Screen Opinions (1923-24)

“BOOK THE NEW PERCENTAGE WAY” 121 Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE — Strong Drink Is Apt to Leave an Ugly Trail Human Interest Production Moves With Melodramatic Swing — Good Audience Picture A pictorial character study is always interesting — that is if the characters are correctly painted. In the case of “Anna Christie” the result is satisfactory, perhaps more than ordinarily so. One cannot easily forget Eugenie Besserer’s portrayal of the drunken Martha, her meeting of the daughter of the man to whom she looks for her liquor and her keep, and her discovery that in place of the innocent child old Chris had expected, came a girl who had lived beyond • her years — a neglected, stained (bit of driftwood. Blanche Sweet’s conception of Anna is commendable. She portrays the various moods of misery and joy which the character calls for with fine effect, although it does seem that a more restrained method ywould have been more effective in the scenes where she struggles with her love for Matt Burke. Here, on the contrary, William Russell, as Matt, scores his biggest success. Mr. Russell gives an excellent portrayal of this character throughout the play. George Marion, as old Chris, who neglected family and friends for the sea, and lost caste through drink, gives one of the best character portrayals of the picture. This is an interesting production. It is developed in a strongly melodramatic fashion, which may recommend it to the average public. STORY OF THE PLAY Anna Christie, daughter of Chris Christopherson, a sea captain, who had neglected child and wife for the sea comes to New York from Minnesota to seek her father. At the cafe, the address he has given her, she is met by Martha, a drunken woman who is being kept by her father. Martha learns previous to the meeting of father and daughter that the girl is not the innocent child Chris expects, for Anna not only drinks and smokes, but tells a tale of misery caused by brutal cousins, by one of whom she had been attacked and then thrown out into the world. Chris brings Anna to the only home he has to offer her on a coal barge of which he is captain, and where she lives happily until Matt Burke, a sailor rescued from the sea, causes her to forget that she had no use for men and also to remember sadly reasons why she believed herself unworthy to become his wife. After a series of adventures, in which Matt is the moving spirit, the story ends happily with the betrothal of Anna and Matt. PROGRAM COPY — “Anna Christie” — Featuring Blanche Sweet, William Russell, Eugenie Besserer and George Marion Anna Christie was just a bit of driftwood, the result of a father’s neglect. You will be thrilled by the strangely human production “Anna Christie”, in which Blanche Sweet plays the title role, supported by William Russell, George Marion and Eugenie Besserer. “PIONEER TRAILS”— [Class A] 80% (Especially prepared for screen) Story: — Romance of Western Pioneer Days — Youth Wrongly Accused of Step Mother’s Murder VALUE CAST i c„..„ l**. Moral Standard — Average. Rose Miller Alice Calhoun 1 1 1 i ■ i .1 Phillip Blaney Bertram Grassby Story — Very good — Melodrama — Family. “Easy Aaron” Cropsey Otis Harlan Stars — Very good — Cullen Landis and Rodney Miller Dwight Crittenden Alice Calhoun. Mrs. Salter Virginia True Boardman Author — Very good — C. Graham Baker. “Laundry Lou” Aggie Herring Direction — Very good — David Smith. Parson Nelson McDowell Adaptation — Very good — C. Graham Baker. Bill Slater W. J. Dyer Technique — Very good. Sheriff Joe Rickson Spiritual Influence — Average. — ■ ■■■"■ December 15 to 31, 1923. Producer — Albert E. Smith Footage — 6,600 ft Distributor — Vitagraph Our Opinion MORAL O'THE PICTURE— None Outstanding. Entertaining Melodrama of Pioneer Days — Good Cast and Efficient Direction Interesting backgrounds constitute one of the attractions of “Pioneer Trails,” a tale of California’s gold strike of 1849, or rather, of events connected with the trail of the pioneer, its hardships and mishaps. Scenes in the first reel describe vividly an attack on a westward bound party, by Indians and the total (Continued on next page) Unbiased and Independent Reviews Only !