The Moving picture world (January 1926-February 1926)

264 MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 16, 1926 ^Womanhatidled'^ — ^Paramount Richard Dix Provided with Amusing Vehicle in Snappy Satire on "Western" Productions DELIGHTFUL comedy drama which burlesques and pokes good natured fun at the rip-roaring, rough-riding West where men are fearless and are either heroes or villains, such as are pictured in the familiar "westerns" is "Womanhandled," the latest Paramount production starring Richard Dix. Bill Dana, society idol jumps into a park lake and rescues a little boy, winning the gratitude of the kiddy's beautiful cousin Mollie, who asks Bill if he is a Westerner. He says he is and submits to mauling at the hands of the little fellow while the girl tells him how she admires the great big rough Westerners. Later she is disappointed to find he is one of the pampered petted womanhandled men that she hates. He convinces her of his sincerity and goes West to become the kind of man she wants him to be. He finds the West has changed and is thoroughly up-to-date in every way. The girl wires she is coming out and Bill bribes the boys to fake the necessary western atmosphere. ' She discovers the deception and forgives him until she misunderstands the appearance of a lot of girls on the scene and leaves in a huflf. The cattle unused to the horses have stampeded and when Bill rescues her everything is all right. "Womanhandled" is thoroughly amusing from beginning to end. The way in which the little kid pesters Dix while he is tryiiig Reviewed by C. S. Sewell IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH^ CAST: Bill Dana Richard Dix Mollie Esther Ralston Aunt Abby Cora Williams Owen Olive Tell 'The Kid Eli Nadel Uncle Lea Edmund Breese Lucille Margaret Morris Butler Ivan Simpson Pinky Edt^ar Nelson Based on story by Arthur Stringer. Scenario by Luther Reed. Directed by GreRory LaCava. Lengrth, 6,785 feet. IIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIipillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllH^ to make a hit with Mollie is good for a number of smiles and chuckles, while his appearance as he walks away is a roar. The western sequences are good farce, broadly burlesquing the situations and atmosphere of the typical western movie ranch and are good for many a laugh. The ranch house has bath rooms and all improvements, there is a tennis court for the cowboys and instead of horses, flivvers are used to roundup the cattle which is really the only familiar thing on the ranch. The cowboys are a nondescript lot of Eastern toughs and when Dix has them stage the kind of western atmosphere the girl expects to find it develops none of them have ever been on a horse. Their efforts to learn furnish more side-splitting comedy. Even the cows turn out to be afraid of the horses and this causes the big situation which furnishes the climax where they stampede and Dix rushes to the rescue of the girl who is directly in their pathway. These stampede scenes are exceptionally well-handled and furnish a real thrill to top off the comedy angles. In keeping with the spirit of the story, the boys have an awful time in rounding up enough horses even after scouring the country and a sorry looking lot of animals they prove to be. Their regalia has to be snitched from a museum and when they appear at the railroad station the train crew think it is a movie outfit filming a serial. Oh, yes the • negro family on the ranch are disguised as Indians to round out the atmosphere. Richard Dix is excellent in the straight comedy and western atmosphere and Esther Ralston is good to look at and does fine work as the girl. Edmund Breese as the oM rancher who enters into the spirit of the fun and transforms his ranch and poses as a tough old westerner does especially fine work while little Eli Nadel aids materially in the comedy. "Womanhandled" has a good story well worked out, is finely directed and with an extremely popular star and an abundance of smiles, laughs and chuckles should prove a popular hit and a big box-office attraction for any type of theatre. "The Gilded Butterfly"— Fox Strong Box-Office Cast in an Entertaining Story with a Well-handled Punch at Climax WITH a cast composed almost entirely of names with box-office value, such as Alma Rubens, Bert Lytell, Huntley Gordon, Frank Keenan and Herbert Rawlinson, William Fox is offering "The Gilded Butterfly," a picture that should prove a distinctly pleasing entertainment for the majority of patrons. Linda Haverhill, reared in luxury, learns that her father has dissipated their wealth but is keeping up appearances on bluff. He succeeds in convincing her that it is not what you are but what you seem that counts and that one must, regardless of consequences, keep in the front of the parade or be unnoticed. When he dies she accepts the financial aid of Converse when he offers to advance money on bonds she knows are worthless, and leads a butterfly existence in Europe where she meets an American, Brian Anestry. Finally the day of reckoning nears and Anestry seeing her with Converse gains an unfavorable impression but she convinces him of her goodness and sincerity. Back in America, her money gone, and Converse becoming obnoxious she sets fire to her gowns for the insurance and is arrested. En route to the police station the auto is wrecked and the detective admiring her grit points to another woman as his prisoner. Anestry finds Linda and she tells him everything and they sail for South America. While the story is not unusual and has a number of familiar twists, it has been so well Reviewed by C. S. Sewell kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii CASTS Linda Haverhill Alma Rubens Brian Anestry Bert Lytell John Converse Huntley Gordon Jim Haverhill FVank Keenan Courtney Roth Herbert Rawlinson Mrs. Ralston Vera Lewis Maid Carolynne Snowdon Mr. Ralston Arthur Hoyt Story by Evelyn Campbell. Scenario by Bradley Kin^. Directed by John Griffith Wray. Lengrth. 0,200 feet. Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll^ directed by John Griffith Wray and finely acted by the stellar cast that it holds the attention closely from beginning to end. By placing the onus of the heroine's false philosophy of life on the father a certain necessary sympathy for her is established that would not otherwise be the case. While you do not O. K. her actions always, you are at all times interested in them. There is a good railroad ^rreck scene and a particularly well handled street smashup in which a taxi crashes into a patrol wagon and a hookand-ladder into the two, which provides an excellent thrill. Altogether, "The Gilded Butterfly" is good entertainment. Alma Rubens has a congenial role and is excellent as Linda and Bert Lytell entirely satisfactory in the sympathetic role of Anestry. Huntley Gordon is capable as the polished villain, Frank Keenan gives a fine performance as the father and Herbert Rawlinson is pleasing in a rather thankless role. ''Ben^Hur yy (Continued from page 263) vivid personality, an effect seldom achieved by a character of another time or period, and strikes you 'as feeling deeply the emotions he portrays. As the Roman Centurion Francis X. Bushman gives an excellent performance and makes an impressive picture. May McAvoy is a beautiful and effective Esther 'and Claire McDowell is very fine as Ben-Hur's mother. Great praise is also due Carmel Meyers as the siren, Nigel de Brulier as the servant, Mitchell Lewis as the Sheik and Frank Currier as Ben-Hur's adopted father. Especially remarkable is the portrayal of the Madonna by Betty Bronson which is a revelation of wistfulness and spiritual beauty. There is so much to this picture that we could keep on and on did space 'permit, for despite its great length there is no padding. In fact, while the continuity is smooth, there is evidence of close and remarkably fine cutting right down to the bone on each sequence. As it stands, "Ben-Hur" is a tribute to everyone concerned in its making, a credit to the industry and a picture destined to enjoy a remarkable triumph.