Motion Picture News (Sep-Oct 1923)

S e p t c m her r 5 , 1923 1293 ON BROADWAY By Laurence Reid director. He has demonstrated his skill with breadth of outline before. Always a stickler at detail, lie has brought forth the significance of every important character and emphasizes each one's place in the story — never once getting out of sympathy with the author's design. It is intelligent direction of the highest. The scenes are treated in such a manner that, they impress with their freshness. Can Lubitsch handle crowds? We must admit that he handles them in a way that eliminates the usual orthodox arrangement. And, best of all, he seemingly understands his players and excites their talents much as a good orchestral conductor excites his musicians to play their instruments as if inspired.. Certainly the star and Holbrook Blinn have understood his demands. The latter makes a highly picturesque monarch — one richly sketched with blunt humor after the manner of Emil Jannings. And the supporting cast is excellent. " Rosita " boasts a rather slender plot, but its very slenderness and simplicity give it an appeal which would be lost if it were woven with threads of intricate drama. The settings— both interior and exterior — embellish the picture with most of its charm. They are artistic and colorful. United Artists have reason to feel immensely proud of this achievement. They gave two openings; the first, a private showing for invited guests at the Ritz-Carlton, was preceded by a dinner, while the second at the Lyric theatre, Labor Day night, found the Pickford devotees — they are legion — and habitual first-nighters and the leaders of the social whirl storming the doors to see the star in what we must catalogue as her masterpiece. Universal's Masterpiece VICTOR HUGO'S "Notre Dame de Paris " has been approached by Universal with deep respect and feeling to accomplish something which would leave an imperishable memory. Translated to the screen under its English title " The Hunchback of Notre Dame," it carries on faithfully with the salient episodes of the classic. The streets of Paris of yesteryear, the mediaeval style of architecture in the structures, all of which bring forth an appearance of solidity and massivencss — the famous cathedral a most imposing edifice which causes the spectator to feel as if he had bees carried back to another age — these backgrounds give substance to the tale and make it authentic with Hugo and history. To record accurately all the details of the novel would have called for countless reels. It is a compliment to the sponsors that they have selected only those portions which call lor moving drama and sharply defined characterization. So we sit back at attention and follow the relentless tide of misfortunes which accompany Quasimodo, the ape-like bell-ringer of the Notre Dame — a figure acted with a remarkable grasp upon its characterization by Lon Chaney, who had qualified for the role through his impressive studies of lesser unfortunates. He staggers the imagination with the uncanny presentation of the fearsome, crooked creature. The story laid in the fifteenth century has all the touches of the seamy side of Paris — when the city was at a low tide of depravity. As is characteristic of Hugo's novels, the original tale was sharply punctuated with scenes of ghoulish terror. It would have been frightfully realistic and grewsome had it been adapted faithfully. But the Universal sponsors have allowed a little " sweetness and light" to trickle forth — with the result that its terrifying scenes have been robbed of their bad flavor. And the remarkable part of this transformation is its accuracy of outline. "We catch the terror without actually encountering it. It is established by suggestion. The repugnant bell-ringer is naturally the most interesting figure. He carries gratitude in his warped soul — it is as warped as his body — when he brings Esmeralda to sanctuary from the gibbet. In all, it is a tale of a girl who befriended Quasimodo when he was arrested for a nocturnal attack, inspired by the wicked brother of the Archdeacon. She is finally arrested herself, accused of having stabbed her beloved Captain Phoebus, but is saved by the hideous hunchback. The picture, through its massive sets, its picturesque backgrounds am! atmosphere and the clever handling of its detail, coupled with capital interpretation by Ernest Torrence as the colorful Clopin, the king of the beggars, Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda and Norman Kerry as Phoebus. The mob scenes are impressive. Surely unforgettable is the dramatic moment when the ragged, half -starved mob emerge from the sewers and hovels at the behest of Clopin and storm the cathedral, which is defended by the deformed bell-ringer. Chaney's uncanny study and the cathedral set are the outstanding highlights in a picture which is saturated with them. Wallace VYorsley has directed in manner which establishes fully all the intrigue, villainy, incident, pathos