Screen Opinions (1923-24)

76 “BOOK THE NEW PERCENTAGE WAY” came to his rescue when he needed help, steps into the breach, lends money to pay off the mortgage, kills the cruel husband and steals both money and cattle to help Gilbert. The story closes with the lovers happy. PROGRAM COPY — “The Bad Man" — Featuring Holbrook Blinn Pancho Lopez, notorious bandit, believed in helping a friend. Come and see what you think of a bandit’s methods, and laugh to your heart’s content at his crooked interpretation of right and wrong. Holbrook Blinn is the star. “DESIRE”— [Class C] 50 % (Especially prepared for screen) Story: — Unhappy Romance of Society Girl and Chauffeur Ends in Double Suicide < VALUE CAST Photography — Good — George Barnes. Ruth Cassell Marguerite De La Mottc TYPE OF PICTURE — Unwholesome. Bob Elkins John Bowers Moral Standard — Fair. Madalyn Harlan Estelle Taylor 1 ■ Jerry Ryan David Butler Story — Average — Romantic melodrama — Bud Reisner Walter Long Adults. Mamie Reisner Lucille Hatton Cast — Good — All-Star — With John Bowers, Rupert Vassell Edward Connelly David Butler. Marguerite De La Motte DeWitt Harlan Ralph Lewis and Estelle Taylor. Oland Young Chester Conklin Authors — Average — John B. Clymer and Mrs. DeWitt Harlan Vera Lewis Henry R. Syntonds. Patrick Ryan Nick Cogley Direction — Average — Rowland V. Lee. Mrs. Pat Ryan Sylvia Ashton Adaptation — Average — John B. Clymer and Mr. Elkins Frank Currier Henry R. Symonds. The Best Man Lars Landers Technique — Average. ■ Spiritual Influence — Neutral. November 1 to 15, 1923. Producer — Louis Burston Footage — 6,500 ft. Distributor — Metro Our Opinion MORAL O'THE PICTURE— None. Good Cast and Direction, But Story Fails to Make Its Point “Desire” is based on a story that never gets anywhere with the moral it intends to convey. The fact that the two young people who follow their own inclinations and marry regardless of obstacles, commit suicide in the end, is neither a pleasing nor wholesome aspect of the situation. The cast employed in the picture is a capable one, as a glance at the names will indicate, and there are many scenes of the picture that are interesting and individually well done, but after anticipating to the very climax that some solution to the problem will be offered, it is disappointing to find that the picture’s title is merely a box office asset with little relation to the plot. Marquerite De La Motte and Estelle Taylor are attractive in their respective roles. John Bower and David Butler also do well, although the latter is unable to fulfill the emotional requirement of the role he plays. STORY OF THE PLAY Madalyn Harlan and Bob Elkins break off their engagement at the very approach to the altar, pretending to elope while the guests await the ceremony. Later Madalyn shocks her jf father and mother by announcing that she has married Jerry Ryan, their chauffeur. In the incidents that follow Jerry’s mother, realizing that Madalyn is not in her class, prevents them from meeting when Madalyn, after weeks of separation, comes to give herself up to Jerry. The result is that she poisons herself in a room in a restaurant, and her body is discovered by Jerry in his taxicab, where it has been placed by a couple of waiters from the restaurant with the information that the woman inside is unconscious from liquor. Jerry, maddened by the incident, drives his taxicab to the docks and into the river. PROGRAM COPY — “Desire” — With an All-Star Cast If love had had its way Jerry Ryan and his bride might have met a happier fate. See what havoc the conventions of society sometimes work on innocent victims. Marguerite De La Motte, Estelle Taylor, David Butler and John Bowers are in the cast. No Advertising Support Accepted!