Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1916)

September 23, 1916 MOTIONPICTURENEWS 1889 "THE HOUSE OF LIES" (Morosco-Paramount — Five Reels) REVIEWED BY THEODORE OSBORN ELTONHEAD IT is unfortunate that a picture so well acted and so well directed as " The House of Lies," should have such an unreal and wholly impossible story as a foundation. Furthermore the story is poorly constructed from a technical standpoint. It requires four reels for the two leading characters to meet. At the beginning of the fifth reel the meeting is brought atout, and during the last five hundred feet the man discovers the beautiful soul of the girl, falls in love with it, and the picture closes with a wedding. This is indeed quick work even for moving pictures. Edna Coleman is not only beautiful as to person and figure, but possesses a beautiful nature and soul as well. With his writings as a basis, she has idealized and fallen in love with Marcus Auriel, a wealthy young poet. Her father is dead and her stepmother has determined that both she and her stepsister, who is also very beautiful, must either marry well or go upon the stage. The mother conspires with W'inthrop Haynes, a theatrical manager, to bring about a meeting with the poet. Haynes is indebted to the poet for twenty thousand dollars, and he gets the stepmother to sign a paper stating that if he helps her marry oft one of the girls she will return the favor by helping him in any manner which lie may specify. Edna Refuses to Be Sold k An elaborate reception is arranged in the hope that the poet will fall in love with one of the girls. Edna feels that she is being offered to the highest bidder, and as the proceeding is repulsive to her inmost nature, resolves to destroy her beauty. This she accomplishes by pouring carbolic acid on her cheeks effectually disfiguring herself for life. In this manner she escapes meeting the poet, who is somewhat attracted to her stepsister Dorothy. The mother seeing a chance for a match, forces Edna to act as Dorothy's maid and perform the work of a servant in the house. The poet gives an elaborate house party at which Dorothy and her mother conspire to bring things to a climax. As they are at the end of their resources, they turn Edna out of the house. An ■old friend of her father's, a doctor, obtains a secretarial position for her with the poet. Dorothy inveigles the poet into a compromising situation and her mother appears at the psychological moment. Without giving him a chance to explain she congratulates him on his engagement to her daughter, and immediately ■announces it to all of the guests. The poet makes the best of a bad bargain. Haynes now steps in and calls upon the mother to make good her agreement. Dorothy is forced to steal the key to her financee's strong box, and in the dead of night she and her mother rob it in order to obtain Haynes' note. The poet, however, has felt Dorothy take the key from his ring and is concealed beliind a screen. Edna appears as the thief is being consummated, ;and starts to raise an alarm, but ^er stepmother dissuades her, •5ayirtg that it will hot only wreck iier sister's chances, but will wreck the happiness of the poet. The stepmother and Dorothy rush out on the lawn to meet Haynes, followed by Edna, who suddenly snatches the note for twenty thousand dollars from Haynes' hand. At this moment the poet appears. Edna confesses to the crime, but he soon proves that he knows the real facts in the case. The conspirators are ordered of? the premises, and the poet discovers Edna's beautiful soul, and soon after falls in love with it. At the wedding ceremony, Edna appears without a scar on her face. The explanation offered is that she was never disfigured, but conspired with the doctor to paint a scar on her face in order that she might force him to fall in love with her beautiful soul and not with her beautiful face. Even with this brief synopsis the falsity and unreality of the story is readily apparent. The picture has been beautifully produced, however, with a wealth of beautiful settings and locations. William D. Taylor, the director, has accomplished a fine piece of work from a technical standpoint. Edna Goodrich in the leading role was effective throughout, her extreme beauty registering most effectively. Others in the cast were Juan de la Cruz as the poet, Kathleen Kirkham as Dorothy, Lucile Ward as the stepmother, Harold Holland as Winthrop Haynes, and Herbert Standing as Doctor Barnes. The lighting and photography were most excellent. " DIANE OF THE FOLLIES " (Fine Arts-Triangle — Five Reels) REVIEWED BY PETER MILNE JUST why the Fine Arts scenario department unearthed the story presented in " Diane of the Follies " is not exactly clear, judging from the ultimate effect created by the picture. On second thought, however, it might be suggested that the producers desired to give Lillian Gish plenty of opportunities to act and seized upon the handiest vehicle present. Miss Gish has the opportunities and she accepts them, somewhat too eagerly at times, but the story can hope to arouse little of that sustaining interest that is created by pictures of greater originality. Diane is an actress and just for the fun of it she takes a fling at marriage, the party of the second part being Phillips Christy, a millionaire, a thinker, a writer and a believer in the theory that environment shapes character. After three years everything is all wrong. Christy has offered his wife no encouragement, so she shocks his sister and friends by inviting several of her old stage companions to come and see her. A separation comes in due time, Diane leaving her little daughter, Bijou, in the care of her husband. The care meted out to Bijou is not sufficient to keep him from dying and after a short reunion husband and wife separate again — this time for ever. • Contrast in Temperament In all fairness it must be said that there is plenty of good comedy throughout the five reels that goes a long way toward making the picture worth while. Much of the humor centers about the acting of Miss Gish, although we wish the director had i;iot seen occasion to interrupt tjje progress of the story so many times with bits that allow Miss Gish to act, merely for the sake of acting.