Screen Opinions (1923-24)

214 SCREEN OPINIONS WEEKLY SERVICE It will be unnecessary to go into detail with regard to the story or direction of the picture, “M.A.R.S.,” which was made with a view to exploiting a method of motion picture photography that has great possibilities, known as Teleview. This method is based on the old stereopticon idea and at the present time requires that a theatre in which the pictures are shown be outfitted with individual stereoscope attachments through which the double outline picture must be viewed. The Teleview picture viewed without the stereoscope, in which a rapidly revolving shutter makes it possible for only one eye to see at a time, is distorted and out of focus as it were. But viewed through the stereoscope it is not only clear but gathers depth and realism. The result is remarkable. The story of this particular picture treats of the dream of an inventor of radio apparatus who longed to communicate with Mars. The dream shows the inhabitants of Mars trying to follow the earth styles as conveyed to them over the radio, and other humorously presented incidents brought about through communication with Earth. We can see a future for this method if someone would invent a way by which one attachment in conjunction with the screen could be made to serve all comers. “DARLING OF THE RICH”— Class B (Especially prepared for screen) Story: — Romance of Inventor’s Daughter Who Follows Lure of Luxury VALUE Photography — Excellent — Edward Paul. TYPE OF PICTURE— EntertainingElaborate. Moral Standard — Low. Story — Average — Melodrama — Adults. Star — Good — Betty Blythe. Author — Average— Dorothy Farnum. Direction — Good — John Adolphi. Adaptation — Good — Dorothy Farnum. Technique — Good. Spiritual Influence — Neutral. Producer — Whitman Bennett Footage — 6,000 CAST Charmion Winship Betty Blythe Mason Lawrence Leslie Austin Peyton Martin Montagu Love Torrence Welch Charles Gerard Dippy Helen Julia Swayne Gordon Lizzie Callahan Gladys Leslie Jane Winship Jane Jennings Fred Winship Albert Ilackett Mike Callahan Walter Walker Detective A. Gowin February 15 to 28, 1923. ft. Distributor — American Releasing Corp. Our Opinion MORAL O'THE PICTURE— None. Entertaining — Elaborately Staged Production Lacks Moral Responsibility If one is looking for a picture in which a beautiful woman, with gowns as stunning as the body that wears them, is the chief attraction, “The Darling of the Rich” will fill the bill, for in it Betty Blythe, never more fascinating, proves an excellent advertisement for her high-priced modiste. Her gowns are startlingly beautiful, and — once in a while risque. Or perhaps it is; only once that she appears in a gown which bares the body above the waist save for a strap or two and some gorgeous ropes of pearls. The author of the story has chosen to view life from an unmoral angle, and so we have a young woman clinging to the memory of a stranger’s kiss, while she follows the lure of gold in the big city, and finally offers herself in marriage on the auction block, and is also discovered in association with a jewel thief, an offense which is condoned under the supposition that she was an innocent victim of circumstances. An excellent cast supports the star. STORY OF THE PLAY Charmion Winship, daughter of an inventor who dies without enjoying the fruits of his work, recalling a statement of her father’s to the effect that money is all there is, goes to the city with the intention of winning luxury. Her beauty attracts Peyton Martin, and through his henchman, Torrence Welch and a woman known as Dippy Helen, who have learned that Charmion holds the formula for a valuable invention of her father’s, she meets him and is invited to be hostess at an affair given by Martin. Here she offers herself to the highest bidder, among whom is a business rival of Martin's, Mason Lawrence, whose kiss when he rescued her from drowning near her home in the country, she has never forgotten. An exposure of Charmion’s association with Dippy Helen, who is a gem thief, causes a commotion. But in the end the affair is cleared up and Charmion and Lawrence are betrothed. 4 (Continued on next page) No Advertising Support Accepted!