The Billboard 1924-01-26: Vol 36 Iss 4 (1924-01-26)

y ayanv 26, 1924 The Billboard REVIEWS By SHUMLIN on “PLEASURE MAD” — A Metro Picture In terms of popular entertainment value this picture will please more people than even bong highly touted @ picture as “Black Oxen”. “pleasure Mad’’ has not the box-office title of “Black Oxen"” made from a_ talked-about novel, nor bas t as novel or unique a story. tre story bas been done before many times in etur . + it has never been done as well, ” Pleasure Mad’? answers the request of many erhibitors that the producers make pictures of the simple, direct stories the public likes and make them in new ways with new, original treatment. The director has taken the theme of the family made suddenly wealthy and of the mother who fs oldfashioned and ont of place in the new environment aud pleasures to which ber husband and children take like ducks to water. This has been given expert handling, with many fine dramatic and an acutely tense and original theme scenes climax. In the cast are Nary Alden, Juntley Gordon, Norma Shearer, William Collier, Jr.; Winifred Rryson, Ward Crane, Frederick Truesdell and Joan Standing. Miss Alden as the old-fashioned mother is splendid, and Miss Shearer—who, by the way, is a young actress 7 dare to place in @ class with Colleen Moore— is @ revelation In the part of the pleasureloving young daughter In the early part of the picture the Benton family, mother, father, son and daughter, struggle for existence in a suburb of a great Hugh Benton, the father, is barely able to supply his family with a living, but struggles for years to have a new signal system for railroads accepted His wife gives all her love and strength toward making her busband and ber children bappy, even taking in sewing from the neighbors to help out their slender savings when Hugh falls sick One day, however, when the children, Blincr and Howard, are in their ‘teens Hugh's patent is purchased and in a short time he has become @ million city, aire. The Bentons move to the city, taking a luxurious home in keeping with their psewfound wealth. While the mother is still mainly concerned busband her the with lored ones’ welfare her and ehildren are quickly inoculated with the germ of pleasure seeking. Cocktails, wild parties, petting and dangerous flirtations are the pastime of father, daughter and son. Hugh loses his love for his wife, whom he considers hopelessly oldfasbioned and unable to take ber position as his wife in the new surroundings, and falls into the hands of an accomplished vamp, Geraldine de Lacey. He decides to separate from his wife and marry the vamp, but bis wife refuses to give him divorce. The parents both want the children and put it up to them as to which one they will live with. The boy decides to stay with his mother, but the girl, who is infatuated with Templeton Druid, a society rotter, goes with her father. Druid gives a bacchanalian party at his home, and Elinor Benton is there. Not knowing that bis daughter is at the party, Hugh and Dis affinity attend it. The boy, Howard, hears his sister is at the party and rushes to the place to take her away He comes in time to see hie father and the latter is horrified to discover his dauchter alone with Drold in a locked room Battering down the door he sees Druid forcibly embracing his daughter and fives him a terrifie beating, rendering him unfonscfous. The police are called and Hugh {fs *rrested. Just then Mrs, Benten arrives, havng heard about the affair from a reporter, ond there is 9 po'gnant scene when the grief‘ricken father realizing his mistakes, the diSheveled daughter, the angry son and the forSiving mother confront one another as ‘the re ve are preparing to take the father away. Confessions of error, forgiveness and newfound affection are followed by happiness, as 4 d recovers from the beating and refuses 0 _ — ute Hugh, and the Bentons move back Frey suburb in which they formerly lived. ere they build a new and beautiful home ‘nd live in quiet content and peace. , Vivection by Reginald Barker, Produced by ae Bs Mayer, Distributed by Metro Picaee rporation. “THE WHISPERED NAME” A Universal Picture Po * plenty of entertainment in this proian Dicture, with {ts story of divorce tangled ira AR... theme, all held together without Paha oy the long arm of coincidence. eld Tair ame oe feet of film, as most of these Name" programs are, “The Whispered Pe hot have a padded minute. There directness of attack in the Presentat! 