Screen Opinions (1923-24)

63 SCREEN OPINIONS TELLS THE TRUTH He has a peculiar trick of leaving his characters midway in a sequence, and of starting them off anew in a resulting situation. This is effective, So also is his conception of the character Pierre Revel, who is so potently, so irresponsibly a part of the Paris night life that he laughs his way over the primrose path. Adolphe Menjou is truly delightful in the role of Pierre. We do not remember having seen a more convincing portrayal of a like character. In spite of his naughtiness Pierre keeps the audience bubbling over with laughter. Also the role of Marie, so excellently played by Edna Purviance, is much different from the vivacious women of Paris to which we have usually been treated. For though she has accepted the path of ill-gotten luxury, there is evident an undercurrent of sadness in her demeanor — she is in love with her first love. In “A Woman of Paris” Chaplin has painted a vivid picture of life, and we hope this will not be his last attempt at visualizing the serious side. The picture has many points of interest of which there is not space to handle. The photography is unusually good, the settings artistic, and the cast throughout excellent. Carl Miller gives a fine performance in the rather morose character of John Millet, and Lydia Knott is sweet and wholesome as the mother of John, who shoots himself for love of Marie. We believe that this picture will draw in any theatre, partly on account of the name of the director, and because of its quality of entertainment. It is a production strictly for adult audiences. STORY OF THE PLAY Marie St. Clair, a victim of an unhappy home, returns at midnight from discussing with John Millet, her fiance, arrangements for a journey to Paris on the following day and a wedding at the end of the journey, to find the door locked. Forced to do her father’s bidding and let her lover find her a-bed, she accompanies him to his home, where his father, misunderstanding the situation, orders her out of the house. Leaving her at the depot with the money to buy the tickets to Paris, John hurries back home for his bag, and is detained by the death of his father, with the result that Marie, believing him faithless, goes to Paris alone. There she finally accepts the offer of a home without marriage from Pierre Revel, rich and irresponsible. A year or so later she meets John, who is now an artist and living with his mother in the Latin quarter of Paris, and again they renew the old romance. Marie has given up Pierre and is about to marry John when his mother interferes, and she goes back to Pierre. John, in desperation, shoots himself, and Marie, deciding to reform, is seen at the close of the picture in the country among children. PROGRAM COPY — “A Woman of Paris” — Featuring Edna Purviance Don’t miss seeing the biggest thing that Charles Chaplin has done. “A Woman of Paris,” featuring Edna Purviance, is romantic, sensational and is written and directed by the famous comedian. “BRIGHT LIGHTS OF BROADWAY”— [Cl. A] 80% (Adapted from story of same name) Story: — Country Girl’s Unhappy Experience as Theatrical Producer’s Favorite VALUE CAST Photography — Very good — Not credited. Randall Sherrill Lowell Sherman TYPE OF PICTURE — Sensational. Irene Markey Doris Kenyon Moral Standard — Fair. Tom Drake Harrison Ford 1 1 Rev. Graham Drake Edmund Breese Story — Very good — Melodrama — Adults. Connie King Claire Dolorez Cast — Very good — All-Star. Mrs. Grimm Effie Shannon Author — Very good — Gerald C. Duffy. John Kirk Tyrone Power Direction — Very good — Webster Campbell. El Jumbo Charles Murray Adaptation — Very good — Edmund Goulding. -■ Technique — Very good. November 1 to IS, 1923. Spiritual Influence — Neutral. Producer — A. B. F. Zeidman Footage — 6,800 ft. Distributor — State Rights Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE— None. Good Box Office Attraction, But Too Much Sex Appeal to Qualify as Wholesome In classifying “The Bright Lights of Broadway” as an 80% production we are considering its box office value almost exclusively. The picture has no place in a list of wholesome pictures in spite of the fact that the heroine is a simple country girl, her lover a manly country youth, and the early scenes of the picture are set in and about the church. Nor does the fact that the sensuous theatrical producer is admirably portrayed by Lowell Sherman relieve the pro (Continued on next page) Unbiased and Independent Reviews Only!