Screen Opinions (1923-24)

ALL THE “TRUTH” ABOUT PICTURES 241 her husband stabs him to death. Circumstances point to John Eliot as the murderer, and to save his sister he allows himself to be arrested. Mrs. Townsend, conscience stricken, disappears, leaving behind her a confession freeing all others from blame. The story closes with Eliot’s confession of love for Corinne, and a silhouette of Mrs. Townsend — presumably about to leap from the rock into the sea. PROGRAM COPY — “World’s Applause” — Bebe Daniels and Lewis Stone Corinne d’Alys found to her cost that the world’s applause hinges on respectability. You will like the latest William DeMille production, starring Bebe Daniels and Lewis Stone, humanly “WHAT A WIFE LEARNED” — Class B (Especially prepared for screen) Story: — What Happened When Woman Seeking Career Married Rancher VALUE Photography — Good — Henry Sharp. TYPE OF PICTURE — Interesting. Moral Standard — Average. Story — Good — Drama — Adults. Cast — Good — All-Star, featuring John Bowers, Marguerite De La Motte and Milton Sills. Author — Good — Bradley King. Direction — Good — John Griffith Wray. Adaptation — Good — Bradley King. Technique — Good. Spiritual Influence — Average. CAST Jim Russell... John Bowers Rudolph Martin Milton Sills Sheila Dome Marguerite De La Motte Esther Russell Evelyn McCoy Tracy McGrath Harry Todd Maggie McGrath Aggie Herring Lillian Martis Francelia Billington Percy Bertram Johns Terry Ernest Butterworth Maxfield John Steppling March 1 to 15, 1923. Producer — Thomas H. Ince Footage — 6,228 ft. Distributor — First National Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE — Inequality of Ambition Is Method of Destroying Marital Happiness. Vital Theme — Excellent Cast — Ordinary Development If the latter half of “What a Wife Learned” had been developed with the same careful deliberation as the opening reels the vital problem of which the story treats would have been delivered with more force. However, the picture is apt to be popular, because it is fashioned from the popular appeal angle rather than from the artistic. The woman who means to live for her career alone discovers that she is only human and therefore becomes a victim of romance almost before she knows it. Then comes dissatisfaction on the part of the husband who never meant to interfere with his wife’s career, but who proves to be a mere man. The removal to the city where his wife’s story is to be converted into a play brings on extreme situations wherein the husband, obliged to work as a truckdriver because he can find nothing else that he knows how to do, meets with an accident just as he is about to grasp an opportunity which would place him on an equal footing with his wife. Later when he returns home the building of a dam affords him the coveted sensation of accomplishment. An accident, caused by the breaking of an old dam, causes the death of the other man in the case and reunites husband and wife. John Bowers is satisfactory as the husband, Milton Sills as the other man, and Marguerite De La Motte is charming as the wife. The forcefulness of the wife’s lesson depends on the views of the person looking at the picture. The question is, of course, “Can a woman handle a career and a husband at the same time?” STORY OF THE PLAY Sheila Dome, a schoolteacher in the cattle country, accepts the marriage proposal of Jim Russell, ranchman, in spite of her better judgment in connection with husbands and careers. The dramatization of her novel makes it necessary for them to move to the city, where Jim can find nothing to do but drive a truck. Later he has an accident, and already snubbed by Sheila’s friends, he returns to the ranch. Realizing the necessity of building a dam for irrigation purposes, his ambition awakens, and by the time the project is complete Sheila and her collaborator, Rudolph Martin, appear on the scene. With the bursting of an old dam, Martin loses his life, and Sheila, who has been uncertain where her affections lay, discovers that she still loves her husband. PROGRAM COPY — “What a Wife Learned” — Featuring an All-Star Cast It was a road of perplexing complications that Sheila Dome, novelist, traveled before she realized that it is possible to entertain a husband and career at the same time. Marguerite De La Motte, John Bowers and Milton Sills are the featured players. No Advertising Support Accepted!