Moving Picture World (May-Jun 1925)

628 MOVING PICTURE WORLD June 6, 1925 “Just a Woman” Clever Twists and Excellent Acting Make This First National Feature Pleasing Entertainment Reviewed by C. S. Sewell A play by Eugene Walter, the author of many stage successes, furnishes the basis for the M. C. Levee production “Just A Woman” which First National is distributing, with Conway Tearle, Claire Windsor and Percy Marmont in featured roles. These three form what might be termed a friendly triangle although the vamp in the story seeks to make it appear otherwise. The bare outline of the plot is a familiar one. A man who suddenly becomes wealthy is ensnared by a vamp who seeks to make him divorce his wife and marry her, but he learns his wife is true blue and reconciliation occurs. In the twists that have been given the working out of this theme it becomes pleasing entertainment. For instance, the main thing is the playing up of the woman angle, as implied by the title. The story hinges in its early reels on the success of the friend’s invention and it is the wife who puts over the big contract that means wealth for all and she later shows her cleverness too, and finally it is a woman who nearly gets the best of her, the vamp who stages a frame-up. The women have it all their own way in this picture for they pull the strings and the men do their bidding. This should make it appeal to the fair sex. Although it would hardly seem plausible that the hero would fall so easily for the vamps line which is so obvious to the spectator, the story for th» most part is worked out smoothly and with considerable cleverness and holds the attention and interest. While not to be taken too seriously it is entertaining. Much of this is due to the work of the three featured players and a fourth, Dorothy Revier, who is not so well known. Claire Windsor gives a bright and pleasing interpretation of the role of the clever wife, Conway Tearle, except for the ease with which he falls for the vamp is convincing as the husband, and with little to do Percy Marmont is effective as the loyal friend. Well up in the class with these is the portrayal of the vamp by Dorothy Revier who looks and acts the part of the charmer admirably. While not unknown to many fans, we believe this is to be her biggest opportunity and she certainly registers in the big-time class. Eddie Gribbon introduces some effective comedy. Cast June Holton Claire Windsor Robert Holton Conway Tearle Bobby Dorothy Broek George Rand Percy Marmont Clarice Clement Dorothy Revier Oscar Dnnn Kddie Gribbon Based on play by Eugene Walter. Scenario by Jack Cunningham. Directed by Irving Cummings. Length, 6,3«3 feet. Story June Holden finally persuades her husband, Robert, to enter into an agreement with their friend, George Rand, a struggling inventor, to allow him the use of a room in their home and facilities to experiment with a new steel process in return for half interest. Rand proves successful and Robert enthusiastically arranges sale of the idea. June refuses the offer as too low and faces the directors of the corporation with the ultimatum that her husband, a practical steel man, be made president and the cash and royalty be increased very much. They find their joke, that she is “just a woman" and should be easy to handle, has an awful back kick. With wealth comes gaiety and Robert soon is ensnared by a designing vamp who in her endeavor to convince him that more than friendship exists between June and George arranges a frameup by having an ape get into June’s room on a night when George is in the house and Robert has purposely remained away. June’s screams naturally brought Robert and a flashlight photo was used as evidence. In the hearing before a referee the question of the custody of the child is brought up and to keep him June denies Robert is his father. Realizing the extent of this sacrifice of her good name, Robert faces the vamp and learns of the frame-up. Going back to the judge he apologizes to his wife and withdraws his suit and begs June to forgive him, which she does. “Yll Show Yon the Town” Reginald Denny Star in Great Universal Jewel Entertainment Picture Reviewed by Sumner Smith “I’ll Show You the Town,” a Universal Jewel starring Reginald Denny, is the finest sort of entertainment. Packed from beginning to end with chuckles and roars of laughter, it will send all theatre audiences away in the best spirits imaginable. There is not a bit of forced humor in it — every bit depends on the plot and advances it; hence its great appeal. We predict that it will break at least a few theatre records. Reginald Denny is immense and his support, headed by Marion Nixon, Lilyan Tashman, Margaret Livingston and Cissy Fitzgerald— the women with whom he gets into difficulties — is of the best. Minor players each have