The Moving Picture Weekly (1917-1919)

THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY Cheyenne Harry— Gun Fighter IOTHING is more significant of the times that the revival of interest in "Westerns." It is only a short time ago that manufacturers and exhibitors considered this form of photoplay entertainment as dead as the daguerreotype, as the antimacassar, as boneset tea, or as anything else which has become hopelessly superseded in the relentless march of time. Nobody can calculate how much certain players have had to do with this revived interest on the part of the public, an interest which the purveyors of pictures have been delighted to recognize. But it is certain that when the credit is apportioned, Harry Carey will be found to have a large share of it. This splendid type of Western actor has won his immense popularity by a faithful, sympathetic portrayal of the real "he-man," who had so much to do with the development of our country. Carey came t o Universal some time ago, and his first picture was a study of the adventurer type, the ""man with a past," the fellow who has had to go thru life with every man's hand against him, but who triumphs in the end, by sheer, £ n co r ruptible force of character. This picture was called "Just Jim," and no one who .saw it ever forgot it. It was not a "Western," in the true sense of the word, but "Jim" was a man of Western calibre — the kind that does things in stead of talking about them, the kind that takes the one line which he feels to be right, and follows it ito the end, though his world crashes down around him. But it was not long before Carey began to portray the hard-riding, straight-shooting man <of the plains, which he is so well fitted i>y inclination, accomplishment and appearance to do. "The Knight of the Range" was a five-reel feature in which he showed to great advantage, and which was one of the first ■"come-backs" in the line of simon-pure Western pictures. Bluebird Photoplays are an organization which has ■one ear to the ground, if not two. They were quick to appreciate that the resusciation of the Western was at hand, and they decided to help it along. So thev got Harry Carey to make a couple of Bluebirds for them aand their faith, both in the type of picture, and in Carey as an exponent of this type, was amply justified. "The Three Godfathers" and "Love's Lariat"* won the highest praise, and are two of the releases most favored by exhibitors for re-booking. Harry Carey has lived the life which he so graphically BY PETER PEPPER depicts for the camera. All the details of his appearance, costume and equipment are true to life. You almost never see him in the gorgeous regalia of the ordinary "moving picture" cowboy. He wears the clothes which a man who earns his living punching cattle really wears — a shabby old pair of overalls, a checked flannel shirt. The handkerchief tied around his neck is for use more than for ornament. Only his high-heeled boots and big hat proclaim the cattleman. You don't see him in goatskin chaps and picturesque leather cuffs, studded with nail-heads in fancy patterns. His are the working clothes of a working man. It is the same with his acting. Every gesture is in character. The typical plainsman is an individual without frills of either appearance, conversation or action. He does a lot, but he says very little about it. You can't imagine* his indulging in florid movements of' the hands, any more than i n flowery figures o f speech. He is a direct sort of person, with a single-track mind, as Pr e s i d e n t Wilson says. Carey is often described as the actor who can make the slightest gesture more eloquent than words. This economy N)f movement stands him in good stead in his portraval of the "Cheyenne" Harry sort of man. As "Cheyenne." Carey has appeared in numerout short pictures — one, two and three-reelers. The principal character of the Butterfly Picture, "Straight Shooting," in which he is starred this week, under the direction of Jack Ford, bears this name, which has come to stand for a sort of composite of what Carey has observed among the men who do things in the less thickly settled portions of the globe. It is very easy to become wildly enthusiastic when writing of "Straight Shooting"; everybody does when seeing it. "A whale of a picture!" "A corker!" "The finest Western I ever saw!" are some of the comments made by the professional and unprofessional critics who were present at the advance showing. Jack Ford has covered himself with glory as the director, and Carey does his finest work in the role of the hero. Molly Malone is the prettiest of heroines, and it is hard to find adjectives enough to praise adequately the riding of the Universal cowboys, headed by "Hoot" Gibson.