Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1925 - Feb 1926)

A Confidential Guide to Current Releases WHAT EVERY FAN SHOULD SEE. "Beggar on Horseback" — Paramount. James Cruze let loose on the fantastic stage play. Clever nonsense, perfectly clone. "Don Q"— United Artists. Douglas Fairbanks, back in the Zorro type of role, is more magnetic and entertaining than he has been in years. His playing of an adventurous youngSpaniard is a delight. Warner Oland and Donald Crisp contribute clever performances, while Mary Astor is lovely as the girl. "Grass" — Paramount. A rare and beautiful picture of the tribes of Persia and their journeys to the grassy plains. Actually filmed in Persia, it has gorgeous scenery. "He Who Gets Slapped"— MetroGoldwyn. Lon Chaney is magnificent as the clown of the Andreyev stage play, produced by Victor Seastrom. A picture of rare power. "Iron Horse, The" — Fox. Stirring historical drama, showing the building of the transcontinental railroad. George O'Brien is the hero. "Isn't Life Wonderful?"— United Artists. D. W. Griffith's simple but powerful story of after-war conditions in Germany, centered around a Polish refugee family. Carol Dempster is surprisingly fine in the leading role. "Kiss Me Again"— Warner. Ernst Lubitsch turns out another domestic comedy that is sophisticated and very funny. Monte Blue, Marie Prevost, Clara Bow, and John Roche give excellent performances. "Lady, The"— First National. Norma Talmadge as a chorus girl who marries a worthless aristocrat, with the subsequent disillusionment. Old-fashioned English melodrama, made poignant by Norma's performance. "Last Laugh, The"— Universal. A German film of revolutionary technique. Simple character study, without subtitles, made understandable and appealing by Emil Jannings. "Sally of the Sawdust"— United Artists. The lightest and most entertaining picture D. W. Griffith has made in years. Carol Dempstd is engagir.g as the circus hoyden and W. C. Fields' screen debut as her rascally but lovable guardian is highly successful. "Siege"— Universal. A simple picture of New England prejudices, remarkable principally for its f nely suggestive direction by Svend G?de and the poignant, human performances of Mary Alden, Marc McDermott, and Virginia Valli. "Siegfried"— Ufa. The beautiful and famous legend of the last pagan, gorgeously produced by the German company. It is a fantastic and lovely picture, which you shouldn't miss. "Unholy Three, The"— Metro-Goldwyn. An extraordinary story of the underworld that is one of the best pictures of the year. Lon Chaney and Mae Buseh give perfect characterizations. FOR SECOND CHOICE. "Are Parents People?" — Paramount. A faithful and amusing picture of married life, complicated by a modern child. Adolphe Menjou, Florence Vidor, and Betty Bronsou are all excellent. "As No Man Has Loved"— Fox. A sincere and touching production of the Edward Everett Hale masterpiece, "The Man Without a Country," with Edward Hearn and Pauline Starke. "Barriers Burned Away" — Associated Exhibitors. Old-time melodrama dealing with the great Chicago fire. "Black Cyclone" — Pathe. An unusual picture featuring Rex, the horse, in which the human actors are merely incidental. "Charmer, The" — Paramount. Pola Negri has some good moments as the Spanish dancer being made into a Broadway favorite, and Robert Frazer is an attractive leading man, but on the whole it is just an average movie. "Confessions of a Queen" — MetroGoldwyn. Alice Terry in another stately role, with Lewis .Stone playing the king in his usual perfect form. "Crowded Hour, The" — Paramount. The story of a girl who went to war to be near her lover and stayed to be spiritually rejuvenated. Bebe Daniels plays her with sincerity and animation. "Dancers, The" — Fox. An excellent adaptation of the stage play, with Alma Rubens and George O'Brien giving fine performances. "Declasse" — First National. From the Zoe Akins stage play. Corinne Griffith appears as the lovely English aristocrat hounded by scandal. "Excuse Me" — Metro-Goldwyn. Rupert Hughes in his lighter moments. Fast-moving comedy of premarriage complications. "Fool, The" — Fox. A sincere presentation of Channing Pollock's stage play, with Edmund Lowe as the handsome young minister who sets out to lead a really Christian life. "Forty Winks" — Paramount. More comedy, featuring Raymond Griffith as an eccentric English lord. "Friendly Enemies" — Producers Distributing. Weber and Fields in a screen version of their stage tactics of fighting and making up. Rather entertaining comedy. "Great Divide, The"— Metro-Goldwyn. Antique movie plot made enjoyable through expert treatment and the acting of Wallace Beery, Alice Terry, and Conway Tearle. "Greed"— Metro-Goldwyn. Von Stroheim realism, marvelously done, but a little strong for those who prefer light entertainment. "His Supreme Moment" — First National. Romantic love scenes between Blanche Sweet and Ronald Colman, and some attractive color photography make this worth seeing. "I'll Show You the Town"— Universal. One of the best chances Reginald Denny has had to sho./ his flair for comedy. He plays an absent-minded professor whom no one will leave alone. "Introduce Me" — Associated Exhibitors. Douglas MacLean in a sometimes slow, but mostly amusing comedy about an Alpine guide. "Learning to Love" — First National. A rollicking farce on how to get a husband. Constance Talmadge and Antonio Moreno are the principals. "Lost World, The"— First National. A novel picture, dealing with prehistoric animals, supported by a few human actors. "Madame Sans Gene" — Paramount. Not Gloria Swanson's best, but well worth seeing. The genuine French backgrounds and settings are strikingly lovely. "Miracle of the Wolves"— Paramount. A French production showing up Louis XI. in a new light. Costumes and settings are interesting and authentic, but the plot is rather silly. "Monster, The" — Metro-Goldwyn. A.n ingenious melodrama, in which Lon Chaney plays a lunatic doctor. "My Wife and I" — Warner. A cheap story made into excellent entertainment through the acting of Constance Bennett, Irene Rich, and Huntley Gordon. "New Lives For Old" — Paramount. Betty Compson as a beautiful French dancer involved in intrigue. "New Toys" — Inspiration. A domestic comedy in which Richard Barthelmess and Mary Hay, properly enough, play the couple. "Night Club, The"— Raymond Griffith in an excruciatingly funny comedy about a bridegroom deserted at the altar. Louise Fazenda and Vera Reynolds help the humor considerably. "Night of Romance, Her"— First National. Constance Talmadge's best picture in a long while. Ronald Colman adds much to the fun. "Old Home Week" — Paramount. Better than the average Thomas Meighan picture of the small-town pattern. Lila Lee is unusually pretty as the girl. "Percy" — Associated Exhibitors. Charles Ray back in his old forte of the bashful boy painfully growing into a man. "Proud Flesh"— Metro-Goldwyn. A clever, rollicking burlesque of a melodramatic plot. Eleanor Boardman and Harrison Ford are excellent as Spaniards, while Pat O'Malley is the plumber who complicates their romance. "Quo Vadis"— First National. _ Emil Jannings appears as Nero in this new Italian version of the famous story. Continued on page 118