4 on f the plot that te wholly admirable. The pic fs that “RENO” A Goldwyn Picture The heavy, awkward hand of Rupert Hughes was never more laboriously engaged than in the fashioning of this unentertaining essay upon the divorce laws of the various States which make up this Union. ‘Reno’ has no more than three per cent of drama, and half of that percentage is darn silly. It has a plot—of sorts—which makes a grand tour of the country, from Neveda to Illinois to New York to New Jersey to South Carolina and back again to Nevada. The reason for this wandering geographic narrative is to expound the inconsistencies of each of these States’ divorce laws as affecting a particular group of divorced and remarried couples. Some of the facts about divorce which the picture reports are quite interesting, but en tirely out of place in a picture which is supposed to entertain. If a photoplay educates as a eide issue, it is all well and good, but when it makes the eutertainment subordinate to the educative features it is all wrong. Teople pay their cash to be amused at the movie houses, and Mr. Hughes can't get away from that, no matter how good his intentions. In the cast of “Reno’’ are Helene Chadwick, Lew Cody, George Walsh, Carmel Myers, Hedda Hooper, Dale Fuller, Kathleen Key, tush Hughes and a large number of lesser lights. The total number of characters amounts to twenty.four—a new one is always being in troduced to clutter up the story with sociological information. Miss Chadwick registers very poorly; ber makeup seems all wrong—perhips purposely. Cody is as good as he is allowed to be—which isn't much. The story: Guy Tappan, careless, unprincipled rounder, goes to Reno and obtains a divorce from his perfectly good wife, whom he leaves penniless in Atlantic City with their two chbildren. As soon as be gets his divorce papers he marries Mrs. Dera Carson, who has also just been freed from her husband As soon as they are married they discover that each has been deluded into thinking the other wealthy. Broke, they appeal by telephone to Tappan s wealthy old maid aunt in New York for funds The aunt, being very fond of the two Tappan children, offers to give them all the money they want provided Guy gets the children away from their mother and brings them to ber. In the meantime Mrs. Tappan that was his also remarried, taking an old suitor for her second husband. After they get married a lawyer informs them that they are illegally wed, as the laws of New Jersey and New York do not recognize a Nevada divorce. The same holds good for Guy Tappan and his new bride, who arrive in New York in a hurry in answer to Guy's aunt's summons. Guy steals the children away and takes them to his aunt's estate in South Carolina, where still other divorce laws prevail. His former wife, the mother ef his two children, is thus legally separated from both her new husband and ber children in New York. This painful situation exists for some time, with ber former mate's detectives dogging her trail to get some evidence on ber for bigamy. Finally she discovera where her children bave been taken, and she sets out with her new or almost husband by motor for South Carolina. They pass thru States where there are no divorces al'owed and girls are permitted to marry at the age of twelve. Finally arrived at the town where her children are, she calls upon the first Mrs. Toppan—her ex-mate having had a wife before herself. Since the first wife lives in South Carolina, where divorces gre illegal, she considers herself the legal and only Mrs. Tappan. At any rate, to make a long story short, the two children are forcibly regained by their mother, and the locale shifts back to the West, in Yellowstone l’ark, where the Federal Government recognizes the laws of all States, Here the two Tappan kids are vacationing with their mother and her new husband. Guy Tappan, bis latest wife and his aunt appear on the scene in another car, and they grab the children away once more, A het chase and a fight ensues, which terminates with Guy Tappan falling into the crater of a boiling geyser, which just thea “‘geyses’’, hurling him several hundred feet into the air, He lands back on terra firma all boiled up—killed. This fortunate (for the story) accident settles the question of diverce lawa, and the almost all remaining characters are made happy, even the widowed Mrs, Tappan going back to ber ex-hubby. Direction and story by Rupert Hughes. Produced by Goldwyn. Distributed by GoldwynCosmopolitan Distributing Corp. ture cannot be said to be unusually good; at the least, it is better than fair. In the cast are Ruth Clifford, Charles Clary, Niles Welch, Buddy Messenger, Mary Mersch, Hayden Stevenson and John Merkyl. Miss Clifford is an enjoyable performer, working with a charming ease. She is a very pretty girl, and seems to work with more confidence in (Continued on page 58) “THE SONG OF LOVE” A First National Picture In this picture Norma Talmadge, in the role of a sinuous little Arabian dancing girl, makes a better showing than she has in many a day. The picture itself is not much to talk about, with a form-fitting story of the love of a Mosiem