Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1923)

S36 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 29, 1923 tame. There are, however, a few good laughs in this part. One of the best pieces of comic pantomime is Chuck Reisner's. He is asked to relate how he happened to marry Sally, the gum-chewing, diamond-laden maid who invites the serving maid to sit down at the table with guests. He describes their meeting in a cemetery, his proposal, Sally’s refusal, her change of heart when he shows her a diamond and their visit to the minister— all by pantomime. It is a vivid touch and very well done. There are some exceptionally funny moments toward the close when the guests sprinkle the contents of a snuff box on their ice cream, mistaking it for powdered chocolate. Also the carving of the turkej' will bring a few chuckles. The star and the cast, including Carrie Clark Ward, Kala Pasha and Francis Treboal, do very well and show fine direction. If the picture had been done in two or possibly three reels, it would have been far more snappy and more certain of a wider appeal. As it is, the tastes of your patrons for this type of entertainment should be carefully considered. Cast Tim O'Toole Hull Montana His Mother Carrie Clark Ward His Father Kala Pasha His Little Brother Francis Treboal His I)og “Rags” Yvonne Florence Gilbert The Pittsburgh Kid Churck Reisner Sally of the Vlley Gertrude Short The Barber Leo White The Chiropractor “Tiny” Stanford V Man of Wealth Stanhope Wlieatcroft ^ Written and directed by Hunt Stromberg. Photographed by Irving Reis. Length, 4,112 feet. Story tl The O’Tooles suddenly inherit a fortune end move to Pasadena, where they try to into society by doing some lavish enterls ining. Their formal guests receive one CPrrific shock after another. An old friend, }u prize fighter, arrives uninvited and brings his Bowery bride with him. They pass the rest of the time away with tales of the ringside and committing more social crimes until s^e guests make a clandestine exit. ky ^ ‘The Marriage Market” Daderc basing. Light Entertainment for the Average Patron Provided in Newest C. B. C. Feature Reviewed by C. S. Sewell While in the C. B. C. production, “The Marriage Market,” there is an undercurrent of moralizing over the attempts of matchmaking relatives to secure for girls of the upper social set husbands who are wealthy regardless of their other drawbacks and the absence of love, the picture as a whole is an exceedingly light and romantic story with a theme that often stretches the credulity of the spectator. The heroine is a very young lady who continually dreams of romance and adventure and in following this idea it is hard to believe that she would be carried away to the extent of the incident on which the story is builded. Coincidence also plays a prominent part in the development. Altogether it is not a story that will stand rigid analysis from the standpoint of probability and even introduces situations which ap HetJlotJIlan $ut flintier . proach farce, but if it is not viewed too seriously there are several points that will appeal to patrons liking light, amusing entertainment. In the first place, the story is well acted, there is plenty of romance and adventure, and for the most part a breeziness to the action. There are several familiar types, considerable good humor and situations that will please the average spectator and help him to while away a pleasant hour. Pauline Garon is delightful and pretty to look at in the leading role and adds materially to the picture’s appeal. Jack Mulhall is effective in the opposite role of a romantically inclined novelist and the other roles are all in capable hands. Alice Lake does good work, but is handicapped by the fact that her role is an unsympathetic one throughout. Cast Miss Whitttomb Kate Lester Miss Blodgett Maym Kelso Theodora Bland Pauline Graon Mr. Piggott Mare Robbins Mrs. Piggott Vera Lewis Lillian Piggott Alice Lake Wilton C'arruthers Jack Mulhall Seibert Peckham Willard Louis Reform School Girl Shannon Day Count lJemitri Jean DeBriac Story and scenario not credited. Directed by E. J. LeSaint. Produced by Harry Cohn. Length, 0,-’97 feet. Story Theodora Bland, a mischievous girl, is expelled from a fashionable school and, returning home, helps a girl who has escaped from a reform school. Theodora gets off in the rain at the wrong station and, seeking shelter, wanders into the home of a young novelist, Wilton Carruthers. Being romantically inclined, she tells Carruthers she is the girl who escaped from the reform school and he saves her when the sheriff arrives. Reaching home, Theodora makes a hit with her aunt’s