Screen Opinions (1923-24)

66 SCREEN OPINIONS TELLS THE TRUTH help in the fun making, the result is highly satisfactory. The heroine’s determination to enter the social set, and her unique method of carrying out her purpose will bring plenty of laughs. The attempts of her irate father, who thinks she has gone wrong, and of her would-be lover, to rescue her from what they believe to be impending danger, are strictly amusing. From the standpoint of artistry “Crossed Wires” cannot succeed in getting a high rating, but from the amusement angle we have to pronounce it good stuff. STORY OF THE PLAY Marcel Murphy, a telephone girl, daughter of Pat Murphv, decides that she is going to taste society life, and grasping an opportunity when Mrs. Bellamy Benson is phoning her secretary to include a certain person in the invitations for a dance, Marcel calls the secretary back, and, pretending to be Mrs. Benson, gives in her own name among guests to be invited. Later she gains the friendship and protection of Mr. Benson when she fears exposure through one of the maids at the Benson home. The close of the story, after many adventures, shows Marcel at last landed in society as Mrs. Ralph Benson. PROGRAM COPY — “Crossed Wires” — Featuring Gladys Walton Marcel Murphy, hardly recognizable as Miss Van Dusen breaking into society, will amuse you more than the heroine of any other recent comedy. Don’t miss seeing Gladys Walton in her latest and funniest. Eddie Gribbon and Kate Price are included in the cast. “REMITTANCE WOMAN” — [Class B] 65% (Adapted from story of same name) Story: — Adventures of Girl Sent on Remittance to China VALUE CAST Photography. — Average — Joseph A. Dubray. Marie Campbell Ethel Clayton TYPE OF PICTURE — Interesting — George Holt Rockliffe Fellowes Sensational. Moses d’Acosta Mario Carillo Moral Standard — Average. Tsang Tse Frank Lanning ■ . i Higginson Tom Wilson Story — Good — Melodrama — Family. Liu Po-Yat Etta Lee Star — Good — Ethel Clayton. Shuen To Yan James B. Leong Author — Good — Achmed Abdullah. Anthony Campbell Edward Kimball Direction — Good — Wesley Ruggles. Sun Yu-Wen Toyo Fugita Adaptation — Good — Carol Warren. Technique — Good. Spiritual Influence — Neutral. June 1 to IS, 1923. Producer — P. A. Powers Footage — 5,000 ft. Distributor — F. B. O. Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE— None. Interesting Tale Staged Against Oriental Settings — Story Not Best Type for Star — For those who like tales of the Orient “The Remittance Woman” will prove satisfying, although this type of story is not the sort that made Ethel Clayton popular. The story which opens in New York with some fascinating scenes in which two racing motor boats figure, and later shifts to China at a time when she is threatened with revolution and where the heroine is pursued by agents of the Manchus for possession of a certain symbol in the shape of a tiny vase, which has been given her by her Chinese maid, is interesting. And the spectator is kept blissfully in ignorance that what is being viewed as a realistic struggle between yellow men and one slender American girl, is all a dream, until Marie Campbell, asleep in her chair, comes to with the vision of the yellow men still upon her, and her lover on his way to announce a vacation for his honeymoon. The chase through Chinese palaces with their myriads of corridors, and the funny sailor, Higginson, always on hand to play the hero, is staged in a spirited fashion. The role of Higginson, played by Tom Wilson, is one of the choice bits which the picture boasts. Rockliffe Fellows is acceptable as the lover, and Frank Lanning is excellent as the Chinaman, Tsang Tse. Etta Lee does splendidly in the role of the Chinese maid, and, indeed, the cast is all that could be desired for this particular type of picture. James B. Leong and Toyo Fugita are exceptionally well suited to the parts they play. STORY OF THE PLAY Marie Campbell, too modern a maid to suit her father^ falls asleep following a lecture from him in which he tells her she deserves to be sent to China on remittance, and dreams that she is indeed in the Orient and is being pursued by Manchus for possession of a tiny vase which has been given her by her maid to keep her from harm, and which is a valuable (Continued on next page) < No Advertising Support Accepted!