Moving Picture World (Jan 1917)

354 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 20, 1917 M Reviews of Current Productions BJIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ' ■ . I : ■ i ' I ■ , " . ' : ■ M I ■ ^. : EXCLUSIVELY BY OUR OWN STAFF "The Pride of the Clan" Mary Pickford's Second Artcraft Subject Is a Charming Picture, Sweet, Wholesome, Moving. Reviewed by George Blaisdell. MARY PICKFORD'S second Artcraft release is a picture that is good to look upon. "The Pride of the Clan" is sweet, wholesome, moving. Practically all of it is in the wide outdoors; and the exteriors are of the upper half of the New England shore, where the ocean smashes into real rocks. We see a genuine New England gale, and it makes for atmosphere. Elaine Sterne has adapted, and adapted well, a story of the western Scotch coast. Director Maurice Tourneur has peopled his scenes with types of fisherfolk who seem, as many of them undoubtedly are, the real thing. Surely there is about them the salt of the sea, as to those who know them they are in a bad pinch the salt of the earth. Mary Pickford has as Marget MacTavish in "The Pride of the Clan" a story made of her own cloth and to her own Scene from "The Pride of the Clan" (Artcraft). measure. It gives her full opportunity to bring into play the varying moods of which she is mistress — of sunshine and shadow, of playfulness and of struggle against impending death. There is romance, too, of the happy sort, in which Marget is indirectly a beneficiary. The story opens with one of the tragedies of the sea with which fishing communities are only too familiar. We see the small craft beaten about by the waves off shore; we see a mast fall. The loss of the crew means that MacTavish, the head of the clan, is gone, leaving Marget as the head. It is not until she takes the MacTavish lash and forces attendance at church that she assumes the real leadership. She plays no favorites. There are tender scenes, too, in abundance — of the love-making between Marget and Jamie, of the betrothal, of the renunciation, and of the reunion. Matt Moore is Jamie, and finely he plays the part of the Scotch boy who after his betrothal to Marget learns his mother is the Countess of Dunstable. It is an excellent performance. Ed Roseman is Pitcalrn, the humble misanthrope whose failure to realize on his prayers has turned his heart against religion. Knthryn Brown Decker is the Countess and Joel Day the dominie. Among the incidents that stir are the meeting of the mother of Jamie and the woman who all his life had mothered him, who had concealed from the boy the fact that he had any mother other than herself; the meeting of mother and son; the refusal of Marget to retract her renunciation, and the falling to his knees of Pitcairn when he Bees the little craft bearing the head of his clan slowly sinking in the water. The struggle of Marget In the cabin of the boat and her rescue by Jamie will thrill. A door has swung across the trap leading into the cabin, and with her kitten In her arms Marget Is Imprisoned with the water rising about her. One of the more striking scenes is the betrothal ceremony, with the lovers facing each other across the big stone, with the townspeople and the surf in the background, the whole dimly lighted by the flares carried by the many spectators. "The Pride of the Clan" is a strong picture, well staged; and it is worth noting that in its entire length there is no trace of a villain. Pathe Pointers "Twin Kiddies," a New Five-Reel Little Mary Sunshine Picture, and "International Diplomacy," Eighth Installment of the "Pearl of the Army" Serial. Reviewed by Edward Weitzel. "Twin Kiddies." IN "Twin Kiddies" Marie Osborne, of "Little Mary Sunshine" fame, plays a dual role. The picture, made by Balboa, is from a scenario written by Calder Johnstone. It falls off slightly in story quality from the previous Marie Osborne dramas, the plot not centering around the characters played by the young star until the last reel. But this does not seriously effect Marie; neither will it matter much to her admirers. The little miss just goes ahead with the work before her and gives it all the charm of innocent childhood as personified by an unusually bright and winsome four-year-old. As this reviewer has before stated, Marie does not act, but lives the character and actually experiences the emotions she is told to portray. In "Twin Kiddies" she impersonates the child of rich parents who have allowed her to become fretful and bad tempered, and the daughter of a poor man, whose love and care have given his little girl a cheerful disposition" and a bright smile. The two characters are kept distinct from each other. Aside from the dressing it is never the least difficult to tell them apart. The crux of the theme is when the two children change houses, by mistake, and the child of wealth is transformed into a lovable little girl by the same influences that molded the nature of the other youngster. There are captivating revelations of child nature all through the picture, and Henry King, little Miss Osborne's director, again proves his understanding of his subject and the care lavished by him on his task. He acts the father of the Sun ai Scene from "Twin Kiddies" (Pathe). shine kiddie, and Ruth Lackaye, Daniel Gilfether, R. Henry Grey, Loretta Beecker, Edward Jobson and Mignon Le Brun comprise the other members of the little lady's support. "International Diplomacy." The eighth episode of "Pearl of the Army" runs true to form, and the bewildering shifts in the game of cross purposes which Colonel Dare's daughter and the enemies of the United States are playing in their efforts to capture or retain the Panama canal plans, occur as frequently as ever in this number of the serial. The finish of the seventh installment, Which left Pearl against the prison wall and Orderly Adams' pointing a gun at her head under threat of death, is worked out to the full satisfaction of all the heroine's admirers. De