbert. A melodrama burlesque. Cleverly played. The title should prove a drawing card. Bess adopts many disguises in her pursuit of the "crook." "Those College Days." (Nestor. June 10.) — There is some possibility that this idea may be lengthened Out into a series all dealing with "college days in a co-ed institution." The girls dress in their boy friends' clothes and hold a supper in the boys' dormitories. The faculty, needless to say, were much shocked. "His Lucky Day." (Crystal. June 9.) — Rather poor comedy. Finding a horseshoe brings Charlie varying luck. A series of incidents rather than a connected story. "When Smalz Loves." (Sterling. June 11-) — A hilarious comedy;. Most of the laughs are caused by the comical facial expressions of Ford Sterling. The story is the old one of the two rivals for the same girl. "Easy Money." (Crystal. Split reel. June 2.) — ,-\n amusing comedy that contains lots of lightning acton. Lizzie tries to act for a picture and causes a general disturbance among the rest of the cast. On the same reel with ".•\ Midnight Supper." death of their child the couple gradually drift apart. She is on the point of leaving, when she discovers a note of her husband's intended for his new love. She thinks it is for her and she stays, and is reconciled to her husband. "A Telephone Strategy." (Princess. May 29.) — "Central" is the means of capturing burglars through hearing them on the telephone. Through this act the man she loves is allowed to marry her. The drama is quite ordinary, but pleasing. "A Midnight Supper," (Crystal. Split reel. June 2.) — On the same reel with "Easy Money." Charles DeForrest gets himself covered with jam in this picture without causing many laughs. "The House Discordant." (Rex. Two ' reels. June 4.) — A poor tit'e but otherwise an excellent drama. Novel in plot and entertaining throughout. The photography is better than the average. Brunton marries a young girl as his second wife. Later he becomes jealous of his son, whose attentions are directed toward his step-mother. But there was no need for his jealousy. His wife was just fixing up a happy marriage between the boy and another young girl. "Captain Bill's Warm Welcome." (Nestor. June 5.) — A production far from the ordinary with a laugh in every scene, for young and old; in fact, the person who doesn't think it comical must be void of all sense of humor. An old sea captain plans to visit his newly wedded nephew. To make the old man at home they decide to decorate the house as a ship, and moreover to make it act like a ship — the rest can be imagined. "Love's Western Flight." (Nestor. June 3.) — ^A Wallace Reid-Dorothy Davenport drama. The conventionality of the story is lost in the good features. A wife runs away from her worthless husband. Reading of his death she marries again. The husband returns, but is accidentally killed. "Willie Walrus, Detective." (Joker. June 3.) — For absolute originality William Wolbert, alias Willie Walrus, gets the blue ribbon. As a detective he hunts for the murderer of D'olly, who later turns out to be a cow. Excellent comedy. "Some Hero." (Crystal. May 31.)— The best comedy Crystal has made in months. Burlesquing modern detective dramas. The wicked Uncle and the unprotected girl variety of story. "Sophie of the Films." (Nestor. June 5.) — The first of a series of comedies featuring Victoria Ford. Having graduated from the "school of acting," she applies for a position. -Vfter spoiling numerous scenes she is kept because she is a "type." Many studio views not usually shown. "The Masked Rider." (Powers. June 5.) — A rather weak farce, with Edna Maison playing the leading role. The gay son is in love with a famous dancer, but father substitutes his choice for the dancer and all ends well. "Kids." (Sterling. June 1.) — Another comedy, with the Sterling Kids leading. It is comical at first and ends in a water .scene, in wh'ch the harbor police are the main factors, which is side splitting. "The Bar Cross Liar." (Eclair. May 31.) — .'\flcr the story by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. The story is slightly confused in the film telling, hut makes good entertainment. The characters are well drawn The man the cowboys hate later becomes their idol when it is found out that he has been supporting a large family with his wages. 'The Girl and the Hobo. (Frontier. "The Awakening." (Rex. May 31.) — Robert Lcoinrd and Hazel Buckham in the leading parts. The p'ot is powerful, the characterization good. Settings are especially apropos. A sailor, believing the girl artist returns his affection, destroys her painting of himself on finding out she had but flirted. I MUTUAL PROGRAM \ "Drifting Hearts." (Beauty. June 2.) — The usual leads. Margarita Fischer and Harry Pollard, appear in this drama. .After the Our Mutual Girl No. 20. (Reliance. June 1.) — Margaret is still missing in this installment. The search is becoming exciting, as the crooks play an important part. Numerous street scenes are shown, and by the actions of the public one would think there wasn't a camera in sight. "A Pair of Cuffs." (Rel ance. June 3.) — A novel drama featuring Billie West. Through a note written on a cuff, two laundry thieves are brought to bay. The action is rapid and entertaining. "A Prince of Bohemia." (American. June 3.) — -The title is somewhat misleading, but the story is extremely pleasing though conventional. Tom's sweetheart sees him with a child and thinks it his. She learns later that he adopted it and instead of condemning him as before, admires him. "Mein Lieber Katrina." (American. June 5.) — It's a change to see an -American comedy, and a greater one to see George Field as a comedian. A German delicatessen store and the county jail are the scenes of action and many comical events transpire therein. "The Fatal Mallet." (Keystone. June 1.) — Charles Chaplain, Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett, the three famous fun-makers, appear in this comedy. The rivals unite against a third, and a large amount of the usual comical slapstick stuff follows. "Closed Gates." (Rex. June 7.) — .\ highly pleasing drama, in which the old-fashioned couple learn the advantages of giving their granddaughter freedom and because of this they welcome home their progressive son. The settings are remarkable for their grandeur. I WARNERS FEATURES ^| "A Race with Death." (Milano. Three reels.) — This drama is pathetic from one end to the other, and due to the fact that hardly a happy scene is shown, it is somewhat trying to witness. Among other things the death scenes of which there are two, are entirely too vivid to enjoy. Dorothy, marries a Count, and for a while is happy. Later her husband is killed in a duel, and after a while she is left penniless. She returns home to find that her mother has died and her sister has gone away. All this brings about her death. "Bringing in the Law." (Colorado Moton Picture Corporation. Three reels.) — This picture surpasses all other Westerns of all kinds in shooting and villiany, there is really so much of it that one scarcely knows what it's all about. Plenty of fast and sensational riding appears. The picture, because of its rapid action, is most interesting. Clay comes out West to avenge his brother's death. He not only does this, but aids materially in the election of the new sheriff and later marries his daughter. There are big scenes in abundance, but no one is better than another. I EXCLUSIVE SUPPLY CORPN | "The Million Dollar Robbery." (Solax. Four reels. 1 — An .American dram.T staged under the direction of Herbert Blache. Until the end one is not given an inkling concerning the robber, who turns out to he no robber at .ill. Quite a few comical scenes are interspersed between the others in the four reels, which adds attractiveness to the picture. Harr\-, the secretary of Pell, is accused of robbing him of a mill-on dollars' worth of bonds, .-ind is locked up. Rogers, who is in love with Pell's daughter, D;u)hne, bribes the butler to further accuse Harry of the crime, as he is jealous of the more favored Harry. The butler works th'iies on his own account and later at the trial turns informer on Rogers, while Harry is proved innocent. Rogers ends his Ufe by jum'iing off a high building. His fall is most realistic.