Picturegoer (1922)

56 THE PICTUREGOE-R JUNE 1922 Raymond Halton enjoys a manicure fails to convince at all its important stages. It has no climax, and no love interest, and also insufficient brisk action to compensate for their absence. Dorothy Fane acts well as the adventuress, and Colette BretteJ is a convincing ingenue, the rest of the cast being adequate. Photography is fairly good, and one river scene is beautifully taken. ] ,.th Roberts, whose last appearance this side was in l.asca, has a colourful romance of the South Sea Islands in The Adorable Savage, which tells of a pretty schoolgirl who discovers that she is half Fijian, and who decides to revert to type and marry a ruin of the islands. But an American loves her, and after some exciting adventures, and a hand-to-hand light, wins her. The production is so well done technically that it redeems an »>ft visualised story, for the tropical scenes are enchanting, and are very well photographed. Occasional tinted effects give additional value. Edith Roberts, as the dark haired, darkskinned Marama," plays with great charm and spirit, though her dancing is not half as good as her acting. Edith is still ver\ young in years, though she has had extensive experience, for she was in vaudeville when she was only six, and in motion pictures at the in.it ure age of fourteen. She appeared in many Lyons and Moran comedies at Lnivcrsal Studios, where she later starred. Another Hawaiian story is to be >een in Doraldini's current release. Passion I rttil. which is a tropical story in a tropic al setting Love, hate incl conflict m ihe languorous South " bctiveen sets." S^as provide a picturesque background for the well-known dancer. She plays an Hawaiian beauty, whose father has been poisoned by a wicked overseer, who hopes to win both his employer's plantation and his daughter for himself. Native ceremonies and dances are shown, although some of those performed by the star herself are neither very Hawaiian nor very convincing, The best work is clone bv Florence Turner, in the secondary but effective rble of " Nuana." Stuart Holmes is the villain, and Edward Earlc (the O. Henry man) a stalwart hero. The plot is very deep and devious, and the general atmosphere will remind you of The Bird of Paradise, ukulele-playing natives and all complete. According to Hoylc, a city man l should be ignorant of all matters appertaining to farms. Therefore, when a wealthy townsman has to take to chicken farming under the terms of his uncle's will, one expects much fun. Rut in Chickens, which stars Douglas Maclean, the funny moments are few and far between. One there is when the hero has a nightmare in which huge roosters and other species of barndoor folk assume most gigantic proportions and threaten revenge Douglas Maclean's methods are not broad enough for this style of comedy ; he is pleasant enough, but the film is far too long and introduces main In-whiskered stunts and gags. Gladys George, later to be seen in some of Thomas Meighan s pictures, plays the' heroine, a girl who owns some pri/.e chickens which " Stanwood " (Douglas Mad. can! is suspected of poisoning, and Claire McDowell contributes a good i hai'. ic lei studv. Only the fau ltiest of Macl. can's tans will be satisfied with Douglas this time; the rest will want to write and tell him not to do it again. HPhe story of The Big Punch is very X poor indeed, for it lacks realism, depth and sincerity. Charles 'erstwhile Buck) Jones appears as a minister almost surrounded bv sobstull There is a little action towards the finish, but the feature is altogether too goody-goody Reform and regeneration, skilfully handled, is the strongest of all themes, but only a very unsophisticated audience can like it in the fashion presented by this film. Everybody and everything is painfully obvious, and Jones himself docs not impress as a self-sacrificing sufferer . also he does not look nor dress like a wandering preacher. Jennie I.ee. who plays the mother, does the best work so far as acting is concerned Barbara Bedford makes a pretty heroine. Photography is good, and some rainstorm scenes are skilfully done. The stunts, too, are well carried out, particularly the escape from prison. Screen-lovers who liked The Call oj the Road will be sure to like Corinthian Jack, which stars the actor athlete. Victor Mcf.aglen. This is another early nineteenth century romance, m ' which love, adventure and prize-fighting abound. Everything is clone (very prettily done, too) according to the best conventions of the costume novel Victor Mcf.aglen looks well, and acts very convincingly as the happy-go-lucky son of a country squire, and his fighting powers are well put to the test when he tackles a gigantic negro and defeats him. Dorothy Fane and Kathleen Vaughan appear in the leading feminine roles. Two good British releases of the month are The Penniless Millionaire, which is a murder melodrama starring Stewart Rome, and Shirley, an Ideal film version of Charlotte Bronte's famous novel. The first has many scenes taken in the heart of London, when, naturally, large crowds assembled, eager for a glimpse of Stewart Rome, and had to be somewhat unceremoniously banished beyond the eye of the camera Shirley has made a good film, with the acting of ('live Brook as its outstanding feature. The atmosphere of the period, too, is successfully reproduced, and the dramatic values of the story of industrial squabbles and sentimental self-sacrifice have been used in a fashion that extracts every ounce of value from them Main views arcshown of the Yorkshire and Lancashire moors, and Oakwell Hall, the original " Fieldhead " of the novel, figures prominently in the film Haworth Moors, loo, ma\ be seen, and the garden scenes were taken at High Hall. Sleetoii , , „,,.,. Ul.j ,. ,,, >