girl for a Christian spy, set amid scenes of plotting and revolt among the natives of a French colony in North Africa. Norma, however, is captivating in the open-work garments in which she performs her passionate dances, makes love and hurls defiance in the teeth of her lover when she discovers that he is but a spy, protesting affection which he does not feel. The picture suffers considerably from the poor judgment displayed in allowing Joseph Scbildkraut to play the hero and Arthur Edmond Carew the villain. Carew so far excels Schildkraut in personal appearance and acting abiity —in short, seems so much more manly—that it seems a trifle absurd that Norma, as Noormahal, the dancer, should prefer Schildkraut and spurn Carew. There is no accounting for tastes, that is understood, but one expects some reasonability in a movie heroine's choice. Mr. Carew is as fine and upstanding an actor as the screen has. He is a sincere, earnest artist of startlingly engrossing personality. As Ramlika, the desert Arab chieftain who leads the Moslem revolt against the Christians, he is given little to do other than look fierce, rave and rant and do a little love making, but he gets the most out of the part. Others in the cast are Maude Wayne, Laurence Wheat, Earl Schenck, Hector V. Sarno, Albert Prisco, Mario Carillo and James Cooley. The locale of “The Song of Love” is a small Arab town on the edge of a North African desert. A few exterior scenes, street and desert stuff—the latter very good—are inter spersed among interiors depicting an Arab cafe a large villa on the outskirts of the town, and the offices and residence of the French officers governing the district Noorma-hal is the chief dancer and niece of Chandra-lal, Arab cafe proprietor and plotter against Christian rule. The spreading feel'ng of rebellion is the result of the work of Ramlika, desert chief, who waits the proper moment to strike a telling blow against the Christians in the town. Ramlika loves Noorma-hal, >but she tolerates his display of affection merely to aid the rebellion. The French commandant sends for Ramon Valverde, noted French spy, who disguises himself as an Arab and goes to Chandra-lal’s to see what he can see. Noormahal immediately falls victim to Valverde's charms, causing a knife fight between him and Ramlika. Valverde escapes and goes to his villa, The next night he sends for Noorma-hal and she goes to his villa and gives him the information that Ramlika will attack the garrison in three days. By the umexpected appearance of a French woman who also loves Valverde the Arab girl realizes that he has tricked her, that he is a Christian and that his protestations of love were false. The very next day Ramlika attacks the town, striking before the assistance which has been sent for reaches the Christians, Noorma-hal, still loving Valverde, goes to his villa to warn him, but comes too late, for Ramlika's men have already arrived there. Ramlika arrives, and Noorma-hal promises to be his bride if he will spare the life of Valverde. He agrees, and Valverde goes free, the Arab girl finging in his face the sneer that he owes his life to her. As she prepares. to leave with RamMka she stabs herself. Ramlika and his men are overpowered by the French troops, which have finally arrived, and Noorma-hal recovers from her selfinflicted wound to live with Valverde most happity forever after. Direction by Chester Franklin and Frances Morion. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck. Distributed by Associated First National Pictures, Inc. “THE LOVE MASTER” A First National Picture The trouble with this dog-starring picture is that it has a weak, childish story. Even a 100% actor such as Strongheart does not appear to advantage with poor material, culled with but minor changes from other dog pictures. Whatever it is that causes it I have no idea, but there is unquestionably some almost irresistible force, or weakness, to which producers fall victim, That weakness is the tendency to fall into @ rut of sameness, of imitative pictures. There have been very few dog pictures; yet, already the dog pictures are being machine made, The highlight of ‘“‘The Love Master’’ is the appearance of a dog new to the films, the most beautiful creature imaginable. This animal, named Lady Jule, is almost too perfectly formed to be real; such grace, such charming lightness and airy poise seem more like the creation of some artist's imaginative brush. Strongheart, for all his wonderful intelligence, falls back into the shadows of obscurity when Lady Jule comes upon the screen. “The Love Master’’ is the story of the snowcovered, few-peopled Canadian wilds. There are the conventional hero whose life the dog saves. “THRU THE DARK” A Cosmopolitan Picture This is a snappy, sure-fire crook drama, wth loads of heart