and dramatic movement of events. It wasn't an easy task, but he has made a living, moving canvas. Edmund T. Lowe's scenario from an adaptation by Perley Poore Sheehan has been constructed so that all of Hugo's salient chapters are thrust in the foreground. The editing by Robert E. Sherwood and Hugo K'iesenfeld is inert praiseworthy. They have heightened the action and brought forth incident vital to each scene. Thus sharpened it commands undivided attention from the spectator. So Universal Ms a reason to feel highly elafeil over its effort. Hugo's classic, is always in wide demand by fiction readers. It should command a healthy clientele in its picturization. Lillian GislYs Triumph WHEN Inspiration decidedto picturize P. Marion Crawford's love tragedy, " The White Sister," they presented Lillian Gish with an opportunity to distinguish herself in a role which was especially ideal for her. Her fragile type of beauty — her angelic expression — hei wistful charm and poise — these are virtues which lend themselves readily to the interpretation of the pathetic study of the sad little creature whose love blossomed for a brief time and which, when it was over, inspired her to find consolation in the Church. Look back on all past efforts; you will not find a more poignant drama of tormented souls than this heart-rending symphony of Crawford's. Inspiration well knew that it had a vital, throbbing document in its hands. But how to make it live — how to bring out its clash of emotions — to emphasize the heart torn asunder, laid bare with its sorrow and anguish'? The thing to do was to entrust it to a competent director who understood frailties of human emotion — who understood humanities. So Henry King was selected. And to give it a perfect background, one in harmony with its tender plot and its very human figures, he took his company to Italy, where, against the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in bold relief and with charming garden spots for further embellishment, the story was recreated for the screen. And what a poignant story ! You instinctively feel the pent-up emotions of the Lovers. You are experiencing their tragedy. You extend the greatest pity and sympathy for the frail girl who, figuratively, speaking, carries her cross without complaint. Ostracised, compelled to find love's expression in furtive; nooks and corners, she indicates her happiness with life. Then comes tragedy, and she is bowed down with grief. She has promised to wait for him forever. But he was dead. There was the sad account of the illfated expedition to Africa. So she will dedicate her remaining years to him by taking the veil, renouncing the world and administering to the stricken. What an impressive picture King has painted of her marriage to the Church, the wedding finery, the half-choked sob ready to overwhelm her as she recalls the embrace with the flesh and her acceptance of the veil. She will not falter. Yet you will feel like crying out to her (you feel that she might understand ) not to make such haste in renouncing the world. We sit back enthralled over this ceremony. Once over she must lead a cloistered existence. And the cruel march of Fate steals upon her and shocks her by giving back her lover. How Lillian Gish transports one with these tender scenes! The conflict of soul with the flesh — the surging memories of the past at war with the awful realization that she must bow to the inevitable. Her tranquility saves her. And then King guides us to an ensemble of crashing climaxes — showing the White Sister a victim of intrigue, but saving her lover by promising to wait for him when they have rounded out their earthly sphere. Vesuvius is trembling. The night is strangely oppressive. The little nun's half-sister, who had cast her out, comes pleading for absolution— the victim of an accident. Far up on the slope of the thundering volcano the soldier lover who had returned to find his sweetheart, married to the Church, realizes the danger to the countryside. He rides madly to warn them, but perishes in the water of a broken reservoir after saving thousands of his people. They offer blessings to the " unknown " soldier whose identity is established by the good monsignor. Thus the Sister finds consolation that some day she will be reunited to him. A throbbing, pulsating story, charged with, humanities, striking deep at the heart and bringing anguish in its disrupted romance and the terrifying climax. No more tender love story fraught with such clash of emotions has ever been screened. It moves and, moving, holds one in a tight embrace. Perhaps the long introductory episodes were necessary to build and emphasize the heart touches which formed the second half of the picture. These early scenes established a freshness of outline in atmosphere and background which offered a distinct relief from the usual setting. They gave the picture considerable appeal — to say nothing of tone and quality. Henry King, always dependable, has cre(Contimied on page 1303)