Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 277 "Frou Frou" Miss Maude Fealy Makes a Charming Frou Frou in a Very Pretty Thanhouser Four-Part Offering. Reviewed by lianford C. Judson. A MOST charming picturization of Lloyd F. Lonergan s dramatic story has been made by the Thanhouser Company using Augustus Daly's theater version as a basis for the scenario. To say that it is wfholly successful would not be quite true; for the third reel, tilled as it undeniably is with the character of the unusually attractive heroine, is not dramatic. It attempts to carry the story forward and does so in a way; but lacks the convincing truth and the inexorable logic of the two parts that precedea. The forth reel again gets hold of the story and makes it real to us; but even at the best this part would have been mere denouement which, in a drama, is just the accounting for the different threads of suspense. There is still a good measure of suspense left; but the big interest, the fate of Frou Frou's petty pretty heaven of selfishness, is settled. The summer time of her pretty butterfly life is oyer and done and what is to happen to her delicate wings is of less importance. Yet, Mr. Exhibitor, here is a delightful picture. It deals with no petty or insignificant fates; it has been made by charming artists and is full of things that will appeal strongly, just as it is. It is an offering to quicken the imagination. That is all the best dramas are intended to do. The sister's unaccountable futility when Frou Frou has determined to run away with the dissolute count is weak; for it is distinctly out of line with these two characters. The sister seemed to make no real struggle at all. The weakness is in the business not in the acting. This role of Louise is taken by Phyllis Bostwick whose work is strong support to the picture. Harry Benham, who plays Frou Frou's husband, also does commendable work. James Cruze, his false friend, plays with the passion necessary. Her flight to him Avhen the chill winds began to blow was quite understandable. Both these men are thoroughly at home in their business in those scenes in the last reel immediately following the discovery of Frou Frou by her outraged husband who has followed her flight to Venise and they are seen also m the duel. The picture has wisely made much of its nursery scenes; they are of the greatest importance in this particular story. The little son of Frou Frou is played by "the Kidlet" and surely the youngster has a charm that is remarkable. These scenes are as full of poetry — the nursery itself and all the action around the boy are tremendously effective for good on the picture's impression. The photography and the staging of the whole offering are meritorious. There are slight short-comings. Mr. Cruze wore the same suit of clothes through, it seems, the whole story, even in the duel he had the same cut-away suit that he wore at the rehearsal of the play for the poor, held two years before at the home of Frou Frou. "Then that out-door scene in Venice was quite plainly an American wooden piazza. Yet, although there are certain things that it was necessary to criticise, it remains true that most of the picture is wholly successful and that its beauties and good qualities over-balance its defects. It is truthfully a most charming ofifering and this reviewer counts himself lucky in having had the chance to see it. It is above the average as entertainment for such as can appreciate art of acting and staging. Scene from "Frou Frou" (Thanhouser). Miss Maude Fealy, who takes the leading role, makes a lovely Frou Frou. The character of this morally unsubstantial hot-house flower bit of humanity has been drawn with great skill. Our getting thoroughly acquainted with her, as she is portrayed by Miss Fealy, is decidedly pleasant. Every step she takes, every gesture, is as feminine as Eve; yet there is a fairy like touch of unhumanity, which is not inhumanity, about her and, if she doesn't take up the duties and obligations of human life, well, she's charming and that means a great deal. At the end of the second reel we find her in a situation in which her absolutely emptiness has been filled with a sense that the ground is slipping away from under her feet. She has been of no help to her husband, she has refused to be a mother to her child, she has understood her self-sacrificing sister just well enough to impose on her. .\nd now she has been wakened to a realization that her sister is of use in the household and that she is a nonentity. Her boy loves his aunt more than his mother. She makes a weak attempt to regain her position and fails. Her husband won't take her seriously. All this is shown in the third reel and much space is given to showing it with very little effectiveness. Economy of attention would be gained by cutting away all those opening dance scenes. They add very little to the story and it has all been shown in the second reel. We already realize that she is not without temptation; but there has been little danger from it up to now. You could tempt a rose with as much hope of success. Now the empty sheath of the woman has been filled with the knife of discontent. She is likely to cut through her troubles and fly to some other kind of summer weather merely because this that she owns is becoming chilled. Her husband fails to realize this and the weakness of the third reel is most in that this important fact isn't pictured clearly. The sister saw it a bit sooner than he and if she had tried to make the man see it, it would have given more dramatic struggle and more even progress through the reel. "Love Everlasting" Reviewed by W. Stephen Bush. THE Italian love of beauty and the Italian sense of art are pleasantly demonstrated in many parts of this six-part feature by the Gloria Company. The gradual rise from the pathetic to the tragic, developed on strong dramatic lines, forms the greatest merit of this play. There are two stories in the films and it seemed to me as if the preliminary story had perhaps been spun out to disproportionate length, but this defect, if it be one, may be cured with any good pair of scissors. The feature is remarkable for its introduction of Lydia Borelli, an Italian actress of note and of pleasing forceful personality joined to histrionic talents of no mean order. The part she plays has a touch of Isolde in it and she rises to her difficult task with consummate art. The part of the hero was, I think, poorly cast by the author of the story and Mario Bonnard, who made such a striking Satan, failed to help it any. He halted and hesitated when he should have throbbed with passion and he seemed unable to control even a small register of emotions. He was the only disappointment, however, as every other part down to the humblest was rendered most adequately. The plot is comparatively simple. The daughter of an o-fficer is banished from her country because her father had lost papers important to the state. The banishment was made more bearable to the girl because her father, in his despair, had killed himself. She develops great musical talents and we see her on the operatic stage in various parts. She meets the prince of the country from which' she had been e.xiled and they fall in love with each other. When they learn of each other's identity, they resolve to part, but love is stronger than all the power of cruel circumstance. The woman, rather than give up the man she loves, gives up her life and dies on the stage of a poison which slowly drank up her life-blood. It must be added that the photography and the settings, most of the latter being outdoor, are deserving of unstinted praise. Like other European features, this production has at times a tendency to drag and if a few hundred feet could be sacrificed, I am sure the storj' would become dramatically stronger and more acceptable. WILKERSON BUILDING PICTURE HOUSE. N. A. Wilkerson, sole lessee and manager of the Tabb Opera House, Mt. Sterling, Ky., is remodeling one of that city's most centrally located buildings into a first class picture house. No name has yet been selected for the new house, and Mr. Wilkerson is considering offering a cash prize for a suitable name. In addition to the pictures which will be shown in the new theater, Mr. Wilkerson has decided to use a couple of vaudeville acts to complete the program.