Motion Picture News (Oct 1913 - Jan 1914)

THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS 39 and the two of them are supposedly killed. They escape together, and she appears on the stage at her usual time. The conspirators are arrested and the girl pardoned. "The Vanishing Cracksman." (Edison. Nov. 25.) — Commencing a new series, on the same order as the "What Happened to Mary" stories. "CleefC of the Forty Faces" is the subject, this first story telling of his reformation from being the most successful crook known. He now becomes a detective. After warning Scotland Yard that he would rob a certain house, he does so in a very clever way. Benjamin F. Wilson plays Cleek and Gertrude McCoy plays the girl. "Her Sick Father." (Lubin. Nov. 25. Split reel.) — On the same reel with "The Lost Switch." Her father is a hypochondriac, and it is Lillian's business to administer to him sundry patent medicines. At last tiring of this, she concocts the scheme of having her lover appear as a doctor. He does this and puts the old man through such exercise that he is only too glad to be well. "Little Kaintuck." (Vitagraph. Nov. 25.) — It is the appeal to the sympathies that gets this picture over. There is many a heart throb. "Kaintuck"' being made an orphan, takes to the road as a legitimate tramp. He meets Hedricks, a storekeeper in a rural neighborhood, and stays with him through the winter. In the spring he again takes to the road but returns, being unable to do without the old man. Paul Willis plays the boy, Daisy Smith does some good work as his mother, and Karl Formes plays the storekeeper. "The Little Substitute." (Essanay. Nov. 25.) — Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne and Helen Dunbar play the leading parts. A motherless baby is left in care of an aunt while the father goes away to Europe on a business trip. A little waif is left on the doorstep by a penniless woman. On the death of the first child the unknown baby is substituted. On the return of the father he is given the baby which is not his. The mother turns up, the aunt confesses, and to keep the child with him he marries the mother. "Good Old Summer Time." (Kalem Split Reel. Nov. 28.)— With Ruth Roland, the "Kalem Girl," and John E. Rrennan. the inimitable comedian. A mix-up in a hotel which is finally cleared by the clerk. "England's King at Liverpool." (Kalem Split Reel. Nov. 28.)— On the same reel with the "Good Old Summer Time." Shows King George being greeted at Liverpool; President Poincaire of France at a celebration, and the English soldier at work and play. The last part was very interesting. "Betty in the Lion's Den." (Vitagraph. Nov. 28.) — The "lions" here, though alive, are not at all fierce. They're society "lions." Betty breaks into society, and in order to prevent herself from marrying a "dude," she calls Brazilian extract to her aid and causes some "hops." Clara Kimball Young, Josie Sadler and Darwin Karr play the leads. "A Disastrous Bet." (Lubin Split Reel. Nov. 27. General Film Co. Exclusive Service.) — The scenario was written by Carl Levi of the Loew Company's offices. He deserves commendation. One man wagers his beard and loses. His wife believes him to be a burglar, and there's a great rumpus until the truth is made clear. "Love and Trouble." (Lubin Split Reel. Nov. 27. General Film Co. Exclusive Service.) — A rural story on the same reel with "A Disastrous Bet." A lunatic causes much trouble for everyone with the exception of two lovers, whom he helps. The story is, of course, impossible but that does not greatly lessen its value as a comedy. "A Thousand Dollars Short." (Patheplay. Nov. 27. General Film Co. Exclusive Service.) — A good drama with many points that will commend it to the average audience. A boy being in need of money, borrows a check from a friend and changes the amount. The married sister apeals to her husband but is refused and is caught at the house of the friend, pleading with him for mercy. The unexpected presence of his mother saves the situation and explains her presence. "In the Grasp of the Apaches." (Warner's Features. Three Parts.) — Plenty of action and good settings make this old idea serviceable. Believing his wife to be false, a "Count" steals her child and leaves it on the bridge, not meaning him to be stolen. The apaches get the boy and teach him to steal. His only friend is Elga. another little captive. After years the brigands see an advertisement for Otto and brine: the Count to their rendezvous, but being unable to find Otto, try to give him another child, which he refuses. The Count and Otto escape. Elga is made to help the brigands recapture him and goes to his house. There she warns him and the villains are captured and Elga adopted as companion to Otto. "A Florentine Tragedy." (Warner's Features. Three Parts.) — After the story of the same name by Oscar Wilde. There are parts of it which escape the strict laws of the Censorship Board by a narrow margin. The tale is of the middle centuries and tells of the selling of a girl to an old man for a bag of gold. She is loved by a prince, who calls and sees her when her husband is away. The husband catches them together and kills the prince in the duel which follows. The girl then sees her mistake and throws herself in her husband's arms. Constance Crawley, Arthur Maude and Wilfred Lucas play the important parts. "The Water War." (Bison Two Reels.) — A little variance from the usual run of Bison pictures. Woodward, the foreman of the work on the aqueduct, is discharged and Clifford given his job. With the help of some Indians he plans to revenge himself on his successor. They are frustrated greatly through the aid of an Indian girl, Nereda. "The Blight of Wealth." (Thanhouser. Two Reels. Nov. 25.) — The title of this is poor, meaning nothing. A quarry owner marries a rich heiress. Formerly a hard worker, he now neglects his business and goes to Europe. He loses his quarry, his wife loses her fortune and together they come back and start afresh. The episode of a duel between the husband and an attentive Count makes good material. "War-Ridden Juarez." (Kalem. Nov. 22.) — Not listed as a regular release, this picture is interesting just at this time. The scenes shown, however, have been pictured before. "Red" Lopez, an American of notorious character, poses. Federal jail and prisoners are shown. The small international bridge over the Rio Grande is also interesting. "The Laundress and the Lady." (Kalem. Split Reel. Nov. 21.) — Same reel with "The Dublin Horse Show." A clever, impossible comedy, which will cause much laughter. Mrs. Graves wants a laundress and her son Robert writes Mary Flanagan, telling her to come to work. He also writes his fiancee, Mary, inviting her to a matinee and enclosing a ticket. The letters are mixed. The laundress goes to the show and the cook makes Mary Hall wash. All is straightened out. Anyone who says this business is not as good as the "legitimate" 1