Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

June 22, 1918 MOTOGRAPHY 1185 CURRENT AND COMING RELEASES Viewed for the Box Office WITH THE STORY OF THE PICTURE Artcraft HIT-THE-TRAIL HOLLIDAY.— (Five reels)— June 16— Featuring George M. Cohan. One of the best pictures ever made. Jason, a hotel keeper in the little town of Johnsville, decides that booze is bad for boys and closes his bar, giving prohibition a big boost. Wilhelm Worse, a brewer, decides to ruin Jason by opening a rival hotel and bringing from New York Billy Holliday, a famous mixer. Before Billy gets a chance to take the job he falls hard for Jason's daughter, and he doesn't care for the Germans anyhow. So he boosts Jason's temperance beverage and makes the little hotel a big success. The brewery crowd tries to break up a prohibition convention held in the town, and Billy comes to the front and beats them at their own game. Meanwhile he has become a national figure, and is in demand for lectures, but he insists upon first bringing to a successful conclusion his love affair with Jason's daughter, which has been ripening right along. Director, Marshall Neilan. Cameraman, Walter Stradling. General effect — This is simply a whale of a picture, with speed, comedy, a good sane temperance appeal, and real Mickey Neilan character, so that you can use all the superlatives and still not overpraise it. Star — Cohan's best work on the screen; much better than "Seven Keys." Support — A dandy bunch of types. Production — Good, but it does not call for pretty stuff. Photography — Fine. It is difficult to see how anyone can fail to clean up on this. Look at the various angles of appeal: George M. Cohan, the Yankee Doodle Boy; Marshall Neilan's direction, that made "Stella Maris" and "Amarilly" Pickford's two best; scenario by John Emerson and Anita Loos, who are now being featured themselves, after having given Fairbanks his best productions; the Billy Sunday, "hit-the-trail" stuff, for don't forget that prohibition is a big issue right now. This ought to be good for the maximum run of any house where they have eyes. Paramount Her Final Reckoning. — (Five reels) — June 9 — Featuring Pauline Frederick. A high-class story of a woman with an unfortunate past. Prince Zilah falls in love with Marsa, both of them being Hungarians in exile in Paris, and both wealthy and fashionable. Marsa marries the prince without telling him of a love affair she had several years before with Count Menko. Menko had tried to sell his silence at the customary price, and Marsa turned her savage dogs upon him. He escapes, but takes revenge by sending Prince Zilah on the wedding day letters which Marsa had written to him. The prince is furious and abandons his bride, who goes almost insane while he is brooding in jealousy. The prince's friend then fights a duel with Menko and kills him, after which the prince and his bride are reunited. Director — Emile Chautard. Cameraman — Jack Bizuel. General effect — This is the sort of story that only the most intelligent audiences, appreciating the difference between European ideals and American, will understand, though the various dramatic scenes are done with great feeling. Star — No one knows how to be unhappy so beautifully as Pauline Frederick, and she was never more fascinating. Support — Excellent. John Miltern and Warren Cooke in well-fitted roles. Production— Beautiful, with wonderful interiors and some of the handsomest gardens ever pictured. Photography — About the best that has come out of an eastern studio recently. This picture is done so beautifully and the acting is so good that it may get over, but the star, director and cameraman are carrying the whole load, having had no help from the scenario department, so that it is really a picture for the smart set. The Bravest Way. — (Five Reels) — June 16. — Featuring Sessue Hayakaya. A very sad story of an American Japanese, with a happy ending. Tamura, a Japanese gardener, is in love with Nume, a half Japanese school teacher. His closest friend is murdered just as his wife and child arrive to join him in America, and Tamura sacrifices his love and marries the woman to protect her. Nume, broken hearted, accepts the offer of Nason, a wealthy man, to supply her with money to cultivate her voice. When she finally makes a success, he insists that she repay the money or give him herself. Tamura, who has been watching over Nume, breaks into the room and rescues Nume. Tamura's wife dies. A merchant dies and leaves his money to Tamura and Tamura pays Nason the money he has spent on Nume and the lovers are united. Director, George Melford. Cameraman, Paul Perry. General effect — A rather loose story in which deaths and inheritances occur too opportunely to make the tale sound reasonable, but with good atmosphere. Star— Hayakawa in his favorite kind of part, a half-Americanized Japanese. Support— Excellent, Florence Vidor and Tsuri Aoki in particular. Production — Ranks with Lasky's best. Photography — Fine. This is a curious picture to place and its value depends entirely upon the drawing power of the star and the Paramount trade mark; it cannot be depended upon to make a biff hit. Pauline Frederick in the Paramount picture, "Her Final Reckoning." Brady Stolen Orders. — (Eight reels) — June 2 — Featuring producer, William A. Brady. A big melodrama of German spy plots. There are several plots in this multiple-reeler, all focussing finally upon a thrilling finish. One of these deals with the pursuit of a man who stole certain valuable jewels by the man upon whom he had fastened the crime. Another concerns the means by which German agents play upon the gambling proclivities of the wife of an admiral, thus getting her in their power and making the price of secrecy the interception of certain orders from Washington to her husband. These two plots are linked together by the fact that the admiral's brother in the second plot, is in love with the thief's daughter of the first plot. The story finishes with a chase by an aeroplane of a dirigible in which the stolen orders are presumably being taken to Germany. Director, Harvey Knoles. Cameraman, Rene Guissart. General effect — This is a story which has timely interest and several big thrills, its weaknesses 'being simply the inconsistencies of plot, without which there could he no melodrama, and these are soon forgotten in the rapidity of the action. Stars — While none is starred separately, Kitty Gordon, Montagu Love, June Elvidge and Carlyle Blackwell all appear prominently in the cast. Production — Very thorough, though the fight in the car of the dirigible is not convincing. Photography — Very good. i