interest, prison stuff, gun pliy. % fine love story and Colleen Moore, than whom there is no better young actress on the screen today. Unlike most crook photoplays, tlic eriminal element is not pictured oversympathetically—which is a good thing. It's poor business to set up law breakers as heroes; that is, unless they turn honest, as in this picture, and then it’s o. &. Made from one of Jack Boyle's ‘‘Boston Blackie” yarns, ‘““Thru the Dark’’ is about the best of the lot. It tells the story of how Boston Blackie is made into a law-abiding citizen be the love of the daughter of a crook who died in prison. She gets him to see the wrongness of the life he is leading by allowing herself to be drawn into his activities until he sees that if he doesn't go straight she will be a crook. That makes him reform, but not until a most exciting series of adventures is gone thru. Boston Blackie is played capably by Forrest Stanley, with Miss Moore appearing as Mary McGinn. Margaret Seddon is good as Mother McGinn, and Hobart is as stern and forbidding as the role of prison warden requires. George Cooper, Eddie Phillips, Wade Boteler, Tom Bates and Carmelita Geraghty make up the balance of the cast. Boston Blackie, at the opening of the play, is in San Quentin prison. On the day that he was to have been paroled he leads a food strike among the convicts, and the warden punishes him by destroying the parole. This upsets Blackie, who forthwith plans and accomplishes his escape. He crawls around in the nearby woods, with the warden’s men beating the locality for him, and risks his life and freedom te save a young girl, whose horse ig running away with ber. She ig Mary McGinn, pupil at a nearby aristocratic boardingscbool, and in gratitude she gets bim some old clothes so that he may change from hig convict’s uniform. Blackie gets safely to San Francisco and returns to bis old CBinatewp hanats. Travel, a pal, takes him to live at the Bouse of Mother McGinn, who is pone other thas the mother of the girl whose life Biackie eaved, Mother McGinn maintains a lodgiag beuse and tries to keep her roomers from their criminal practices, without much success. She has kept her daughter in ignorance ef the fact that. her father died in prison. A detective, assigned to find Blackie, finds out that Mary McGinn aided his escape, and brutally tells her that she ts the daughter of a criminal. Mary, brokenhearted, is forced to leave school and return to her mother. Here she again sees Blackie, who by this time has fallen in love with her as she has with him. Blackie is all ready to give himself up and finish out his jail sentence so that he can be on the level for Mary, but, when another crook, The Glad Rags Kid, who is a stoolpigeon, attempts to force his attentions on Mary, he decides that he cannot afford to leave her unprotected and in danger of being made to live a life of crime. He plans one last *‘job’’, and Mary insists that she be made one of the gang, thinking thus to shame bim. Mary plans with a wealthy school chum te allow her home to be broken into and the jewel safe left empty so that no harm will be done The Glad Rags Kid tells the police about the planned robbery, and they prepare to get Blackie. Just before Blackie is to leave for the house to be robbed he sees the falsity of his position, and, for Mary’s sake, gives up the plan. But they are forced to go to the house to save Travel, when they learn that the Kid has “‘snitched to the bulls’’. They get to the house too late, for the Kid has shot and seriously wounded Travel. The police shoot and kill the Kid by mistake, but Mary and Blackie make their getaway, carrying the dying Travel, In a sensational way they outwit the cops and reach Mother McGinn’s house, where they start to pack up so that they may leave the city. But they are hardly there when the prison warden enters. Blackie gets the warden at his mercy, but does not kill him, upon which the warden, seeing that he means to go straigi*, with Mary's aid, promises that he will I quickly released from prison. Direction by George Hill. Adapted by Fran Marion. Produced by Cosmopolitan Corporat Distributed by Goldwyn-Cesmopolitan i+!: Corp. the heroine and the fur-stealing villain. w unsuccessfully covets the girl. Added to t there is a short departure into the realm mysticism that, while dramatically good, is tov great a strain upon one's credulity and so leaves a bad taste. This comes when, the hero lying near death, the dog wards off the snatching arms of an invisible Reaper material enough to unlatch and open a door, even if not seen. In the cast, besides the starring animals and a number of timber wolves, are Marold Austin, Lillian Rich, Walter Perry, Hal Wilson and Walter Richardson. All acquit themselves well. (Continued ep page 58) a z oe Sk re id — waa ee ee vs