The Moving Picture Weekly (1920-1921)

26 -THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY DAILY NEWS, THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1921. A WESTERN GUNMAN PROVIDES VARIOUS ANXIOUS MOMENTS "THE FREEZE OUT." Produced by Universal. Presented at outlying theatres. THE CAST. The Stranger Harry Carey Zoe Whipple Helen Ferguson Keadlignt Whipple Joe. Harris Denver Hed Charles Le Moyne Bobtail McGuire, J. Farrell MacDonald . Mrs. McGulre.-. Lydta Yeamans Titus By McELLIOTT. There are moments of real, almost agonized suspense in Harry Carey's picture. You are conscious of an actual sihrinkinf: when Harry, brandishing a formidable pistol aloft, jocularly ascertains the exact location of the \illain'8 black heart by thrusting the tip of his handkerchief above the ridge of his vest pocket — and then aiming at it! Yes, there are real "moments" in "The Freeze Out." I like Harry Carey as a gunman. I like his homely angularity, the ingenuous manner he toes in — the comic honesty of all his behavior. He cannot be accused of imitating Hart, although this is the sort of Btory he does best. His movements are not cribbed from William S., nor his expressions. They are all his ownv And good. "The Freeze Out" tells one of those peculiar-to-the-movies tales of how a rough diamond has his vomers polished off by a pretty, fiery and earnest maiden. In this case she is Helen Ferguson, who has flaming dark eyes, a combative chin and a sturdy little figure; She bums to reform the town of Broken Buckle, and incidentally her reformation takes in the figures of The Stranger (Harry Carey), who isjiot such a bad 'un, after all. It's good western stuff, as westem stuff goes. Therels enougfi humor— ^and enough of the agonized suspense I mentioned In the firs6 paragraph — ^to make it popular. INFLUENCE Bad Man Reformed bj Film Heroine HE WAS A BAD MAN, to all intents, but the heroine reformed him. As Harry Carey plays him In "The Freeze Out" he's a plain, as to looks, but swaggering, as to gait, hero. You like him and the picture. The motion picture column conducted in the New York Daily News every morning is alw'iys interesting and ever original. Miss Mabel McElliott, the reviewer, is invariably quick to ajypredate merit on the silver sheet and avoids the stereotyped form of criticism. If not a daughter of the West she appreciably is a great admirer of action ''Westerns," particularly of the type in which Harry Carey plays the swaggering hero. NEXT HARRY CAREY PICTURE STARTED AT UNIVERSAL CITY yyHAT is regarded as the best story secured by Universal for Harry Carey in a long time has been placed in production at Universal City under the direction of Jack Ford. The story is called "Christmas Eve at Pilot Butte" and attracted considerable attention some time ago when it appeared in the Red Book Magazine. Courtney Ryley Cooper is the author of the original tale. The screen version is the work of E. J. Clawson. "Christmas Eve at Pilot Butte" is a strong story of life in the raw. It deals with the primitive emotions and the elemental passions and preaches the doctrine that virtue and nobility know neither social station nor geographical limitations. The role of Bart Carson might have been written to Carey's measure, so thoroughly does it suit the popular western star. It is remarkably human in its weaknesses and its heroics and permits of an exhibition of self sacrifice in the concluding reel that is guaranteed to play a tremola on the heartstrings of every person in the audience. TO POPULARIZE GUN THROUGH STAR'S NAME A REVIVAL of the old frontier model revolver and its general use is indicated by the fact that the largest manufacturer of fire-arms has asked permission to name the modernized weapon of the old range after Harry Carey. The Universal star uses a gun of that type in his western photodramas and has done much toward re-establishing the "six-shooter" in the estimation of men who live in the out-ofdoors. The gun, it is pointed out by sportsmen, drives a good sized slug with terrific force, is simple in mechanism, is not injured by rough handling in the open and will eventually supplant the ultra-modern automatic as the shooting iron for men who work in the open country. The manufacturer has sent a model of the gun to Carey and the star is testing its "hang" in the filming of "The Freeze Out," the big western feature in which he is being directed by Jack Ford at Universal City. The gun is engraved with the star's name and the makers are frank in saying that through the dedication they hope to make it popular as a side-arm.