Screenland (Oct 1923-Mar 1924)

BIG NEW FILMS: THE WHITE SISTER, ASHES OF VENGEANCE AND THE GREEN GODDESS tn RCVICW By Frederick James Smith wicked advances. Archer has even utilized the old-fashioned nick-of-time rescue, this time by a British aerial squadron. Melodrama Superbly Constructed s I have said, this story is in no way new but no one could possibly get more out of it than Archer. The thingis superbly constructed. Every nuance of melodramatic thrill is extracted. And Archer's characters aren't mere lay figures. He has given them life, with its mingling shades of heroism and cowardice, strength and weakness. The rajah is a superb characterization, a sinister, humorous Hindu graduate of Oxford ; with an eye for a pretty woman, a cynical view of things both pagan and civilized, and an abiding dislike of inconvenience. He is the most delightful old scoundrel the screen has ever disclosed. George Arliss played the rajah on the stage and he plays him in the film version. Here is a superb performance, shaded to a nicety as only Arliss can do it. Who, save Von Stroheim, can invest a role with such subtlety? Alice Joyce's Return CL The Month's Best Performances C Marion Davies in Little Old New York C, George Arliss in The Green Goddess H Richard Barthelmess, The Fighting Blade ©.Dorothy Mackaill in The Fighting Blade The comments of some of the New York critics upon Mr. Olcott's production were amusing. They actually protested because some of the sets weren't elaborate enough. These same gentlemen spend most of their time protesting because the story is usually neglected while money is wasted upon massive sets. For my part, I found The Green Goddess well done, with good taste and a nice sense of atmosphere. Nowhere is the background out of proportion with the story. You will find The Green Goddess an absorbing melodrama. Take my tip and see it. My advance glimpse of Richard Barthelmess' new romance of Cromwellian days, The Fighting Blade, leads me to think that you will find it one of the best of all our American-made costume pieces. The Beulah Marie Dix swashbuckling story, not so much in itself, is beautifully handled by John Robertson, the director. And it reveals Barthelmess in his best' role since his fine performance of the homespun hero of Tol'able David. Barthelmess' New Picture C Ronald Colman i ffijetta Goudal in _lice Joyce makes a return to the screen as the feminine prisoner but I wish she hadn't. She isn't the Alice Joyce of old. Those lines that once gave Miss Joyce's face such matchless beauty are gone. The real hits of The Green Goddess, aside from the Arliss performance, are scored by Ivan Simpson, in his original role of the rajah's cockney servant. Here is a character bit that is a joy. The other hit is won by Jetta Goudal in the infinitesimal role of the ayah of the rajah's harem. Miss Goudal, whose Pilar de Lima was so striking in The Bright Shawl, makes this tiny bit stand out. Harry Morey gives a remarkably fine performance of the woman's husband and David Powell, although only adequate as the lover, rounds out the best cast film of the year. n The White Sister The Green Goddess arthelmess plays a young Flemish soldier of fortune, one Karl Van Kerstenbrock, who, because of the deadliness of his sword, is called "Thrust-ye-Through." Van Kerstenbrock casts his fortunes with Cromwell, wins the love of a royalist maid, acts as a roundhead spy in the old stronghold of Oxford, ultimately winning happiness, the girl and the commendation of Old Ironsides. Barthelmess reveals a decided histrionic growth as the deadly young swordsman. You'll be surprised in the growing breadth of his playing. One of the other surprises of The Fighting Blade is Dorothy Mackaill's playing of the heroine, Thomasine Musgrove. Here is a new star in the making — or we miss our guess. It is a finely sympathetic and graceful piece of work. 43