Moving Picture World (July-Dec 1908)

niK MOVING PICTURK WORLD t, i r.il deaths by the u i re well man i mil an sufficiently realistic to hold the audience up to the • pitch of excitement. he Two Affinities." The meel >and and utrant \\ ith their sepai ian .mi! their disappearance, leaving the affinities to them llent. 1 lie work is fan and the film ipp dience .is funny, but there are several incon •ncic 'I'le in the staging In I conomy or undue haste. "His First Frock Coat." A return to the old idea of comic :hase, mg runs, the upsetting of unfortunate individ] to be in the wax. and the falling into various Is. The film is, however, possessed of the nun: un. a : ature which will commend itself to those who ing for a laugh. "Push Cart Races."— Still another repetition. Chases and mis, runs and chases. \t the very start some one in the tudience asked: "Where are the nurse and the baby cartage?" His neighbor answered: "Do not worry; they are lire to butt in." So it was. It was not long before the uirse was leading the push cart race, although the baby had alien several times. "The Actor's Child."— The story of a woman who goes with another man, returns and kidnaps her own child /ho is carried away to a criminal's den to be abused. There 3 some lively acting in the attempted rescues, the last one f which succeeds through the faithfulness of a valet who ides on the rear of the carriage in which the guilty pair ake their flight and informs the child's father of their ••hereabouts. They are finally captured and the father obains possession of his child. One cannot say anything paricularlv good about this film. It is about an average. The ■hotographv is fair, but the action is not always what it hould be. The actors appear to be doing their various runts for money. Perhaps this is supposition, but the movement is not convincing. "The Wrong Valise" evoked more hearty laughter than any omedy that we have seen for a long time. The action hroughout is splendid, and while there is the inevitable hase. the object of the chase is apparent, the situations conistent, and some of the incidents truly mirth-provoking. udging from the reception this film received at Keith's on :s first night it will create a demand for Lubin comedy. "Rivals for a Week" is another clean comedy that tickles he risibilities of the audience. The action is fair and some f the situations very cleverly handled. At any rate it seems ie the kind of comedy that pleases a large number of heater-goers. "The Cotton Industry of the South" was the headliner at Ceitlrs on Monday night. We noticed that many in the udience stayed to see the film run twice, and comments /ere heard .all around on the interest of the subject. Startrig with a close view of the blossoms of a cotton plant, ire are shown the cotton fields in cultivation, the negroes •icking the cotton and strapping it into bales and loading >n the teams. The grading and weighing follows and then he bales being freighted on river and ocean steamers until t arrives at the cotton mill. Several very good views are hown of the interior of the mill. The photography throughait is good, with the exception of one scene, which is very lark. "The action is natural and the scenes are well conlected and well understood without the aid of sub-titles. )n the whole, the film is a credit to the producer and will tlease and instruct any audience. "The Kind-Hearted Bootblack" is a film that appealed to he audience. "Hurry Up, Please" is a repetition of "Liquid Electricity" tunts, which have lately been working overtime. "He Who Laughs Last Laughs Best" is a clever comedy hat certainly raised much laughter among the audience, vlore entertainment is condensed into its 500 feet than is jound in some of the long-drawn-out comedies that fill a vhole reel. In fact, we saw in this one several points where t could have been lengthened out to good purpose and told jhe story still more clearly. "Weather Changes at the Smiths" is an amusing skit showing how a man gets it good and plenty for letting his affecions wander from his dear wifey. "After Many Years" is a superior production. Around an nteresting and easily understood plot the Biograph company )f actors have produced a film that holds the attention of the the \" ■ '' '" ''" "The Croat Roads" .1 headliner filn the '" kind M scenerj and actions to '" ■'' this film was shown 1 emarks w< re heard amoni "The Railroad Detective" is one of thi tid to appeal to the gallery. There is bli 1 hero and hero I he latter is certainly a stai p ind there is no make ire in the way sh< the throttle of tl ne in an exciting ch 1 the robbers who are trying to escape in another engine. "Saved by Love." While the scenic effects and action in this film are up to the usual standard of the manufacturer, the plot is weak and it tuitions that arc brought out are very inconsistent. "The Humpty Dumpty Circus."— This film was generally well received, especially by children, as it is a very amusing picture for the young ones. If the public had the slightest knowledge of the long, hard and tedious work required to produce such films they would give more credit to the manufacturers. "Yens Yensen." — The least said the better. The plot is poorly worked and the acting is bad. Although the butcher boy and the servant girl are supposed to be Swedes, there was no reason for the manufacturers to hurt the feelings of their Swedish patrons by making the two above-named character so ugly and so ridiculous. Many Swedes carry their nickels to the shows. "The Candidate." — If it was not for the trade-mark, we could not believe that the manufacturers of this film are the same producers who showed us such good pictures as "The Poor Old Couple" and others. A year ago, when competition was a fact, the manufacturers were more careful of their work, but since they have assumed the control of the market they seem to believe that anything is good enough for the American public. "The Mock Baronets." — A clever comical film, finely staged, well acted, yet void of silly incidents and of these long common chases. The subject is clean, amusing, and is a film that can be shown in the most refined places. Such a good production raises hearty laughter and brings the crowds bacK again. "Sold by His Parents." — "Poor boy," "How true it is," etc., are some of the expressions heard in the audience while this excellent film was .shown on the screen. The subject is dramatic, but clean and only too true, as few persons realize the sufferings of many of our poor children. As this film is staged with the greatest care and of good acting, the audience was deeply moved and the sympathetic expressions were numerous. Although an excellent production, the manufacturers could have strengthened the film by making it longer; and by so doing they would have explained more clearly the guilt of the butler and the innocence of the boy. "The Glacier's Victim."— A fine production, well acted and very natural in all the actions and details. This film contains some wonderful scenes of mountains and glaciers of the most excellent photography. These beautiful scenes have raised man} exclamations of "How fine." The subject is of daily occurrence and the accident is only one of the many sad results of the ascensions of glaciers. The manufacturers could have given more importance to the accident proper. "Antony and Cleopatra." — If Shakespeare could only realize the fate of the works he left behind, the modern use of them would cause his prophetic soul to weep. Just think of it! Antony and Cleopatra given in its entirety, with the vocal parts and other details of the regular production cut uut, in less than twenty minutes! What a vast difference between the older presentation and that represented by the modernized form of amusement! But with all the condensation, the magnificence was retained, and I heard several in the audiences say the film had created in them an appetite for more of the same kind. The Vitagraph Company can take pride in the production. The elaborate stage effects and