Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1918)

September 21, 1 9 1 8 1919 "THE BURDEN OF PROOF"— SELECT A Modernized "Diplomacy" of Average Value FOR Marion Davies' second Select offering, a scenario derived from Sardou's great play. " Diplomacy," was chosen. It has been modernized, the locale being Washington, D. C, the sjfies, Germans, ^liile tlie picture, after considerable mildly interesting plotting builds to a good dramatic scene, when Blair of the Department of Justice tricks a woman into the confession that she is a spy, so exonerating an innocent woman, the star and the general handling of the whole production are artificial quantities. Miss Davies has no dramatic ability and lacks poise and grace while facing the camera. The whole cast, with the exception of L. Rogers Lytton and Fred Hearn, is rather ill at ease, probably because of over-direction. Mr. Lytton gives a highly sustained performance as Blair. The subtitling comes in for further criticism. The inserts do not fit with the action in many cases and besides many an important point had to be " planted " in the subtitles when it should have been placed in the action. The reels include some exceedingly handsome exteriors of both Washington and Newport, while the photography and lighting are excellent. — Released through Select. — Peter Milne. THE CAST Elaine Brooks Marion Davies Mrs. Brooks, her mother Mary Richards Mrs Durand Eloise Clement Robert Ames John Merkyl George Blair L. Rogers Lytton Frank Raymond Willard Cooley William Kemp Fred Hearn Butler Fred Lenox Maid .• Maude Lowe Scenario by S. M. Weller. Directed by Julius Steger. Photographed by Andre Barlatier. ADVERTISING AIDS PAPER: — One one-sheet — scene of production; one one-sheet — star, personal (special for this production) ; one three-sheet — scene of production ; one three-sheet — star, personal (special for this production) ; one six-sheet — scene of production; one twenty-four sheet — scene of production. CUTS: — Two one-column electros (scene); two two-column electros (scene) ; one threecolumn electro (scene) ; one half-column (star) ; one one-column (star) ; one twocolumn (star). LOBBY DISPLAY PHOTOGRAPHS :— Nine 8 x 10 black and white scenes and title card; seven 11x14 colored scenes and title card; two 22 x 28 horizontal " flats " colored scenes; one 22 x 28 star portrait, colored, upright. ANNOUNCEMENT SLIDE, MUSIC CUE SHEET. AD TALK Marion Davies, the beautiful young Select star, whose previous picture, " Cecilia of the Pink Roses," firmly established her as one of the rising young actresses of the screen, makes her second appearance at the theatre on of week. This time her picture is an unusually elaborate, modernized version of Sardou's famous play ," Diplomacy," which will be presented under the title of " The Burden of Proof." The locale has been shifted to Washington, D. C, and this time the spies are Germans plotting against the United States The story of how innocent Elaine Ames is made to appear as a traitor before her husband through the machinations of a clever female German spy and how she is cleared by the counter-plotting of an even cleverer agent of the Department of Justice makes thoroughly exciting " seeing " as it is set down in " The Burden of Proof." Miss Davies, admittedly one of the prettiest girls who ever set foot in a studio (and this is a big statement to make), carries the appealing role of the young wife and manages it nicely. L. Rogers Lytton gives a sterling portrayal of the Department of Justice agent while John Merkyl and Eloise Clement are seen respectively as the husband and the German spy. Aside from the highly sustained drama presented in this picture, our patrons are assured of a number of novelties in the way of scenes. Director Julius Steger took his company both to Washington and Newport to secure the desired locations. There are many " shots " of the capital that are of particular interest these days while the exteriors taken at Newport are some of the most beautiful ever photographed. THE STORY Elaine Brooks is in love with Robert Ames, a young member of the United States Department of Justice. Her mother, once prominent in society, has lost her fortune and is obliged to write social gossip for a paper owned by a certain Dr. Kemp, in order to provide a home. Dr. Kemp is in reality in the employ of the German government. He commissions one of his aides, Mrs. Durand, to get close to Elaine Brooks and so meet Ames. This Mrs. Durand succeeds in doing but if she expected to find Ames a loose tongue she is disappointed for he will have little to do with her. In a short time Elaine and Ames are married. Before they depart on their honeymoon, Mrs. Durand visits them. By an exceedingly clever trick she succeeds in securing important papers from Ames' desk, sending them to Dr. Kemp and establishing evidence that will point to Elaine as the guilty party if her work is discovered. Before they go, Frank Raymond, a friend of Elaine's, returns from abroad. Before he sailed he had given Elaine a picture of himself. This Mrs. Durand had secured. And as a result, Raymond had fallen into the hands of German spies on his arrival in Europe and important government papers had been taken from him. He accuses Elaine of being a traitor. So when the next minute Ames discovers the loss of his documents he is also convinced that she is the guilty party. It remains for George Blair, one of the heads of the Department of Justice, to solve the problem and at the same time restore the domestic happiness of Ames and his wife. Following a careful plan he succeeds in trapping Mrs. Durand into a confession of her identity. She, Dr. Kemp and the other spies in the newspaper office are captured, Elaine's name is cleared and Ames asks her forgiveness. CATCH LINES Marion Davies, the blonde beauty of the screen, in her second Select picture. A story of Washington diplomatic life of today, showing how the United States Department of Justice outwits a German plot and saves a young wife's good name. A picture laid in the capital of the nation, the busiest and most important spot in the world at the present time. (Continued on page 1920)