Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

292 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD "An American Citizen." John Barrymore Makes Decided Hit in Famous Players FourPart Comedy-Drama — Noteworthy Cast. By George Blaisdell. THERE is an abundance of fine comedy as there are also many strong dramatic situations in "An American Citizen," adapted from the play of Madeleine Lucelte Ryley, which the Famous Players released on January 10. It is a story in which the comedy apparently predominates until suddenly you discover the fun has been pulled out of a situation and that you are looking on gray life. One of the more notable instances of this quick reversal is where John Barrymore dejectedly faces a portrait of the Father of His Country on a table opposite him. He is in financial difficulties; a partner has absconded and the office rent is due. A wealthy relative in England has left him a fortune Scene from "An American Citizen" (Famous Players). contingent on marrying an Englishwoman and becoming a British subject. The only apparent chance of restoring to his trusting clients the money they have left with him is to accept the terms imposed by his late uncle. There is a laugh as the screen shows him sadly waving a hand to the first president and saying: "Good-bye, old man!" But as he leans over and from the corner of the frame gentlj' removes an American flag there is an ominous hitch in the mirth. When he presses to his lips tlie bit of cloth the change is complete. If at home the act strikes deep, imagine the feelings of the expatriate thousands of miles from home. John Barrymore more than makes good on the screen. His performance in the role of Beresford Cruger is unusual in that it is different. It has rare quality. There are the attractiveness of youth, the skill that comes by training, and the talent that is in his blood. In the language of the screen, he always "registers." Evelyn Moore plays Beatrice Carew, the cousin who has been disinherited m favor of Cruger and with whom she makes a loveless marriage for the sake of keeping the money in the family. Miss Moore has a charming personality — and what is better, she has stage intelligence. There are many delicate touches in her portrayal of the woman who is wife in name only. We see the development of the affection from the first meeting until she challenges her husband by standing under the mistletoe in the backroom of the little old bookshop in London on the snowy Christmas eve. The work of the cast is uniformly excellent. Peter Lang is the whole-souled, jolly senior partner in the firm of Barbury, Brown & Cruger, the firm friend of the junior member. Hal Clarendon is Brown, the partner who takes the bonds from the large safe which is also the refrigerator, and leaves for parts unknown. Howard Missimer, just back from a three months' rest on a farm, is his old self again in the portrayal of the aristocratic Sir Humphry Bunn. Alexander Gaden is the persistent agent of town lots. Wellington A. Playter, who was the gladiator in "A Daughter of the Hills." as the giant English valet makes a pronounced hit. Joe Short, as the office boy. contributes to the comedy, and Ernest Truex, as Mercury, the London newsboy and later assistant in the bookstore, adds much to the effectiveness of the final act. The settings are elaborate. One scene that would stand out in any production is the representation of the House of Lords across the Thames, with the higher buildings of the city showing in diminishing prominence in the background. There will be many who will fail to realize that this is a studio triumph, .\nother notable setting is the hotel front in Nice. Not the least effective are the scenes about the oflice building elevator. The story holds throughout. In the beginning there is straight comedy imtil the partners discover that, instead of having no assets, they have real liabilities — through the absconding of Brown. The situations in the hotel, when Cruger, through the excusable blunder of a clerk, is assigned to his wife's room, are full of rollicking fun. The episode of the stocking will upset any house. The best of all, however, are in the last half reel. Barbury gets word that the opera house lot has advanced in price — worth a small fortune, in fact — and seeks out Mrs. Cruger. He brings her to the little bookstore, where Cruger has been busy hanging Christmas greens. As the American sits by the blazing logs — they really are blazing — with his tiny flag in one hand and a faded flower bearing memories of his wife in the other, Mrs. Cruger steps in on him. Gradually she edges her way to the mistletoe as Cruger backs against the wall. When he realizes the situation the end is sudden — and dramatic, J. Searle Dawley is the producer. THANHOUSER'S LEADING WOMAN BACK AGAIN. Miss Marguerite Snow, the popular leading woman of the Thanhouser Company, has just returned to the studio after an absence of six months, during which time she has been taking life easy. Miss Snow had been with the Thanhouser Company three consecutive years before she had taken a vacation. The rest has been greatly beneficial to her, and she feels able to do even better work than heretofore. Marguerite Snow as the Wife of Potiphar. The first important multiple reel feature in which Miss Snow appears is "Joseph in the Land of Egypt." In this picture she takes the chief feminine role, that of the wife of Potiphar. The accompanying illustration shows her as such. A few of the most notable multiple reel releases in which Miss Snow has played are "She," "Lucile" and "Jess." LOOK OUT FOR CHECK FORGER! Information has reached the office of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company that a young man, light hair, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, said to be about 35 years of age, usually well dressed, who, when last seen, wore a gray overcoat and a derby hat, has been offering checks as a representative of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Hotel Redington at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has already suffered from misrepresentations of this gentleman, who is carrying checks purporting to be voucher checks which are signed by Carl Laemmle, president, and J. C. Graham, general manager. This gentleman has also cashed a check under the name of Roy L. Hardner with the same signatures. Exchanges, exhibitors, etc., are warned to look out for this gentleman and if possible to notify the Universal Film Manufacturing Co. or Mr. L. J. Gammon, of the -American Bankers' Association, s Nassau St., New York City.