Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1927 - Feb 1928)

44 The Stroller THE best way to retain one's optimism about the movies — if that must be done — is to avoid seeing them. If one attends, say, only five pictures a year, choosing them carefully from the advice of intelligent and unbiased friends, one may still retain the faith. And I 'have come to the conclusion that one should never drop in on a movie without careful investigation beforehand. 1 did that recently, so I know. It wasn't that the picture wasn't entertaining. I laughed, but it was only to hide tears of despair. The picture was "The Heart of Maryland." It is a gaudy costume production, all about the North and the South, and a girl who has relatives on both sides. General Lee is in the picture, crape whiskers and all, and whenever General Lee or General Grant appears on the screen, I know I am in for a bad evening. The picture lays full responsibility for the failure of General Lee's Maryland campaign at the door of Dolores Costello. As soon as the Union and Confederate armies arrive at Dolores' home, they forget all about the war — and small wonder. For Dolores manages to be beautiful even in the costumes of that period. The manner in which the military maneuvers are conducted seems hard to believe, even for those who witnessed the management of the armies during the World War. ■ The actor who plays the villainous Captain Thorpe is the heaviest heavy I've seen in years. His misdeeds are far too many for enumeration here, but it is sufficient to say that he betrays two armies and at least one woman. His only redeeming act is when he shoots a fellow actor who speaks the title, "We of the South do not make war upon women." Jason Robards presents a rather plaintive figure as the hero. Helene, sister of Dolores, is also in the picture, but wisely leaps into the river in about the third reel. An indication of the film's general tenor is the climax wherein Dolores hangs onto a bell clapper to prevent its ringing out the signal to execute Jason. Lloyd Bacon directed the film, but should not be condemned too severel}'. For it is based on one of David Belasco's soupiest melodramas of a good many years ago, and the story has not improved with age. Cobwebs on the bottle are not enough in this case. Hollywood recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary as an incorporated community. The early residents little suspected what was going to happen to their village later in its life. The city in the early days had a dozen houses, a constable, a volunteer fire department, and an insane asylum that has since turned into the Writers' Club. Nobody in town had a five-year contract, and the first editorial denouncing Hollywood's wickedness had not yet been written. There wasn't a Rolls-Royce nor a Grauman prologue in the vicinity. Virtually no one had a press agent, and fan mail was non-existent. Carl Laemmle had not started to import his relatives, and almost every one in town spoke English. Tom Mix had only three automobiles, Charlie and Mae Murray were doing a brother-and-sister act in vaudeville, the Cronk family of Kansas didn't know that its favorite daughter was destined to adopt the name of Windsor, nothing but tea was served at afternoon teas, and the first $l,000-a-week salary check had not yet been cashed. The Hollywood High School was still just a school and not a preparatory academy for an acting career, the leading figures in the cloak-and-suit business had not begun to turn their eyes toward art, and no one knew what a gag man was — if one had wandered into town, he would probably have been arrested. Now that formal church weddings have become the thing in Hollywood, it is high time for Will Hays or some one in authority to take charge of them and put them on an efficient and businesslike basis. Since the main pur high The new archery school in the colony would get lots of publicity if only a Hollywood wife would kill tier next husband with a bow and arrow. mam pose of these weddings seems to be to get as much publicity as possible fgr the aggrieved parties, they should be carefully staged. Sam Goldwyn had a great deal of success in putting over the Vilma Banky-Rod La Rocque wedding. He probably received valuable a i d from Cecil DeMille. who