Screen Opinions (1923-24)

58 SCREEN OPINIONS TELLS THE TRUTH the role of Mrs. Martin, a wily widow, so excellently, and Phillips Smalley more than ever convincing in the role of Frederick Arnold, determined to prove to his nephew the effect of riches on the uninitiated, making it possible for Jack Baldwin to give his unsophisticated wife unstinted luxury, meaning later to break him. Vernon Steele is unobtrusive but convincing in the role of John Hope, a startled witness of his uncle’s daring manipulation of the youthful couple’s destiny. This picture is unusually well photographed, the settings are artistic, and the human side of the story is well developed. The title suggests sensational advertisement, and on the strength of this it may be used as a special. STORY OF THE PLAY When Marjorie Baldwin moves to New York with her newly acquired husband an ordinary city apartment looks like a palace. Nor does she awaken to the fact that she is not enjoying all the luxuries of life until Mrs. Martin, the widow next door, and closely related to the smart set, sows the seeds of discontent. Marjorie and her husband become the victims of a financier, Frederick Arnold, who tips Jack off to the buying values of the market, and helps him to become a rich man. The effect of riches on Marjorie are as predicted by Arnold, the more she gets the mor» she wants. Finally Jack appeals to her to reduce her extravagances, and discovers that she is a changed woman. And Jack, continuing to accumulate wealth, soon becomes as much immersed in the follies of high living as Marjorie. In the end it is Marjorie who awakens to the actual result of too much wealth in the destruction of happiness. The close of the story shows them starting on a new method of life and as much in love as in the beginning. PROGRAM COPY — “Temptation” — With an All-Star Cast, featuring Eva Novak and Bryant Washburn Marjorie Baldwin’s immersion in the luxuries of wealth developed serious complications in her domestic happiness. You must see “Temptation,” a fascinating, well-dressed, wellacted picture containing a vital lesson. Eva Novak, Bryant Washburn, June Elvidge, Phillips Smalley and Vernon Steele are in the cast. o ssttm “FOOLS AND RICHES”— [Class A] 80% (Adapted from story of same name) Story: — Spendthrift Reduced to Poverty Finds Fortune in Gold Piece VALUE CAST Photography — Average — Allen Davey. Jimmy Dorgan Herbert Rawlinson TYPE OF PICTURE— Spirited. Nellie Blye Katherine Perry Moral Standard — Average. John Dorgan. . Tully Marshall ■ Bernice Lorraine Doris Pawn Story — Very good — Drama — Family. Dick McCann Arthur S. Hull Star — Very good — Herbert Rawlinson. Frasconi Nickolai De Ruiz Author — Very good — Fred Jackson. Direction — Very good — Herbert Blache. Adaptation — Very good — Charles Kenyon. Technique — Very good. . , ,,, Spiritual Influence — Neutral. June 1 to 15, 1923. Producer — Universal Footage — 4,904 ft. Distributor — Universal Our Opinion MORAL O'THE PICTURE — Adversity is the Spendthrift’s Best Friend. Highly Entertaining — Good Box Office Possibility “Fools and Riches,” starring Herbert Rawlinson, looks to us like an excellent box office asset. The production is spirited, sometimes comic, often dramatic, and altogether entertaining. The situation on which the story is built is a bit reminiscent, but the picture contains enough of fresh material in the way the story is developed to offset any objection of this sort that might arise. Jimmy Dorgan, the main character of the story, so exasperates his father by his careless methods of handling money that he provides beforehand for the (# crash that he knows is due Jimmy, and the way that fate works in with the scheme is amusing and also thrilling. The supporting cast is satisfactory. The reason we rate “Fools and Riches” as an 80% production is because we believe in its box office values as a spirited, highly entertaining picture. STORY OF THE PLAY Jimmy Dorgan, known as a spendthrift, confident of his future as the son of a millionaire, is surprised at his father’s death to learn that he has left him only a small fortune, which he promptly invests with a supposed friend who is out to fleece him in conjunction with a female crook. The woman, Bernice Lorraine, succeeds in getting herself engaged to Jimmy, who (Continued on next page) No Advertising Support Accepted!