Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1922)

GRANDMA'S BOY— Pathe THIS picture is to Harold Lloyd what "The Kid" was to Chaplin — his first five reeler, his first real approach to a seriously dramatic subject and also the high water mark of his career. In "Grandma's Boy," Lloyd appears as a mild young man, who is actually afraid of his own shadow. So pronounced does his cowardice become, that his little old grandmother decides to adopt drastic means to inject a little pep into his system. She tells him how his grandfather (also played by the energetic Harold, with side whiskers and square spectacles) outwitted the entire Union army during the Civil War. She even gives the boy the charm which had inspired his grandfather to do the trick. Armed with this, he goes out and tears up the community, capturing a dangerous criminal and beating out his formidable rival for the love of a sweet young blonde. (Yes, it is Mildred Davis.) Words are inadequate to describe the various virtues of "Grandma's Boy." It is genuinely marvellous. To Assist You in Saving Your SHERLOCK HOLMES— John Barrymore Production YOU should see this if you are a devotee of John the Barrymore. You should see it if you are a devotee of the Conan Doyle detective yarns. It is one of the most artistic and unusual films ever made. Its settings and photography are amazingly fine. Its cast is one of the few real all-star affairs. Albert Parker, the director, has not been afraid to follow his imaginative impulses, with interesting results. It's just a chapter from the life of that busy fellow, Sherlock Holmes. There is a romance with Carol Dempster as the kissee. Dr. Watson is Roland Young. Gustav Seyffertitz, a fine actor, is a splendid Dr. Moriarity. Reginald Denny and Hedda Hopper are also present. Shadow' Stage Reg. U. S. Pat. OS A review of the new pictures THE PRISONER OF ZENDA— Metro /^NE of the first of the imaginary kingdom novels. Done ^ into a picture by Rex Ingram, who has managed to capture the spirit and the color of the book and transfer them, almost intact, to the screen. A vivid plot of impersonations and conspiracies; of treachery, love and adventurers — gentleman and otherwise. Lewis S. Stone takes the double part of Rudolph Rassendyll and King Rudolf with a fine swagger. He presents a figure heroic enough to set any feminine heart a-flutter. Robert Edeson is a genuine Colonel Sapt and Malcomb McGregor is reminiscent of Valentino before he was a star. Stuart Holmes is one of the villains and Ramon Samanyagos, who does a fine bit of acting as Rupert of Hentzau, seems a decided find and an entirely new type. While the beauty of the lady villainess, Barbara La Marr, makes the blonde loveliness of Alice Terry seem almost weak at times. So much for the cast, which merits almost any amount of praise. As do the exquisite settings and the truth of the atmosphere. One cannot help wondering why, with everything so perfectly in tune, Rex Ingram dimmed the harmony of it all with unnecessary and ugly bits of slapstick. There are butlers who trip over rugs, men who throw over-ripe bananas, servants with flying suspenders. Not many of them — but enough to enter a jazz note that is not welcome. This minor fault does not keep the picture from being splendid. Not another "Four Horsemen," perhaps — but decidedly worth while entertainment. And Rex Ingram has had the courage to venture an unhappy ending because the book read. that way!