Screen Opinions (1923-24)

“Book the New Percentage Way’ 29 “FIGHTING COWARD”— 90% (Adapted from the play “Magnolia”) Reviewed April, 1924 Theme: — Timid Youth Develops Courage Posing as Notorious Killer VALUE Photography — Excellent — Karl Brown Type — Thrilling — Humorous. Moral Standard — Average. Story — Excellent — Com. -Mel. — Family. Cast — Excellent — All-Star. Author — Excellent — Booth Tarkington. Direction — Excellent — James Cruze. Adaptation — Excellent — Walter Woods. Technique — Excellent. Spiritual Influence — Average. Moral — As a man thinks, so is he. CAST Gen. Orlando Jackson...Ernest Torrence Lucy Mary Astor Blackie Noah Beery Tom Rumford Cullen Landis Elvira Phylis Haver Mexico Carmen Phillips Rumbo Frank Jonasson Producer — Paramount. Footage — 6501 feet. Distributor — Famous Players -Lasky. The Opinion A Good Box Office Attraction “The Fighting Coward” is one of the best box office bets of the season. Humorous, sensational and a credit to director James Cruze, it holds a charm that is seldom met with in screen productions. Ernest Torrence plays with exceptional finish, and Cullen Landis is a virile player. Noah Beery as Blackie, a gambling bully, hits the nail on the head. We do not recall a more delightful combination of a comedy and melodrama than “The Fighting Coward.” The story centers about a Southern youth who spends a good deal of his life in his father’s garden catching butterflies with a pretty girl as his companion. Blackie, a bully, and Gen. Orlando are gambling masters of the river. He then poses as a notorious killer, and beats battling Blackie at his own game. This ends in the General recovering his position on the boat out of which Blackie had succeeded in ousting him through gambling debts. “YOLANDA”— 80% (Adapted from a story of the same name) Reviewed April, 1924 Theme: — Romance of Princess Victim of Court Intrigue VALUE Photography — Excellent — I. J. Morgan. Type — Elaborate. Moral Standard — Average. Story — Average — Drama — Family. Star — Very Good — Marion Davies. Author — Average — Charles Major. Direction — Very good — R. G. Vignola. Adaptation — Very good — Luther Reed. Technique — Very good. Spiritual Influence — Neutral. Moral — None. CAST Princess Mary of Burgundy (Yolanda) Marion Davies Maximillian Ralph Graves Duke of Burgundy Lyn Harding King Louis XI Holbrook Blinn The Dauphin Johnny Dooley Innkeeper Leen Erel Antoinette Castleman Mary Kennedy Producer — Cosmopolitan. Footage — 11,000 feet. Distributor — Goldwyn-Cosmopolitan. The Opinion Marion Davies Is Not at Her Best in “Yolanda” In spite of elaborate staging and the best of photography, “Yolanda” is not strongly appealing. Miss Davies looks well in the beautiful costumes supplied for the role of the Princess Mary of Burgundy, but there are times when her portrayal of the character causes one to reverb with a sigh to her achievement in the role of another Mary in “When Knighthood Was in Flower.” Ralph Graves is not at all suited to the role of Maximillian of Styria. As yet Mr. Graves excells as a type for light comedy rather than as a knight of old. On the other hand, Holbrook Blinn as Louis XI of France, Johnny Dooley as the dauphin, and Leon Errol as the innkeeper give especially effective performances. The atmosphere is nicely supplied by a contest between two armored knights with battle axes. Mob scenes have the usual spectacular appeal. Screen Opinions tells you when you have a picture that is worth advertising, and when you have a commonplace picture. It indicates the probable box office value of the picture. No Advertising Support Accepted!