Tullar's Weekly (October 1923)

Clever story and good cast put over comedy of the oil fields. ‘ DONE IN OIL” Christie-Educational 2 Reels DIRECTOR Scott Sidney STORY Walter Graham CAMERAMEN Anton Nagy and Alex Phillips CARTOONS Norman Z. McLeod STAR Jimmie Adams SUPPORT. . . Charlotte Merriam, Babe London, George Burton and George French. PHOTOGRAPHY Good DIRECTION Satisfactory Jimmie starts out to sell oil stock to workers in the oil fields, but they promptly duck him in a tank of crude oil and then kick him into the mud. Charlotte befriends him, and in return Jimmie pumps water into the tank of the well that his abusers have fraudulently secured from Charlotte, so they sell the well back to her, thinking it lias run out. Then they find the hose from the town pump to the tank and see they have been fooled. Result: great chase after Jimmie, who runs up a tower to the top, where lie falls off and hangs at the edge, only to have some bees use him for a hive. He slides down a guy wire and is made manager of the well—and, well—then all is well. This comedy, while not as funny as some made on the Christie lot, is good for many laughs. Many mirth- provoking things done by the star, very ably assisted by the supporting cast, will put this one over. Char- lotte Merriam makes one fine-looking restaurant keeper, and Cookie, as usual, is satisfactory. George Burton and George French play the crooks very natu- rally in parts which are so often over-acted. This picture has the Signal Ilill oil wells, located at Long Beach, as the locale of the story, which puts an interesting educational feature into this picture. The story is well thought out and must be called clever. Everything about the picture is photographi- cally O. K., and the direction, on the whole, gets by satisfactorily. Before this picture is released, the sequence of Adams getting on the platform from the big spool should be cut, as it is over-acted. The spool is sup- posed to be so unsteady as to make it difficult to get from the spool to the platform, hut it appears very much that Adams is moving the spool purposely, which destroys all the purpose of the sequence. Title is good, and picture affords a tie-up with all the oil promoters. People generally will be anxious to see just how the ‘‘liquid g#ld” looks and how the oil fields are operated. This comedy is 0. K. in spots, but the spots are too far apart. ‘ SEA SIDE SIMPS” Hall Room Percy and Ferdy go to a picture show and see a Hall Room Boys comedy. They tell the audience that they are not the actors on the screen. They try to show interest and disappointment in the action of the film, but they do not get this over effectively. The idea of putting Percy and Ferdy in the audience just flopped, that’s all. But there are some laughs in the picture, with chase stuff and trick photography at the beach. The shots of the ocean breakers are pretty good, but it is hard to get good light and clear air to shoot ocean stuff. In this day, when your long feature is apt to fliv, T would not take a chance with this one saving the show. One of the best comedies ever made, with Uncle Sam’s Navy furnishing splendid background. ‘‘NAVY BLUES” Christy-Educational 2 Reels DIRECTOR Harold Beaudine CAMERAMEN Gus Peterson and Paul Garnett STORY M. J. Hageman CARTOONS Norman Z. McLeod STAR Dorothy Devore SUPPORT Jimmy Harrison, Ogden Crane, Ward Caulfield, Bill Irving and the U. S. Navy. DIRECTION Very good PHOTOGRAPHY Excellent CHARACTERIZATIONS Excellent At Dorothy Devore’s wedding to Jimmy Harrison, an officer of the fleet, the admiral receives orders for everybody to return to their ships at once. This com- mand the bridegroom is forced to obey, and the bride follows him disguised as a sailor. On board the battle- ship, California, she is forced to do the work of any other gob, including the scrubbing of the deck. She gets into much trouble, such as tripping petty officers with the hose and drenching the captain. She also takes the captain's launch in an attempt to locate her husband. When the facts become known, Dorothy and Jimmy are about to be put in irons when the captain and the admiral relent and give Jimmy thirty days’ leave for a wedding trip. Whereupon, the pair arc taken ashore in the ship’s aeroplane. The story is very nicely worked out, with an abun- dance of funny situations which will certainly cause gales of laughter wherever this picture is shown. Dorothy Devore, as the star, is very easy to look at in her wedding gown, as well as in her “Navy Blues.” She shows that she is a very good actress and gets everything out of the part. Jimmy Harrison certainly makes a pleasing lead- ing man and plays the officer like he had been one for some time. He screens very well. Ogden Crane, as the admiral, meets all require- ments and adds a touch of dignity which seems appro- priate. Ward Caulfield is called upon to go through some very funny situations and gets all there is out of them. Bill Irving keeps right up with the rest of the cast. The locale of this comedy is principally on board the ships of the IT. S. Navy, located at San Pedro. The actual naval scenes which are shown are enough to warrant everybody in seeing this offering. Any per- son who has never visited a battleship can learn con- siderable from this picture, and the producer is to he congratulated on having such a splendid educational background. Every exhibitor in screening this one can very well afford to advertise the actual naval setting. The photography is very high class, and the shots of the harbor where the fleet is located are to be espe- cially commended for their clearness, in view of the fact that the mist along the coast is a thing to con- tend with. The direction is all that can be required and shows that Harold Beaudine knows what he is about. This is without question one of the very best com- edies on the market, and will undoubtedly have a very long and deserved run. Your sun is rising, If you are advertising.