Moving Picture World (Jul 1921)

July 9, 1921 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 189 Consensus of Published Reviews Here are extracts from news available at press hour from publications of the industry boiled down to a sentence. They present the views of Moving Picture World (M.P.W).; Exhibitors’ Herald (E.H.) ; Motion Picture News (N.) ; Exhibitors’ Trade Review (T.R.) ; Wid’s (W.). Beach of Dreams ( Edith Storey— Robertson-Cole— 5,005 feet) M. P. W. — There is only average entertainment in this Haworth picture. N. — Desert Island picture conventional in themes and treatment. E. H. — Fine supporting cast and clever acting make this Haworth production good entertainment. T. R. — Similar in plot to many other “desert island” photoplays, but made interesting nevertheless by clever handling and, for the most part, clever acting. W. — Shipwreck-Desert Island story; different only perhaps in ending. Home Talent ( Featured Cast — Associated Producers — 5 reels) M. P. W. — Is great as a beauty show, but lacks laughs. N. — Good slapstick on both ends : sags in the middle, T. R. — Up to Mack Sennett standard, and a trifle better than the last few offerings. E. H. — An admirable selection for a summer program. W. — Quite a disappointment after Sennett’s last two comedy features. One A Minute ( Douglas MacLean — Paramount — 4,510 feet) M. P. W. — The laughable moments are many, thanks to an excellent supporting cast as well as to the star and the possibilities in the original vehicle N. — Amusing hokum puts this one over. E. H. — The comedy element of the production is most strongly stressed and the picture should give fair satisfaction. T. R. — Registers as amusing comedy-drama, with many farcical situations and an original plot. W. — A good follow-up for MacLean’s last one. Big Town Ideas ( Eileen Percy — Fox — 4,200 feet) M. P. W. — Has but one object in life — to entertain the man who is not looking for highbrow material and hasn’t gone to the theatre because he can sleep there more peacefully than at home. The average movie patron will sit up and take notice from start to finish of this picture. N. — Rural comedy-drama is fairly amusing. T. R. — With a good mixture of dramatic situations, some thrills and humor ; this is entertainment of a good clean, enjoyable kind. E. H. — Presents Eileen Percy in a humorous characterization as a waitress in a railroad restaurant. A poor vein of humor runs through the substitles, which tends to cheap the production. W. — A big improvement over star’s recent pictures. Hollywood Cal., June 17th, 1921. Dear Mr. Weitzel: Many thanks for your splendid review of my picture “Too Much Speed.” Such reviews are a real .spur to strive for clean stories. Very sincerelv, BYRON MORGAN. Thunder Island ( Edith Robert — Universal — 4,279 feet) M. P. W. — Strong in entertainment value. N. — Dull, artificial story, very badly titled. E. H. — It contains some excellent photography and plenty of action, though the story is rather illogical. T. R. — This picture is distinguished by a remarkable piece of double exposure coupled with a good story and excellent photography. W. — Buried treasure story given very pretty production. The Beautiful Gambler ( Grace Darmond — Universal — 4,458 feet) M. P. W. — Tells its story via a series of tried and true and familiar incidents that, however hackneyed, produced thrills. N. — Time-worn picture obvious all the way. E. H. — Most picture fans will find it pretty familiar material. T. R. — As an example of how to play on the emotion of a motion picture audience this offering will be hard to beat. W. — Familiar story material and obvious development detract. The Foolish Matrons {Featured Cast — Associated Producers — 6,544 feet) M. P. W. — As it has had innumerable recent readers the feature should serve an exhibitor as a fine box office attraction. N. — Three character studies compose interesting picture. T. R. — A human sort of story well told. It is, as a matter of fact, three stories, and effort to record all three makes the recital a bit disjointed at times. E. H. — Cast of notable players enact convincingly a story strong in theme and steadily interesting. Kazan ( Eva Novak — Export and Import — 6,900 feet) M. P. W. — The individual twist given the story by Mr. Curwood makes it excellent material for a motion picture. It is a stirring tale of love, adventure, hardships, avarice, wrongs and revenge. N. — Another Curwood story makes interesting picture. E. H. — Story founded upon the adventures of an Eskimo dog, makes pleasing screen entertainment. W.— -An excellent production and undoubtedly the best yet from Curwood. YOUTH HAS ITS AFFECTIONS, ITS HAPPINESS AND ITS PANGS But Goldwyit’s production, “The Old Nest,’’ emphasizes the age-old statement that none survives like mother love