opportunities to register humor and not one of them fails. Hayden Stevenson, Helen Greene, Neely Edwards, Lionel Braham — they’re all great. Elmer Davis’ story is exceptionally good screen material. Its two highlights are a man’s attempt to secretly dine three women at one time in a restaurant and, later, to remain on the best of terms with them when they call at his hotel and, furthermore, get rid of a raging husband and the wife that the hero has befriended. From the standpoint of pure comedy, probably the funniest scenes are those in the restaurant between Denny and Cissy Fitzgerald. She imagines herself drunk on prohibition champagne and Denny rivals her grotesque dancing when a bit of ice slips down the back of his neck. Eventually they are put out of the restaurant. While Denny is consistently good, too much praise cannot be given Miss Fitzgerald for her work in the scenes allotted her. The hotel scene has to do with an escape from the raging husband. His wife is the butt of the comedy, being shoved from one room to another. The denouement is effectively staged in a corridor, before the elevator, and in these scenes the characters are perfectly posed. How well knit is the story becomes apparent in this final big scene which brings all the characters together. This picture, after the first reel, has a swing and snap to it seldom found. There is practically no waste footage after that reel, though the picture runs 7,400 feet. The comedy begins along rather legitimate lines, swings off into farce and ultimately turns into rich burlesque, without, however, impairing the entertainment value in the least — really, helping it. People like to laugh, and here is a clean, speedy, highly humorous opportunity for them to laugh. Book “I’ll Show You the Town” and exploit it for a clean-up. Cast Alec Dupree .Reginald Denny Hazel Dealing Marion Nixon Professor Carlyle McCabe. . . . Edward Kimball Fan Green Lilyan Tasbman Martin Green Hayden Stevenson Agnes Clevenger Cissy Fitzgerald Lucille Pemberton Margaret Livingston Billie Bonner Neely Edwards Professor Goodhue William A. Carroll Aunt Sarah Martha Mattox Edith Torey Helen Greene Frank Pemberton Lionel Braham From the story by Elmer Davis. Scenario by Harvey Thew. Directed by Harry A. Pollard. Photographed by Charles Stumar. Length, 7,400 feet. Story Alec Dupree, college professor, is called on to induce a middle-aged widow to donate funds to the college. Circumstances find him with engagements with three women at a restaurant the same evening. One is this widow, the second the friend of a friend and the third a charming girl with whom he has fallen in love. He manages the situation for a time by going from one table to the other when a boy pages him. Returned to his hotel, Alec finds an oldtime sweetheart, now married, in his rooms. Her enraged husband shows up and Alec hides her in another room. The male occupant of that room hastily returns her, and she is further moved around. Alec and she are caught just as the elevator discharges his friends of the evening before, and he is discredited. Desperate, he runs off with the girl he loves and wins her “yes.” “The Fighting Demon” Athletic Stunts, Action and Comedy Make This a Typically Entertaining Talmadge Feature Reviewed by C. S. Sewell In “The Fighting Demon,” his newest release through F. B. O., Richard Talmadge has another congenial story, built especially with a view to allowing him ample opportunities for stunts and naturally falling into the same type of entertainment as his former vehicles. As usual with Talmadge stories, plausibility is considerably stretched in devising some of the situations. However, this will not affect its entertainment value with this star’s fans, who are looking for stunts and fast action, and there is plenty of both here. Measured from this standpoint, it is fully up to if not just a little ahead of Talmadge's average and should amply please his admirers. In this instance Talmadge is cast as a safe expert who is lured to South America by a gang who want to rob a safe. They rob him of his money so he cannot return and he signs for a prize fight. The night of the fight they kidnap him and force him to open the safe, but he locks them in, rushes to the ring, defeats his opponent, jumps out into the audience and nabs one of the escaping crooks, and incidentally wins the girl. This is just a sample of the action, for a lot more occurs on shipboard as the result of his flirting with the wife of the fighter and being chased all over the vessel. He climbs the rigging, jumps from deck to deck, etc., introducing stunt after stunt, some new, some familiar, but all good and showing off his athletic ability and agility. It is obvious from the foregoing that TaL madge is perfectly at home here and gives a pleasing performance. His supporting cast is