Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

(^Through the Box-Office Window J vr Reviewers' Views On C "feature tylm Edited by C S. Sewell “When a Man Loves” John Barrymore and Dolores Costello in Gorgeous Version of Classic Romance of Period of Louis XV USING AS A BASIS Abbe Prevost’s classic story of Manon Lescaut on which the grand opera was based, Warner Brothers are offering a rather liberally adapted version under the title ‘‘When a Man Loves” with John Barrymore as the star and Dolores Costello featured. The dramatic highlights of the original have been retained although some changes have been made in the settings and events leading up to them, and a stirring melodramatic climax shows the hero instigating a mutiny aboard the convict ship which gives the chance for the suggestion of a happy ending instead of picturing Manon’s death as in the original. The theme of this production is the passionate romance of an unsophisticated girl from the provinces and a young nobleman who letting the flesh overcome the call of the spirit succumbs to the fascination of this . girl on two different occasions just as he is about to enter a monastary and take holy orders. With the action taking place in the settings of the gorgeous court of Louis XV. of France, the story under the direction of Alan Crosland has been sumptuously mounted on a super-production scale and is marked by many beautiful and artistic pictorial effects. The story of Manon and her lover the Chevalier is an interesting one and the fact that neither of this pair are painted as paragons of moral perfection makes the roles more human even if it does tend to alienate a certain amount of sympathy. There is no doubt of Manon’s passionate lover for the Chevalier whose mistress she became, but her passion for jewels and gorgeous clothes led her to allow herself to become the paramour of the wealthy count, and the Chevalier himself is shown as not being averse to cheating at cards to get the money to satisfy Manon’s foibles. From the impulsive elopement of the young divinity student with the innocent Manon to save her from the Count, up to the final climax aboard ship, and various episodes of the ardest and tempestuous romance of this pair which seemed but pawns buffeted by fate, are pictured in great detail, and while they are glamorous and colorful and gorgeous, the interest inclines to weaken before the finish and it would seem that it could be materially shortened to advantage to much less than its present 10 reels. The mutiny aboard ship is exceedingly melodramatic with Barrymore working up the manacled convicts to such a frenzy that they break their chains and run riot over the ship. It is all thrilling and exciting but it is not pleasant to view their gruesome murder of the captain or to contemplate the fate of the other women at their hands even though this does provide the chance for the escape of hero and heroine. Barrymore, as always, gives an excellent performance, marked at times by exceptional flashes of ability although he is inclined to overact in the scene where he instigates the mutiny. Dolores Costello is beautiful and alluring as Manon though seldom suggesting the warmth and passion of the character of Manon. Many of the supporting players give striking performances. Although the story has been given a gorgeous production and the work of the players is excellent, only a superficial interest is aroused and at no time does it seem to get down deep under the skin and arouse an emotional response. Warner Bros, present John Barrymore in ‘‘When a Man Loves>’ With Dolores Costello Directed by Alan Crosland CAST: Chevalier Des Grieux John Barrymore Manon Lescaut Dolores Costello Andre Lescaut Warner Oland De Morfontaine Sam De Grasse Louis XV Stuart Holmes Marie Marcelle Corday Landlady Eugenie Besserer Due DeRichelieu Bertram Grassby Convict Tom Wilson Ship Captain Tom Santschi Length — 10,049 Feet When her brother tries to sell her to De Morfontaine, Manon elopes with Des Grieux, who is about to enter the priesthood. Their happiness is marred by the jealousy of De Morfontaine, who finally has Manon deported. Des Grieux boards the same ship and in a mutiny of the convicts escapes with Manon in a small boat. S'tirring drama and colorful love story. “The General” Theft of Locomotive During Civil War Supplies Buster Keaton With a Novel and Amusing Vehicle TAKING ITS TITLE FROM the name of a locomotive, the theft of which provided one of the most exciting incidents of the Civil War, Buster Keaton’s newest picture (“The General,” his first production through United Artists, offers amusing en Joseph M. Sehenck presents Buster Keaton in “The General” Story and direction by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman A United Artists Picture CAST: Johnnie Gray Buster Keaton Capt. Anderson Glenn Cavender Gen. Thatcher ...Jim Farley Southern General Frederick Vroom Annabelle Lee Marian Mack Her Father Charles Smith Her Brother Frank Barnes Length — 7,500 Feet Union spies during Civil War steal an engine. Johnnie, the engineer, follows and harasses them. Eventually he rescues the girl who was captured with the train and saves the Southern army from being defeated. Stirring war story made into amusing comedy, chock full of laughs. tertainment of a decidedly unique type. With Keaton as the star, of course “The General” is a comedy. But it has a real story that is sufficiently exciting to make a corking war melodrama if played up from this angle alone. In developing it as a vehicle for Buster Keaton the story has been handled so as to inject the greatest amount of gags and to realize the utmost of the comedy possibilities. What makes this picture unique is the fact that instead of handling the idea as a broad burlesque or making it an uproarious farce, the story is pictured straight as an exciting narrative with Buster in his usual unsmiling manner with apparent seriousness doing everything possible to recover his stolen engine, to rescue the girl and finally to reach the Confederate side in time to warn them of the attack by the Union forces. Injected into every situation, however, is a steady stream of laughs arising from the different things that go wrong and tend to frustrate Buster in his plans. There is good suspense in the melodramatic angle and fine anticipa tion as to what the next comedy gag will be, and the use of the wood-burning locomotive permits the introduction of a lot of brand new gags. The picture has been mounted on a big scale and is in reality a comedy-spectacle. There is a big battle scene for the climax with large numbers of men used to represent the opposing armies, and there are some good thrills including the fall of an engine through a burning bridge, but always, the comedy angle is held uppermost. Buster has been given a thoroughly capable supporting cast with Glen Cavender in the prominent role of the spy who steals the “General.” Marion Mack is attractive and entirely satisfactory as the girl. While not as hilarious as some of his other offerings, there is a steady stream of smiles and chuckles in “The General.”