Moving Picture World (Sep 1916)

1684 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD Septembe^^^^P "The Way of Patience" The "Story of a Rustic Quaker Maiden in Three Reels, by Essanay, with Nell Craig and Ernest Maupain in the Leading Roles — Written by Chas. J. McGuirk. Reviewed by James S. McQuade. «t'Tp HE Way of Patience" takes us from the busy city to the [ simple life in a country home, where a motherless girl budding into young womanhood tires of the strict rule of her stern Quaker father and of humdrum life on the farm. The limit of endurance is reached when she is called before Scene from "The Way of Patience" (Essanay). the Elders of the Church and condemned for worldliness because she has bought and worn a cheap little bead necklace which pleased her eye and added to her youthful charms. Patience is her name, and when the austere elders and the decorous sisters of the flock censured her on the error of her ways she burst forth with the defense, "If it be wrong to ■wear bright things, why doth God clothe the fields -with flowers and the birds with plumage?" Then she walked out of the church with head held high, and the same night leaves the stern old father and her home and seeks refuge in the big city. There she fares better than most girls of her strong type of character usually do, under such circumstances; for she wins a worthy man for her husband, and then flees from him back home because she feared that she was too wild for him: Under the direction of L. C. Windom this wholesome, quaint story is pleasingly told in pictures. Life on the farm and in the city are shown in strong contrast, and one cannot forbear a smile on a comparison of Patience as maid-of-all-work at home and Patience as a model in an artist's studio in the city. Miss Nell Craig's Patience promises to please all who view this photoplay. The impersonation shows nice discerning art all through. "We smile as we watch Patience hesitate to intrust her traveling bag to the maid in the office of the hotel of the Young "Women's Christian Association, and still moi'e broadly as we see her make a curtsey to that young woman after she has taken the bag to her bedroom. David Worth, father of Patience, is finely drawn by Ernest Maupain. The sternness and the piety of the man are strongly brought out, but these are not permitted to destroy the paternal love. As we watch the lonely old man reading his Bible at night before retiring and thinking about and praying for his absent daughter, we know that his love is just as sterling as his faith. Hugh Thompson, Darwin Karr and Peggy Sweeney appear in the parts of Amos Thayer, an artist; Emerson Leonard, a novelist (who becomes the husband of Patience), and Dolly Mason, an artist's model, and all are to be commended. The release will be made September 23, through the General Film Company. "Daredevil Kate' Fox Melodrama Around New Munition Plant — Has Wooley Western Flavor, But Is Not Highly Emotional. Reviewed by Hanford C. Judson. ANY melodrama, with Virginia Pearson, will probablv have some few good moments. The recent Fox picture, "Daredevil Kate," with that charming player in the lead, has one or two good things, but astonishingly few for a Fox picture. It was made from Bartholamae's story presumably of the same name and has a decided dash of the old time wild west in its plot and characters, but especially the latter. Miss Pearson herself does not make a wholly convincing "Kate,'' saloon keeper, and tough character, with a clean record so far and a tender heart, especially for kids. But the decided weakness of the picture is its attempt to ring on the sentimental and the pathetic — except in a small group of scenes acted by clever children, its sentiment comes too thin to move the spectator much and there's many a scene in it that is a bit tiresome. There is more than one poorly acted incident in it, too, and the leading lady is only less often unconvincing than her support. The plot turns on the old split ling incident. Two sisters each have a half of their dead mother's wedding ring. One (played by Mary Martin) was adopted by a rich woman and when the picture opens, is the happy mother of three children and has a loving husband (played by Kenneth Hunter), one of the leading employes of the boom-town munitions plant. The other sister is "Kate" owner of the big saloon of the new town. The gang around Kate's is in the employ of the foreign government and plan to blow up the munitions as soon as they are ready for shipment. The villain is played by Leighton Stark. The explosion is the first melodramatic stunt — it is "thrilling" and comes in the first act. The final melodramatic interest comes from the contact of these two women who, at first, do not know that they are related. Kate falls in love with Mary's brother by adoption. The villain slanders her to Mary, who goes to Kate's and calis her "everybody's woman" before brother. Kate shows both of them the door. Villain gets Kate to try revenge. She. gets Mary's husband drunk and sends him home silly. Mary asks Kate to call. Children, when Kate is waiting downstairs, upset box and discover Mary's half of ring. Kate is impressed, but Mary enters and berates her and Kate leaves wounded and indignant. Husband goes to Kate's. Mary and her brother follow and overhear conversation. At the close Kate's half of the ring is discovered to Mary. "The Yellow Menace" Unity Sales Corporation Shows Three More Episodes to the Press — At Breathless Pace the Incidents Follow and Keep Excitement Hot. Reviewed by Hanford C. Judson. THE sub-title of the fourth episode is "The Plot of a Demon," and in this Hong Kong Harry, carried away by dope and passion, attempts to overcome the beautiful Princess Najla, left in his keeping by the "highest one." She dashes into a room and locks the door. Before he can break it down with an axe she has time to telephone to Manning and Capt. Kemp, who hurry with a squad of policemen to her rescue. But before they can get Hong Kong Harry handcuffed, he dives through the hangings of the wall. Now he is here and now he is gone. A policeman follows in the same way and goes head first into the river, only to find Harry sailing away in a fast motorboat. Bronson, following Singe in an auto, is craftily precipitated auto and all into a ravine by a trap bridge. Manning and the captain come up, and later there is a group of lively fighting scenes at the house boat on the Sound which is destroyed; but Ali Singe escapes. The next episode, called "The Haunted House," keeps up the same kind of action without a sign of falling down. Most spectators will "eat it up." Ali Singe, by a ruse, gets the three girls, May, Margaret and Najla, shut up in an old house — it looks as though no one could possibly live taere; but there's a secret passage to splendidly furnished rooms. Bronson and the captain look the dilapidated part of it over and are fooled. Najla is in great danger. Her uncle promises her Scene from "The Yellow Menace" (Unity). that she will die by torture. Word comes from England that Bronson's father has been killed by an unknown assassin. The sixth episode. "The Torture Chamber," is even more sensational and striking than either of the preceding ones. Poor Najla is placed upon the double-scissors rack that will tear her arms and limbs out of joint. These scenes will certainly affect the spectators, but they appeal to a morbid sense. The rack is not permitted to open very far and, saving the sensibilities of some at the showing of the thing in itself, there is no indecent exposure. Hong Kong Harry saves Najla by cutting the electric power and is put upon the rack him