Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1912)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 41 good scene is when the gambler, having stolen the gold of the widow, scatters it along the sands to prevent anyone obtaining it again. "THE MILLIONAIRE BARBER" (Essanay), December 22.— Through the activity of a local newspaper reporter a barber is suddenly elevated to the commanding position of a millionaire. He almost pulls through, too, and has an heiress nearly corralled when his impecuniosity is discovered and his bluff is broken down. He had a lot of fun while it lasted, but when the wealthy persons, with whom he has been hobnobbing, are shown by the reporter a picture of him in barber attire he is thankful to escape from the little town. It is a close call for him at best; but he lands a good job before we leave him. "HOW SIR ANDREW LOST HIS VOTE'* (Edison), December 22.— An excellent picture purporting to represent an English political intrigue. A certain member of Parliament, whose voice and vote would have passed an objectionable measure, is prevented from reaching the house in time by the opposition's inducing a girl to call for assistance just as he passed her house. She merely re-enacted a scene from amateur theatricals that she had played. This was sufficient to hold him until too late to take part in the debate or vote upon the question. Presumably the bill did not pass. The acting is extremely good and the plot is sufficiently strong to hold the interest of the audience throughout. "BRONCHO BILLY'S CHRISTMAS DINNER" (Essanay), December 23. — This film is a novelty in Western productions. The idea of it is excellent and the method of working it out is to be commended. Broncho Billy is a bad man who has committed numberless crimes. In this instance, even though he had planned to rob a coach, he rescues the driver and a girl from death in a runaway and is invited with the rest of the crowd to a Christmas dinner at the girl's home. The incident results in his redemption and a decision to retorm. The long ride through the mountains with the coach is attractive and there is a thrill in every step of the runaway horses as they dash away and the outlaw after them. When he climbs to the box and takes the reins from the girl's hands the audience is ready to cheer. The story and the action are alike excellent and this film will prove popular because of its unusual but altogether reasonable sensations. "THE BULLY OF BINGO GULCH" (Selig), December 26.— The bully made the ranch foreman quit; the owner couldn't fire him, so he advertised for a new foreman who could. "Easy" Thompson, the circus bicycle rider, looking for a job, happens along just as the bully is making trouble for the owner, whose arm is in splints, and his pretty daughter. "Easy" knocks down the bully and is made toreman. The bully vows to "get" "Easy." There's a struggle and "Easy" makes the bully ride the wheel which is some fun. It is a well laid out picture. There is no scenery in it except the eye-full necessary to give background to the situation, which is kept moving and kept clear throughout. The last scene is a pretty picture under a lover's knot of trees. "THE OLD DOfLL" (Vitagraph), December 23.— The opening scene of this delightful comedy of sentiment is an old-fashioned primary school with Bunny as the kindly master. This scene introduces the old doll which is subjected to very hard usage by one of the boys. There is a very pretty sentiment running through this first group of scenes. They picture a close friendship between two little girls who are separated and as they part, the doll is exchanged for a ring; that was so each could remember the other. From that separation the picture jumps through some twenty years. We see the marriage of one of the girls to a rich man and are shown that the other has become a poor widow. She makes the dresses of the rich woman's housekeeper. While at the house, she steals a hand bag, because she is so poor, but is filled with remorse. The police searching her rooms, the rich woman and her husband being present the doll is found, and the poor woman recognized and forgiven. Oi course, to make a character steal is always likely to weaken our sympathy. Aside from this weakness, if it is one in this case, the picture is unusually good. "THE HIGHER TOLL" (Kalem), December 27.— The theme of this picture is the sacrifice a girl makes for the sake of her younger sister. She has promised to care for her, and does it, even to smothering her own love that her younger sister may be happy. The closing scene where, at her father's grave she pays the "higher toll," higher than her father expected, in her willingly accepted sorrow is emotional and dramatic. The Kalem players are always exceptionally good in plays of this type. The backgrounds are very pretty. "THE STOLEN TREASURE" (Eclipse), December 27.— The story of two beggar children who are befriended by a woman and discover the location of a casket filled with rich jewels. They describe its location to their father, who enters the house and secures it. The children follow, see what he does and return the jewels to the owner. They receive a liberal reward. It makes a very interesting picture. "PAIR EXCHANGE IS NO ROBBERY" (Eclipse), December 27.— On the same reel with the above is a short and rather boisterous comedy. A woman exchanges her costume for bloomers, which, of course, attract a great crowd. Just before she is seized, however, she manages to make her escape in a taxi. "SCENES ON THE COAST OF NORTH AFRICA" (Gaumont), December 26. — On the same reel with the above a short travelog depicting scenes in the Canary Islands, giving interesting and informing views of the people and their manner of living. The operator made his selections well. "A MODERN RIP" (Selig), December 25. — The only way in which this story resembles the oft repeated tale of the former Rip is in the fact that the hero is lazy, good for nothing and drinks too much. Arrested for some of his misdeeds, he is put in the village lock-up. There he thinks the matter over and the sight of his daughter causes him to determine to reform. When liberated he will not go home, but starts fishing instead. Then he performs a rescue of a child and is brought home in triumph as a hero. The reception his wife had arranged for him takes a different turn. The film ends with a thorough reformation and a happy and contented family. As a study in characterization the film is a success. "CAUGHT WITH THE GOODS" (Biograph), December 25.