Reel Life (1916-1917)

MARJORIE RAMBEAU STARS Beautiful actress, big story, lots of action, and plenty of surprises Miss Marjorie Rambeau as she appears in one of the snappiest portions of “The Mirror." Miss Rambeau is noted for her ability to wear clothes — which, however, she does not over-do. In several parts of “The Mirror" she is seen to great ad¬ vantage and with very little effort. “The Mir¬ ror” is very well worth looking into carefully. Maizie Goddard, an actress . . Irene Warfield Boyd, a theatrical manager . . Paul Everton His stage director. . . .Aubrey Beattie His Backer . Frank Ford Russell Dana . T. Jerome Lawlor Bob Merrill, an artist. .Robert Elliott and Blanche, his wife . .Marjorie Rambeau Marjorie rambeau, the Broadway favorite who has created such a furore in New York in the A. H. Woods production, “Cheating Cheaters,” never appeared to greater advantage than in the sensational Powell-Mutual production, “The Mir¬ ror,” written by Clara S. Beranger, especially for Miss Rambeau. In this photodrama, which is a thoroughly engrossing story of modern tife, Miss Rambeau has been provided with a splendid medium for the dis¬ play of her brilliant emotional capabili¬ ties and she takes full advantage of her opportunities. As the young society woman, mar¬ ried to and intensely in love with Bob Merrill, a poor but proud painter of portraits, Miss Rambeau runs the gamut of human emotions, her great beauty lending additional enchantment to a tremendously virile love story. For those who hold that the subtler moods of men and women cannot be adequately portrayed in the wordless drama, “The Mirror” provides an ob¬ ject lesson worthy of profound study. It is a fascinating succession of dramatic situations each more engross¬ ing than the last. The climax is so satisfying as to send everyone home happy with the sensation of having been through a fire unscathed. From the opening to the close this picture betrays the graphic imagination of Director Frank Powell, whose brush paints in broad sweeps of vivid color and whose delight is in the won¬ derfully vivid contrast for which his work is famous. There is no padding in “The Mir¬ ror.” It is all story. Every move made by everybody in the cast is a move that has directly to do with the action of the piece and one that helps to build the symmetrical whole. Just as he is a bold painter of scenes for the screen, so Mr. Powell is a mas¬ ter of the little subtleties of direction that contribute to the balance of the production. The director of “The Mirror” is one director who has learned that action does not consist necessarily in motion. There is in¬ tense action in the scene that finds Blanche Staring into the eyes of her disillusioned husband, yet it is a scene in which neither man nor woman move from their chairs. The horror in Maizie’s eyes tells the story — the tense attitude of the husband confirms it. Here is real action. Marjorie Rambeau’s evening gowns in “The Mirror” cost $4,000. There are four of them and they cost $1,000 apiece. Only a really beautiful woman wears a beautiful gown to complete advantage. Marjorie Rambeau is one of the most beautiful women on the American stage. She never presented a more delightful ensemble than that displayed when Boyd, theatrical man¬ ager and debauchee, having lured her from her husband under a promise of theatrical fame and fortune, intro¬ duces her to his professional coterie in the first expensive evening costume she is supposed ever to have worn. The progress of Blanche’s sophisti¬ cation under Boyd’s evil influence is startling. While accepting Boyd’s theatrical offer originally in the hope that she would be able to earn money for the support of her modest home, REEL LIFE — Page Two