Screen Opinions (1923-24)

248 SCREEN OPINIONS WEEKLY SERVICE Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE— None. Continuation of “The Three Musketeers” Pleasingly Presented Whether “Milady,” which is a continuance of the story of “The Three Musketeers,” will be greeted with as much enthusiasm by American audiences as if it had been made in America, is a question. And yet it has much to recommend it. The photographic work does not compare favorably with that displayed in our best productions, and strange faces will fail to create the interest that our motion picture players would; but the adventurous character of the story, the clever manipulations of Milady de Winter, valued spy of Cardinal Richelieu; the vain atttempt of Queen Anne of France to save her lover, the Duke of Buckingham, from assassination by dispatching the redoubtable D’Artagnan, the valiant effort on the part of the latter to reach the Duke previous to the messenger of death, involve a plot that is strong enough and interesting enough to hold the interest of any audience. Aime Simon-Girard, who plays the part of D’Artagnan, is an actor of talent and magnetism, and Claude Merelle, in the title role, is charming of personality and quite 'equal to the occasion. Pierette Madd is excellent as Constance Bonacieux, and Monsieur De Max gives a satisfactory portrayal of the role of Richelieu. The settings are, of course, interesting, and we will suppose authentic according to reports that the picture was produced on the identical ground covered by Dumas in his stories of the period. STORY OF THE PLAY The story involves a plot on the part of Cardinal Richelieu and his valued spy, Milady de Winter, to bring about the death of the Duke of Buckingham. Queen Anne of France, in love with Buckingham, dispatches D’Artagnan with a message of warning, but Milady’s messenger, arriving a moment before D’Artagnan, is entitled to first audience, which ends in the stabbing and death of the Duke. Milady de Winter, once captured and imprisoned, uses her charm to vamp her jailer, and is thus allowed to escape. But later she is beheaded. PROGRAM COPY— “Milady”— With an All-Star Cast Destinies are often swerved by a moment of time. And so it was that the valiant D’Artagnan, on his second wild ride to warn the Duke of Buckingham, failed to prevent assassination. You cannot fail to be interested in this thrilling continuation of ‘‘The Three Musketeers” as outlined in “Milady.” This is a picture you ought to know about, because it really contains an important message for humanity. Dr. Emile Coue is a personality of current interest, and whether people mean to profit by his message or not, there will be enough curiosity in connection with the little man who set the world afire with his teaching of auto-suggestion to warrant any exhibitor running the picture, which appears to be little more than a reel in length. In this brief illustrated lecture he tells us that it is the imagination more than the will that is the impelling force in curing oneself through conscious auto-suggestion. Various examples are given, such as a man with will and imagination working in harmony, walking a plank situated close to the earth. The man shudders and turns away from the same plank as a means of passage from one high building to another at a height of several stories. An example of the body being governed by the subconscious mind is given in the sleepwalker, who rises and places a partly finished letter in an envelope, seals and addresses it. The subtitles give an illuminative explanation of the simple method of self-healing taught by Emile Coue — so simple that any intelligent person can grasp its meaning. ™R0F!ll1sTIirS “THEW It is difficult to conjecture what the average person will gather from the screen’s attempt to elucidate the Einstein theory of relativity. At any rate, the subject is presented entertainingly. Among the facts proved are that space is bent, that distance is measured by time, that objects are large or small, important or unimportant according to environment and other objects with which they are contrasted, that a ball falling from a height to the earth follows a curved line, and not the straight line which it appears to the human eye to follow, the curve being caused by the motion of the rapidly revolving earth away from the point where the ball would have hit had the earth been standing still. These and many other interesting scientific facts are exploited with the aid of animated drawings and illuminative subtitles. Ths film of four reels should prove an attractive innovation for the neighborhood house. No Advertising Support Accepted!