— The favorite Biograph sleuths appear agam in this film. They are employed by the vice committee to arrest some men who are running a gambling parlor. They are slow about it and allow the gamblers to escape. The committee, disgusted with the delay, make the raid themselves, seizing the apparatus. The sleuths, with a brilliancy which is quite common to them, arrest the entire vice committee for having in their possession gambling implements. The comedy is so good that the audience appreciates fully every move. "A MIX-UP IN RAINCOATS" (Biograph), December 25.— This comedy shows consequences coming from a mistake in raincoats, which prove almost disastrous to one unfortunate benedict. Two partners own raincoats much alike. One is a married man, the other is stiil in the other class. The unmarried man receives a note from his girl and slips it in his raincoat pocket. His partner puts on the wrong coat and hii wife finds the note. Imagination and experience can supply the rest of the story, and description would be inadequate to convey any impression of what happened to Brown. "THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF" (Edison), December 27. — A delightful burlesque of all the melodramas of y ester year to which a high class comedy situation lends a world of fun. The audience laughed with whole-souled volume and the reviewer is still laughing. A young and romantic Miss in love learns that her father's farm is mortgaged. She falls asleep and then the melodramas, from "The Two Orphans" down, begin. She has her part in every scene, is the heroine, loved by the hero, a country boy friend of hers, and pursued by the villain and villainess, people she knew. And how it is acted! Mary Puller takes the part. One of the managers of the theater came to where the reviewer sat and complimented the picture and this player's work especially. Wm. West is the farmer. The man whu holds the mortgage, in the dream, the villain, is James Gordon. His daughter, in the dream the villainess, is Laura Sawyer, and the country boy, hero in the dream, is Yale Benner. It is a very commendable picture; but to appreciate it, one needs to have seen melodramas or moving pictures of melodramas. "THE REVENUE AND THE GIRL" (Kalem). December 25.— A story of Kentucky, and of moonshiners, like others of its kind. The moonshiner's daughter in the end falls in love with the revenue man. Through her cleverness, her fatherand brothers, who had been captured, have escaped. The chief revenue man had been in the same plight, had been tied and gagged in the inner chamber of the cave by the moonshiners. His men. from a distance had discovered its entrance and had made the capture. They left the stuff in the cave on fire and their comrade within hadn't been noticed; but the girl had risked her life to save him. It is not as realistic, nor as convincingly acted as the best pictures dealing with this subject; yet it is far above some that have been released. "A THIEF IN THE NIGHT" (Vitagraph), December 25.— This picture is listed under the title, "Some Good in All." It is called a Xmas drama. It is a good drama for Christmas or any other season, but it has not a holiday atmosphere. There are two interwoven plots; one shows how a thief, coming in the night, chances to visit the nursery where the sweet expression of a little girl asleep awakens his better nature. He is the means of helping the girl's father escape from a blackmailer who also came at midnight to demand $10,000. One can hardly sympathize with this man; who ought to have called up the Central Ofiice and had a detective come and listen to the blackmailer's demand. No reason was shown why it wouldn't have been safe to do so. The second plot, that which deals with the thief, is more convincing and also interesting. The photography is so good that the moving characters are almost alive. It IS a commendable number. Independent. "THE DIVIDED RING" (Solax), December 29. — A very commendable picture, well photographed and with a truthful, human scenario behind it. It takes much of its charm from the fact that the boy and girl who play the chief parts seem made to fill them. .These children were orphans, adopted by different families, the girl by rich people who gave her every advantage, the boy by a cruel farmer. Each had one-half of their father's ring. The boy, very ill-treated, ran away and fell into the hands of a yeggman who taught him to enter houses. The first house he burglarizes is the home of his sister. She catches him in the theft, but her identity is convincingly disclosed to the boy by the half ring she has. The whole story comes out and the boy is also adopted by the foster parents of his sister. We repeat that the story is convincing, moral and very interesting. "ON THE STROKE OF THREE" (Imp), December 25.— A very original idea is behind this dramatic picture. A reformed forger, who after serving his term became the trusted employee of a well-to-do farmer, used his ability to his employer's advantage. The farmer was away, the cashier of the town bank absconded; the bank was on the point of failure. He forged his employer's name, saved his little fortune, but lost his own reputation. He was in love with the farmer's daughter. Even after he had told of his former life, she remained true and the farmer also accepted him. It is a very satisfying picture. "AN UNWELCOME SANTA CLAUS" (Rex). December 2S.— A Christmas comedy. Mrs. Jolly had gone with the children to spend Christmas in the country. Mr. Jolly was preparing to have a rattling good Christmas dinner with the girls and boys; he was going to bring them all to the house after the show. Mrs. Jolly came back unexpectedly and saw the preparations. Jolly had bought presents for each of the girls. Mrs. Jolly merely substituted a few bits of trash tor these, and wrapped them up again, letting everything go on as before. It was a dinner that was about as jolly as could be. When the jollity was at its height Jolly called them" all into the other room where there was a tree and presents. Santa Claus gave these out and then they were cpened. Say! they didn't do a thing to Jolly; they were tearing his eyes out when Santa took off her mask; it was Mrs. Jolly. The picture is original and extremely well put on.