Moving Picture World (Sep 1916)

September 9, 1916 Nil MOVING PICTUKK WORLD KM7 other of As. tuns retainers, kills EClrs and places bis head on the tomb of his master. The forty-seven then oommlt haraklrl, by order of the government Such a story can have but little appeal to Americans. The merit of the picture, to foreign eyes, Is the educational value of Its correct reproduction of the people and customs of .1 past age in a land that holds so much of the strange, the alluring and tiu picturesque. The production has boon made on an oxtensive scale, and both the exteriors ami the Interiors show many Interesting views of life In Japan The lighting of the scenes is not always well done, but the groupings are handled with skill. The Individual efforts of the actors are, no doubt, after the best traditions of the Japanese stage, but to a foreigner, the] are generally more amusing than impressive. "The Wolf Woman" Five-Reel Triangle-Ince, by Gardner Sullivan, with Louise Glaum a Veritable Star. Reviewed by Louis Reeves Harrison. <i'Tp UK Wolf Woman" rises above a vehicle in the capable bands of Gardner Sullivan, and it rises above repetition through high artistry of treatment, but the opportunity It affords Louise Glaum brings her to the front, a star of the iirst magnitude In these days Of more stellar reflections from st. me careers Not to depreciate In the least the fine training an actor may receive on the stage, there are notable cases of stage stars making but a sorry performance In screen presentation, while a voin large number of our best performers In this new art have grown with it in the diltlcult art of Intellectual and emotional revelation without utterance. Louise Qlanm has found her way through some trying preliminaries trout rank by intelligent and persistent application of her native ability, good taste and intelligence. The story is that of a Circe, here described as a spider who catches poor unsuspecting men in her net and destroys them. What a sorry concession to Puritanism is that old story. Because a woman is full-blooded, beautiful and a master of illusion, she is perpetually held up as a horrible example by false assumption of piety, a seductive thing to be avoided, no matter how much she is secretly admired, and finally driven to a bitter end through a conventional yielding to affectation of virtue. Of keener sensibilities than those of man, an impressionist by nature, woman is either moral or unmoral at the outset, and we must credit the mother sex with native morality higher than our own, or she is moral or immoral as man's strength or his weakness makes her. A writer of Gardner Sullivan's ability to transform could easily divert the career of a modern Circe from the time-honored one born in the imagination of disappointed man when rejected of woman, divert it into one of a thousand different courses than the one prescribed by tradition, but he follows the beaten track in this case and does it gracefully. Artistry of background, of sub-title, of scientific work, of performance— what more could be desired in the matter of treatment and interpretation? The playwright is indeed fortunate in his medium. Most fortunate is he in having a great personal note, like that injected by Miss Glaum, a marvel of sensuous charm, into the general harmony of production. The Little Liar Five-Reel Fine-Arts by Anita Loos, Featuring Mae Marsh. Reviewed by Louis Reeves Harrison. ii'-r* HE Little Liar" is a genius in embryo, a poor young girl of active imagination, whose dreams are formulated by native constructive talent. She relates stories to wondering children of her supposed experiences, tells them that she is not of humble origin, and feeds her childish vanity in secret by wandering away from her sordid surroundings into enchanted worlds of her own creating. Such children are usually regarded as "queer," especially by parents of low intelligence, so "Maggie," impersonated by Mae Marsh, is distrusted by her ignorant parents and called by the neighbors "The Little Liar." The Little Liar's propensity sends her drifting on a series of adventures which begin with service in a boarding house and lead through the people she meets there to employment in a department store as cash girl. The store is being systematically robbed by a floor walker, a man Maggie has Idealized as "The Duke" because of his impressive appearance and conduct, and a professional shoplifter. These two frame it up on simple and sweet Maggie when they are on the edge oi being caught with the goods. She is arrested. All this might easily be made commonplace in treatment, but the dominant idea, that of contrasting the meanness oi what might be called "mere existence," survival by hook or crook, with that reaching out of the soul for what is ideal and beautiful, becomes very effective through highly intelligent and artistic treatment. Maggie's imagination becomes a source of haunting fear through a hardened old inmate of her detention cell who gives the young girl poison to take in case of conviction. Fired by her exciting experiences, Maggie obtains paper and pencil and writes her own little story, taking the poison as she concludes. Then, after death, as is often the case, her genius meets with appreciation. The conclusion is consistent and effective, but disappointing from a story'point of view. "Black Friday ' Five-Reel Red Feather Production Tells Interesting Story Dating Back to Administration of U. S. Grant. Review ed by Robert I !. McOli a\ y Tins Bve-reel number, adapted to the screen bj EG M Ingleton from a story i>\ i'"i ■ iderlck s [sham, goes back to the financial panic In Wail Street In 1869, when Ulysses B. Grant was President of this country. The closing scenes are enacted In Paris during the riots which followed i t h siege. While not at all times adequately handled, In the matter of olear and consistent direction, the production maintains a Strong Interest and has much about It to commend. From the Scene from "Black Friday" (Universal). very first scenes, when the characters are introduced at a church wedding, one can feel the beginnings of a story of consequence and this feeling grows as the action continues. The leading character is Richard Strong, a railroad president, known as "Honesty." He weds a girl named Elinor Rossitor, a creature of visions and dreams. From the first there is misunderstanding and coldness between them. His rugged, austere nature repels her warm and romantic one. Strong's secretary proves traitorous, selling out to his financial enemies and endeavoring to ensnare the wife's affections. Strong's ideal of manhood is President Grant and the story is made more interesting by a representation of Grant on the screen in one or two scenes. Later, in the days of the Paris Commune, the night pictures of rioting are well handled and produced with considerable detail. In the end Strong's secretary confesses, clearing the wife's name, and bringing reconciliation and true happiness. The story as a whole has not a great deal of dramatic strength, but gets away from the beaten path and has the advantage of a pleasing historical background. Three Biograph Single Reels "For the Son of the House," "The Unveiling" and "The Sunbeam" on List of Reissues. Reviewed by Lynde Denig. PROBABLY few present day patrons of motion pictures will recall these single reels, first issued a number of years ago; but they will remember many of the players who at that time were just winning wide popularity. In the leading roles we see such familiar figures as Mae Marsh, Bobby Harron, Mabel Normand, Del Henderson and others whose names are known wherever photoplays are displayed. Since the days of Griffith's regime at Biograph these actors have appeared in longer and more elaborate productions; but they have not contributed to many better short subjects than these three. In the first of the trio. Miss Marsh naturally takes the lead as a poor girl, who in a moment of need is befriended by a wealthy woman. As a maid in the home of her benefactor she is more than ready to show her gratitude, even to the extent of sacrificing her own reputation by taking the responsibility for a theft committed by the son of the house. This picture is finely constructed to bring out the dramatic possibilities of the story and is thoroughly convincing as acted by Miss Marsh, Kate Bruce and others. Miss Normand, Mr. Harron and Miss McDowell are the principal players in "The Unveiling," a quite ingenious sketch, showing how a youth who falls in love with a mercenary showgirl is disillusionized. When the family despair of bringing the boy to his senses they arrange a scheme by which the girl, thinking that the fortune has been lost, appears in her true colors. Altogether a very adroitly arranged story and sufficiently true to human nature. "The Sunbeam" is a pleasant little heart interest tale concerning a bachelor, a spinster and a child, all living on different floors in the same building. The child, whose mother dies, is the means of bringing the lonely man and woman together. Miss McDowrell and Mr. Henderson play the leads.