Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1920)

68 Photoplay Magazine "DANGEROUS DAYS"— Goldwyn THE thrills in Mary Roberts Rinehart's "Dangerous Days" have been reduced to pleasantly reminiscent titillations by the element of time. Seeing the picture is a little hke picking up a war-time copy of Philadelphia's favorite weekly and rereading the introduction to a story we recall as having stirred us profoundly a long time ago. But I, for one, find myself still interested in stories of the late war, if they are good stories, and I am quite convinced that there are certain things in connection therewith, certain passions and certain ideals at that time aroused, that no American, now made or being remade, should be permitted to forget, even if it is his confessed desire to forget them. Therefore I indorse "Dangerous Days" as memory-stirring propaganda. It quite frankly recalls the plottings of the enemies within in its pictured blowing up of an American steel mill when the war first broke, but more importantly it presents the influences that were brought to bear upon the youth of the country to weaken their patriotic and manly impulses, and glorifies their strength in overcoming them. Hokum to some, but to me a needful and worthy inspiration that cannot too frequently be given an opportunity to register. "Dangerous Days" is splendidly acted and sanely screened. Lawson Butt, than whom there are few more intelligent leading men of middle years in our cinema lists, plays the leading role, and he is ably assisted, particularly by little Ann Forrest. «A CHILD FOR SALE"— Ivan Abramson IVAN ABRAMSON'S idea of how * the rich — the oppressively rich — live, move and acquire their frightfully biased opinions respecting the sufferings of the struggling poor, are rather extravagantly set forth in a melodramatic opus called "A Child for Sale." Also Ivan AbramBon's idea of what constitutes a coherent and convincing dramatic story, taking this picture as a sample, offers many opportunities for the raucous hoot and the mirthful snort. But Ivan Abramson's belief in himself as a propagandist, and the honest impulse that inspired his attempt to expose the worst of the profiteers and the most shallow of philanthropists protects him from the stabs of this particular pen. His picture is an inartistic jumble of unrelated incidents to me, but to Mr. Abramson it represents the sincere protest of one who would take a hand in setting the world straight by proving, among other things, that striking laborers as well as profiteering capitalists, are responsible for much of the prevalent misery. And I admire his courage. "THE FAMILY HONOR"— Vidor-First National KING VIDOR could profitably have given a little more thought to what the experts speak of as the "motivation" of "The Family Honor." Did he wish to emphasize the recovery of that sacred trust by the sweet Southern heroine? Or the fall, and ultimate rise, of her brother, who became a gambler and a waster at college, returned home too proud to work and didn't care a hoot for family honor or anything else? Or the benign influence of a trusting child who, walking blithely into a courtroom at the crisis of a murder trial, immediately so IF you HAVE ANY COMPLAI/Vr6" OR SUGGESTIONS^" K/NDLV SPEA^K. TO THE MANAGER Complaints and Suggestions O MANAGER, dear manager, I pray you lend an ear; I wish to spill a thought or two before I go from here. Now, while I'm in the playhouse, I thoughtfully suggest Your million dollar organ may have a little rest. I'm strong for "Annie Laurie," but it somehow seems to me, It's better not to play it for a slapstick jamboree; And Handel, who has often brought the. teardrops to my eyes. Is never quite so poignant when they're hurling custard pies. I'm not a noisy person but I'll give a rousing cheer If you'll page this tall guy just ahead, and park him in the rear. Why is it only those giraffes who have the biggest feet Insist on stepping on me as they stumble by my seat? And why do all the folks ahead, who wait the picture through. Exactly at the climax get up and block my view? You're welcome to these ideas, and when you've chewed them o'er, If still you crave suggestions I can give a dozen more. influences everyone concerned that perjured witnesses insist upon reversing their testimony, guilty men are inspired to reform, villainy is completely unmasked and the sun shines in glorious benediction over all? Using all these themes, he rather scatters his best material and just another prettily pictured but plainly manufactured screen story is the result. "MARY ELLEN COMES TO TOWN"— Paramount Artcraft ELMER CLIFTON, who put Dorothy Gish through her star's paces in "Mary Ellen Comes to Town," was forced to work with considerable cinema chaff to get five reels out of his subject. The unsophisticated maid who, clerking in a country store, dreams of the big city and is simply dying to go on the stage, is not one to lift a director to his toes with enthusiasm. Bdt, thanks to Dorothy, who certainly lias a way w^th her, "Mary Ellen" fills in quite satisfactorily in the feature position on the bill. A pleasant trifle, well done. Dorothy's personality and smile are attra<:tive. Ra'ph Graves is a clean-lodking good boy, Charles Gerrard an\ excellent wease'. The Cabaret is familiar, the raid ditto, but a majorfty-^f the scenes are well posed. "EXCUSE MY DUST"— Paramount' Artcraft I LIKED Wallace Reid's "Ex1 cuse My Dust," first, because it is a good short story, attractively screened, and second, because its creators have not tried to make it anything more than that. One of the eleven or fourteen things we all find to object to in pictures is the obvious effort of scenarioist and director, the one usually abetting the other, to build a mansion out of the material laid down for a bungalow. When the thing is finished the foundation is fairly solid, but the superstructure is so very wabbly and thin you can plain ly see through it. "Excuse My Dust" relates a plausible and interesting incident in the life^ "Toodles" Wa'den, erstwhil^demon driver of the good old Darc'e^bus t'hat won the Los Angeles-San Francisco road race in "Speed Up." No sex stuff here, and no suave young villain. Just a good, interesting, at times exciting, and always well told short story. The ingratiating Reid is as cheering a screen hero as usual, Theodore Rober s is excellent as the blustering; "J. D.," and Ann Little is a lovable wife. "OLD LADY 31'— Metro 1 DON'T suppose the president of a motion picture concern could reasonably bring suit against one 0' his own directors for having failed4o extract full value from the picture material given him to wrk with — a jury of picture fans to render the verdict. \ But if Richard'l^i. Rowland of Metro ever wants to sue Supervising Director Karger and Working Director John E. Ince for having missed a fine chance in their screening of "Old Lady 31" I'll serve as a witness for the prosecution. To my way of thinking, there has not been less intelligence, not to say less plain common sense, shown in the adapting of any other picture I have seen this month. (Continued on page ps) »