Screen Opinions (1923-24)

162 “BOOK THE NEW PERCENTAGE WAY” bow to brand him as a murderer, Angus finds a home with a kindly newspaper editor who sponsors him to manhood. He loves Lydia Canfield, daughter of an old and proud family, who, in spite of snobbish friends, refuses to turn her back on Angus. An oil scandal gives him his opportunity to prove his worst enemy dishonest, and he wins the approval of the villagers by getting them back the money out of which they had been swindled. PROGRAM COPY— “The Steadfast Heart”— With an All-Star Cast Angus Burke grew to manhood with odds against him. See what wonders a "steadfast heart” can work in gaining recognition for true worth. Marguerite Courtot, Miriam Battista, Joseph Striker and a splendid cast play “The Steadfast Heart.” “JUDGMENT OF THE STORM”— [Class A] 80% (Adapted from story of same name) Story: — Sacrifice of Son Who Discovers Mother Paid for Education With Proceeds of Gaming Den VALUE Photography — Excellent — Max DuPont. TYPE OF PICTURE— Sentimental— Thrilling Moral Standard — Average. Story — Very good — Melodrama — Family. Cast — Very good — All-Star. Author — Very good — Ethel Styles Middleton. Direction — Very good — Del Andrews. Adaptation — Very good — Not credited. Technique — Very good. Spiritual Influence — Average. John Trevor Mary Heath Bob Heath Mrs. Trevor Mrs. Heath Martin Freeland.. Dave Heath The Heath Twins CAST Lloyd Hughes Lucille Rickson George Hackathorne Myrtle Stedman ..Claire McDowell Philo McCullough Bruce Gordon ( Frankie Darro ( Fay MacKenzie February 1 to 15, 1924. Producer — Palme Photoplay Corp. Footage— 6,800 ft. Distributor — F. B. O. Our Opinion MORAL O’THE PICTURE — Parents’ Responsibility in Conveying Stainless Name to Offspring. Production With Human Appeal — Spectacular Snow Storm a Feature — Director Had Box Office in View In visualizing “The Judgment of the Storm” director Del Andrews has kept the box office in view from first to last. He has worked for a smashing climax which he projects in a spectacular way in a snow blizzard that serves as an avenue of forgiveness and understanding for the principal characters, in some of whose hearts is smoldering a hatred for the mistress of a gaming den and her self-sacrificing son. The home life of the Heaths, in which a couple of talented children, Frankie Darro and Fay MacKenzie, figure in a comedy way, is convincingly portrayed, with Claire McDowell as the mother, and George Hackathorne and Bruce Gordon as the grown-up sons. In the opening scenes the two youngsters stage a thrill that will cause many a mother to gasp in horror, when they climb to the top of a windmill, and the largest of the two balances himself, head down, on the edge of the platform, and then pretending to fall clings by his finger tips. The production is rich in familiar detail that cushions the plot and keeps the spectator well acquainted with the characters of the play, with their emotions and adventures. The rural atmosphere is delightfully presented, showing the farmyard with its population of ducks, geese and chickens. George Hackathorne handles a team of horses and a plow as though he had been born to the soil, and Bruce Gordon is a perfectly human farmer lad in the role of Dave Heath. Lucile Rickson is lovely as Mary Heath, and Myrtle Stedman gives an appealing performance as Mrs. Trevor, who realizes too late the mistake of rearing her son on money gleaned from a gaming den. Philo McCullough gives a creditable portrayal of the meanest man in the story, Martin Freeland, and Lloyd Hughes is at his best as John Trevor, who was willing to sacrifice his life in recognition of the loss sustained by the Heath family when Dave is killed in Mrs. Trevor’s gambling den. The situation in which Mrs. Trevor, Bob Heath and the twins are lost in the blizzard is a bit overdrawn, but we are inclined to believe that this is the sort of thing the masses demand We believe there is money for the exhibitor in “Judgment of the Storm.” < 4 ( STORY OF THE PLAY John Trevor, a college senior, loves Mary Heath, who lives with her mother and brothers on a farm adjacent to the college town. All is moving nicely when Dave, the eldest son of the Heath family, is taken to the city by Martin Freeland on a sight-seeing trip, and incidentally with the purpose of revealing the fact that John Trevor’s mother is mistress of a gambling den. (Continued on Next Page) No Advertising Support Accepted!