Screen Opinions (1923-24)

ALL THE “TRUTH” ABOUT PICTURES 149 place in a sanitarium to which millionaires are lured, tortured and probably murdered to make them part with their money, and a house next door in which lives a forger in the power of the head of the sanitarium and his lonely niece, tormented by cruel apprehensions. The suspense, mystery and terrifying atmosphere of the story is successfully conveyed to the screen, and the cheery nonchalance of the hero in the midst of danger is both amusing and exhilarating. There are peculiarities about both the directing and the editing of the picture. STORY OF THE PLAY Captain Hufo Drummond, recently returned from the trenches, finds life as an ordinary citizen rather tedious. In the hope of drawing adventure he inserts an ad in the newspaper and receives an answer from a pretty girl, Phyllis Benson, who enlists his services in solving the mystery of a sanitarium next door stating that he may have to kill several men. In the events that follow, her uncle is found dead by his own hand and a codicil to a will on which he was to forge the signature of millionaire Potts, is found unsigned and is quickly lifted by the sanitarium gang. Adventure follows adventure until finally Drummond succeeds in gaining control of the situation, and Peterson, the head of the sanitarium, is led away to prison, while Potts, who has been tortured almost beyond endurance, is rescued. PROGRAM COPY — “Bulldog Drummond” — Featuring Carlyle Blackwell Captain Hugo Drummond craved adventure and found plenty of it trying to solve the mysteries of a fake sanitarium and its murderous get-rich-quick gang. If you like adventure stories you will surely be pleased with this one, in which Carlyle Blackwell, the well-known screen star, plays the stellar role. “WHITE SHOULDERS”— Class Bj (Adapted from story of same name) Story: — Girl Who Found Her Lover Was Rich Man VALUE Photography — Good — Joseph Brotherton. TYPE OF PICTURE— Entertaining. Moral Standard — Average. Story — Average — Drama — Family. Star — Good — Katherine MacDonald. Author — Average — George K. Turner. Direction — Good — Tom Forman. Adaptation — Good — Not credited. Technique — Good. Spiritual Influence — Neutral. CAST Virginia Pitman Katherine MacDonald Mrs. Pitman Lillian Lawrence Robert Lee Pitman Tom Forman Cole Hawkins Bryant Washburn Clayborne Gordon Nigel Barrie Col. Jim Singleton Chas. K. French Judge Blakelock James O. Barrows Little Jimmie Blakelock. .. .Richard Headrick Maurice Fred Malatesta January 1 to 15, 1923. Producer — Preferred Pictures Footage — 5,966 ft. Distributor — First National Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE— None. Southern Atmosphere Contained in Production — Has No Connection With Title The only scene in “White Shoulders” to suggest its title is a scene in which the star wears a gown of the colonial period which droops gracefully on the shoulders, and according to a subtitle she is called by a male admirer “White Shoulders.” The picture is entertaining and pleasingly mounted against Southern settings. The star is as always beautiful, and portrays attractively the role of Virginia Pitman, whose mother makes her life miserable trying to marry her to wealth regardless of Virginia’s feeling in the matter. The lines of the story are a bit artificial, and the subtitles are not always of the best. But the majority of fans will be pleased with the romance in which a rich young man, disguised behind his favorite sport, automobile racing, springs a surprise on the ambitious mother, who spurns him as an undesirable match for her daughter. There are a number of attractive social affair pictures, and Miss MacDonald is becomingly gowned and well photographed. The cast is a competent one and contains at least two favorites beside the star, namely, Bryant Washburn and little Richard Headrick, the child actor. STORY OF THE PLAY Virginia Pitman is harassed by an over-ambitious mother who desires to mend the family exchequer through her daughter’s marriage. She accidentally meets Cole Hawkins, racing his automobile, which forms the opening of a romance that ends in marriage after many unpleasant happenings for Virginia, among them the shooting and killing of a man by her brother in defense of her name. PROGRAM COPY — “White Shoulders” — Featuring Katherine MacDonald Was it rebellion against prevailing conditions or just the joy of meeting a man in place of a manikin that caused beautiful Virginia Pitman to throw conventions to the wind when she met a handsome man in a racing car? Katherine MacDonald is the star of this interesting drama. No Advertising Support Accepted!