Screenland (May-Oct 1928)

sea. Upon his return, however, he finds that his wife's affections have been or are about to be won by another man. So quite quietly he drops out of the picture. An unhappy film both in its theme and its direction. GOLDEN YUKON Don't you sometimes wish that the villain would get the girl instead of the poor but honest hero? I do. More often than not. And in Golden Yu\on I thought that's what was going ~~~r to happen. An innocent little girl is taken to Canada for 'nefarious purposes.' But just at the ch> max, just at the moment when it seemed — oh shucks, what's the use? You know as well as I do that the 'unscrupulous villain' comes to no good end. And that our Nell retains her fragile and uninteresting purity. THE LEOPARD LADY You would think that the beautiful Jacqueline Logan plus a couple of slinky leopards would be about enough to put any picture over, wouldn't you? To say nothing of an ape who commits suicide. As well as a lot of other unusual 'props.' It's all very dramatic and powerful — particularly when Jackie cracks one of her boy friends behind the ear. But somehow — maybe it's just my idea, but the picture didn't 'get' me. However, don't take my word for it, drop in to see it yourself. And if I'm wrong, the lunch is on me. WOMAN WISE Come on now, boys and girls, pile right in. For this is the kind of picture that everybody likes to see. This comedy is laid in Persia. And if you ever saw more or better action and color in any picture, I dare you to name it. Usually when you think of an American Consul, you think of a tall, dignified gentleman in a frock coat — very proper in pronouncing his words. Well, wait until you see this American Consul! What a wallop he packs. Then take that old oriental gink, the Pasha. He orders the natives to besiege the American Consulate because an American adventurer from a nearby oil camp has become involved — that's a good word — with a native woman. That gun fight around the Consulate is as pretty a piece of action as you ever saw. Particularly when the dead and wounded fall off the top of the wall down into the lake. The whole film is crammed with a genuine picturesque quality which you don't often find. And clear up until the wind up when the American boys, of course, save <3[ Colleen Moore is ma\ing 'Lilac Time.' A ■million dollar special with Gary Cooper, but Colleen'li\e she is not too busy to give a beginner a chance. the day, the comedy is perfect. June Collyer, Walter Pidgeon, William Russell and a couple of dogs will keep you laughing until the finish. An excellent film. Excellently directed. JAWS OF STEEL Of course, now, you all know what Will Shakespeare said about the man who does not love music. Well that's just what I think about the man 4r or woman who doesn't love — ~" " dogs. They are fit only for , 'treasons, strategies and spoils.' There is something radically wrong in the character of a person who does not love dogs. : Big dogs, I mean. Mind you I don't care myself for these sweet smelling little Poms that childless women drag around in their arms and feed on cream. A dog to me means a big dog. And this is the class that Rin Tin Tin heads so nobly. In his new picture Jaws of Steel he shares honors with lit' the Mary Louise Miller who makes a great hit in her childish role. The story unrolls simply and movingly. And it has moments of superb canine grandeur. And I'm not getting mushy. CHICAGO AFTER MIDNIGHT Chicago after Midnight is an exciting picture of life in Chicago's underworld. It is the best film Ralph Ince ever directed. As usual, he not only directs but acts one of the leading roles. This time, however, instead of playing a rough-neck sea captain, he portrays a whitehaired gangster. Jola Mendez, his sister-in-law in real life, is, in the film, his daughter. That girl is a good actress. In fact, at the climax of the picture, she does work which is really fine. There is a sort of fighting stamina in her characterization which must ^_ have been pretty difficult to 3~ depict. Ince himself is splendid in the role of the father. His work is repressed and cleverly shaded, from anything he has ever attempted before, is in this picture an entirely new type of deOle M. Ness has the part of Tanner. Tanner ((]ac\ Stone who is ma\ing his screen start in 'Lilac Time.' different There tective. tries to solve the murder of the gangster who years before squealed on Ince, causing him to be sent to prison. Ness brings to the screen a detective such as I have never seen before. His portrayal is little short of marvelous. I do not believe I have ever witnessed better character acting. Ness deserves much credit for deviating from the usual 'hoku'm' detective with blunt-toed shoes and blunter brains. And all intelligent detectives should club together and send him a medal. 52