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In "Dream Street" an outrageously absurd and sentimental melodrama is told in Griffith's own hypnotic way.
The Screen in Review
In which you are informed as to the relative merits of the big productions which are now being brought out for late spring and summer entertainment.
By Agnes Smith •
THE flowers that bloom in the spring (tra la) on New York's main street are the superdeluxe motion-picture productions, the silent dramas that replace the noisy dreams of the winter season. When the theatrical season begins to wane, every film producer, who has a little million-dollar spectacle in his vaults, rushes out, leases a big theater, and puts on his show as a rival attraction to the legitimate offerings. You pay your money, and you take your choice.
Among those seized with this spring fever was D. W. Griffith. "Dream Street" is his contribution to the silly season. It is one of those pictures that Griffith tosses off in his less-inspired' moments. But, as you know, Griffith's less-inspired moments are, at least in some respects, better than the topmost flights of fancy of most of his rivals.
If you are looking for typical Griffith thrills in "Dream Street," you will not find them. But you will find much in it that captivates your imagination. The
story, like the well-known mattress, was built — not made. The characters were suggested by Thomas Burke, the London reporter who discovered the Limehouse district — imported to this country in "Broken Blossoms." The continuity of the alleged plot was written by Rose and James Smith, who are not related to the reviewer. If the personages in the piece were suggested by Burke, the story obviously was suggested by Victorien Sardou, who wrote "La Tosca."
However, it is not fair to judge a Griffith picture by its plot. Griffith does not believe in plots ; he believes in pictures. And, judged solely as a succession of beautiful pictures, "Dream Street" is an enchanting entertainment. Griffith has an eye for composition and rhythm. By an adroit use of lights, by clever settings and by skillful handling of his players, he can make you laugh, cry, and get all excited over the silliest kind of wish-wash, clap-trap situations. The master magician of the movies hypnotizes you, and, while you are