Screen Opinions (1923-24)

153 ALL THE “TRUTH” ABOUT PICTURES Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE— None. Pyramid Standard — Lacking — Editing Not Flawless It would have been difficult to have done better than Ray Smallwood has done with a theme as fictitious as that contained in “When the Desert Calls,” which pictures a young wife followed and persecuted by a man whose reason for doing so is not explained as being other than merely a determination to* possess the woman. The production is not up to the standard of former Pyramid features, although it is quite elaborately staged and has many pleasing qualities. Julia Swayne Gordon is beautiful as “The White Angel,” who ministered to the girl hurrying across the desert to evade her persecutor. Robert Fraser does well in a double role, and Sheldon Lewis is convincing as the heavy. There is nothing about the picture to recommend it more than the ordinary program feature. STORY OF THE PLAY Louise Caldwell, the wife of a bank cashier in a town on the edge of the Sahara desert, finds herself again by a man who had persecuted her previous to her marriage with her husband back in America. A frameup by the man, Richard Manners, causes her husband to be discharged from the bank accused of forgery, and as he leaves thei bank George Stevenson, hia exact double, shoots himself to avoid being found out as the man who cashed the forged check. Caldwell, unable to understand the situation between his wife and Manners, hurriedly stew® the dead man’s identity and goes into the desert, where he heads a tribe and is honored by Britain for distinguished service. The close pf the story shows him in the hospital, where his wife is nurse, ana, as he believes, in love with the doctor. When she has discovered him behind his full grown beard he learns that she has never loved anyone but him. PROGRAM COPY — “When the Desert Calls”— Featuring Violet Hemming "When the Desert Calls” will thrill you with its tale of an unhappy wife shadowed by a spectre of the past. Violet Hemming plays the stellar role. “SUPER-SEX” — Class A (Especially prepared for screen) Story; — Youth Gets True Test Through Grandmother’s Cunning Scheme VALUE . CAST Photography — Very Good — John S. Stumar. Miles Brewster Higgins Robert Gordon TYPE OF PICTURE — Interesting. Irene Hayes Charlotte Pierce Moral Standard — Very Good. Mr. Higgins Tully Marshall ■ — Mrs. Higgins Lydia Knott Story — Average — ComedyDrama — Family Grandma Brewster Gertrude Claire Cast — Very Good — All-Star, Cousin Roy.... Albert McQuarrie Author — Average — Frank R. Adams. J. Gordon Davis Louis Natheaux Direction — Very Good — Lambert Hillyer. Mr. Hayes George Bunny Adaptation — Very Good — Lambert Hillyer. Mrs. Hayes Evelyn Burns Technique — Average. ■ 1 1 "■ 1 — Spiritual Influence — Good. January 1 to 15, 1923. Producer — Frank R. Adams Footage — 5,749 ft. Distributor — Amer. Releasing Corp. Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE — One’s Attitude in Adversity a True Test of Character. Production Has Fine Entertainment Qualities, But Is in Need of Cutting “The Super-Sex” treats of a family problem, and therefore is interesting from the very start, in which the domestic life of the Higgins family, or more correctly speaking, the chief characteristics of its members are revealed in serio-comic fashion. The story is different from the majority of screen stories, which is another reason for liking it, but it is faulty in construction. And it is chiefly due to the skillful work of adapter and director, Hillyer, that the picture really stands for something. The situation is excellent in which Grandma Brewster hides her real self behind a stern and fault-finding exterior, and finally comes up smiling and pats Pa Higgins on the back, acclaiming him one of the best of men, after turning the trick that made grandson Miles Brewster Higgins prove himself a real man when he believed himself caught in the web of adversity. Gertrude Claire is delightful as the grandmother, of whom effective closeups in action are exhibited; and Tully Marshall, whom we have seen recently in a number of villain roles, proves his versatility as Mr. Higgins, a much-fretted, but manly man. Lydia Knott is charming as Mrs. Higgins, and Charlotte Pierce satisfies as the sweetheart. The picture is too long, and especially in its earlier stages a closer knitting of the action would be generally effective. In the (Continued on next page) No Advertising Support Accepted!