new husband and finds his daughter is engaged to Carruthers. The girl, Lillian, and Theodora’s aunt seek to marry her to a wealthy oil king. She rebels and goes to Carruthers. Lillian finally accuses Theodora of being the escaped reform school girl and breaks off her engagement with Carruthers, who offers to marry Theodora, and is accepted, as the real reform schpol girl comes forward and confesses, and all ends happily. “The Best Man Wins” (Pathe — Cartoon — One Reel) With a prize-fighter for a hero, this Aesop Film Fable is a lively account of pugilistic victories. Mr. Rat starts out in excellent training, destroys the trap that would destroy him and finishes with an overwhelming defeat of the village bully four times his size. — M. K. “Pathe Review No. 52” (One Reel) Scenes from Columbia, South America, showing the cultivation of a famous fruit, the bananas is the chief feature here. The making of toy railroads and trains, a study of the porcupine and tinted views of the waterways of Sevre, France, are seen. — M. K. “Chasing Wealth” (Universal — Comedy — One Reel) Pursuing the elusive dollar bill occupies all of Neely Edwards’ and Bert Roach’s time in this Universal comedy. They have no difficulty in acquiring it but much trouble in keeping it. It is a good number with the two comedians entering into their characters with their usual spontaneity. — M. K. “Jealous Husbands” Maurice Tourneur’s Newest Production for First National Is Effective Emotional Melodrama Reviewed by C. S. Sewell Unfounded jealousy of a suspicious husband and the havoc it wrought furnishes the basis for “Jealous Husbands,” Maurice Tourneur’s newest production for First National. In this picture, the director turns from whimsical and imaginative themes, such as he has employed in several recent productions, and presents a strong moral lesson by means of melodrama. It is a production that plays upon the emotions and should prove a good box-office attraction in the average theatre. The story is not especially strong and the action not at all times convincing, as it is difficult to believe that simply on suspicion a man should go to the extent of having his own child kidnapped. However, this leads to a chain of circumstances that play upon the heart strings, such as the grief of the mother at the loss of her child, her finding him and not knowing he is her boy, the substitution of another child and the final recovery of her own offspring. There is plenty of melodramatic action in the picture once it gets well under way, although it is slow at first. There is an excellent auto smash-up and other points that introduce thrills. There is strong sympathy for the mother and boy throughout and a feeling of condemnation for the husband which is so strong that you do not feel he is rightfully entitled to the happiness that finally comes. The chief defect in the picture is the fact that the story is not altogether convincing. This, however, will probably be overbalanced in the minds of the spectators by the other good points. There are, however, some scenes which appear a little too brutal as when the boy is cruelly beaten. Though this is done offstage the shadows carry the idea forcefully. The work of the cast is excellent. Jane Novak is a good type for the wife and acts with sincerity and feeling. Earle Williams has the unsympathetic role of the husband. Benny Alexander is superb as the boy, and George Seigman does fine acting as the brutal burglar-kidnapper. There is strong appeal in the title which affords opportunities for effective promotion work and will, if rightfully played up, attract patronage, for it suggests a situation that strikes close to home for many in both sexes. Cast Ramon Martinez Earle tViBiams Alice Martinez Jane Novak Spud Ben Alexander Sliver Don Marion “Red" Lynch George Seigmann Amaryllis Emily Fitzroy “Portland Kid" Bull Montana “Sniffer Charlie" J. Gunnis Davis Based on story by Fred Kennedy Myton. Directed by Mauriee Tourneur. Length, (i^iOW feet. Story Misled by yarns about unfaithful wives, Ramon Martinez returns home unannounced from a trip while his wife is away to recover a series of compromising letters which will save his sister. Finding an incriminating' letter, and crazed by jealousy, Martinez accuses his wife of unfaithfulness and when a burglar breaks into the house Martinez gives him their baby boy. Martinez’s wife leaves him. Ramon seeks the lad, who in the meantime has run away from the burglars who have brought him up as a crook. Finally, after having another boy palmed off on him, his own child appears on the scene, secures letters that prove his mother's innocence and a happy reunion occurs.