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293
Filmed By Universal
The Desert Is Cheated Of Its Tiny Victim In HelKs Heroes
Photoplayfare
Reviews For The Cinteliigenzia
BYROYW.WiNTON
Heirs Heroes
A NEW manner in Universal pro
t-^L diictions appears with Hell's -A. j^ Heroes, recently given its second New York run by the Eittle Picture House, whose reputation for excellent photoplayfare remains undiminished. The earlier banalities of Mr. Laemmle's taste are considerably modified, for the better, in this stark tale of the desert.
Hell's Heroes is the type of talkie that most lends itself to cinematic treatment, for it is an out-of-doors film. Its desert moods are unexcelled, in the opinion of this reviewer, who has lived in the desert. What the Garden of Allah failed to do, with its elaborate sandstorm, the Laemmle production accomplishes with a minimum of effort. The talking sequences do not clash with the outdoor settings and are, indeed, limited as compared to the average talkie. Thus the film gives us liberal sequences of the eternal desert in silence, scarcely broken by conversational fragments.
This film is drama of a very bleak sort and is, in no sense, a pleasant play. It should appeal to those playgoers who can separate their esthetic reactions from their emotions. It is a tale of very grim regeneration and the somewhat mawkish finish might be entirely plausible. At least, it does not have very much to do with the thing as a whole. The actors are exceptionally able and they display subtleties that are delightful. One cannot avoid a feeling of continual dismay as a very small infant is manhandled with the best of intentions and it is to be hoped that the baby was bred in the open and was used to wind and weather.
A fine cinematic touch is provided when the camera follows footsteps across the desert and, earlier, gives us flash after flash of the weary progress of the principal characters through the waste land. A chase sequence is handled with superb camera technique.
Hell's Heroes is recommended for the cinteliigenzia because of its superior handling of a dramatic theme that could easily be nothing but bathos if inexpertly presented. It is recommended for the amateur movie maker because of its intelligent camera work and direction. When a talkie combines these two qualities it is worth a visit from every patr(jii of the eighth art.