Universal Weekly (1914-1915)

THE UNIVERSAL WEEKLY 11 Smugglers and Officers in Running Fight O occupy a relative position in one's particular line of endeavor— no matter what that may be — equalling that of the word "sterling" in silver must be, indeed, the very ultimate form of success and personal Grace Cunard and Francis Ford in "Smuggler's Island", two-reel sea coast drama, in which a thrilling stern chase between power boats, loaded with revenue officers and satisfaction. To the movie land of make-believe the names of Francis Ford and Grace Cunard are synonymous with the very best in motion pictures. As the word "sterling" is accepted as proof positive that the article so stamped is solid silver, so are the names of these two Universal ■stars upon a film drama accepted as proof ihat the picture is worth while. There is a slogan connected with them that is rapidly gaining vogue among film fans. It is young in age, but in the short period of its existence it has spread throughout the world like wild fire. It has ■been passed along from mouth to mouth until today the fans believe in it as religiously as they do in nature. The slogan is : "If it's by Francis Ford and Grace Cunard, it must be good". There is something to that slogan that is not quite apparent .at first sight. Consider what it means to .live up to it. Consider the amount of work and energy necessary to prevent its violation. Consider, above all, what it means to the fans when they know that •every possible effort in the world is being made to protect its veracity. Of course, it means a lot of extra work • on the part of ;the Ford-Cunard team. But •the satisfaction o f ■ knowing that filmdom accepts it at its face value more than makes up for all the worry and trouble it entails. In their latest release •Francis Ford and Grace Cunard have outdone •themselves. All of which is saying a great •deal, considering past performances. " Smuggler's Island" is the title to it, and it comes in two reels filled rto •overflowing with hairraisiug situations and adventures such as only Francis Ford and Grace •Cunard can produce. It will be released under the Gold Seal brand on January 19. "Smuggler's Island"! Immediately the name conveys the impression tht there are pirates in the story. Correct. There are. But the theme is not hackneyed ; that is the beauty of it. Ford-Cunard treatment has made this release a story that is decidedly worth while. Rivaling the stories of Captain Kidd and Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" inthe amount of excitement and number of close-calls with death piled into one adventure. "Smuggler's Island" stands out as a story supreme in its class. Grace Cunard is shown in an unusually strenuous role for her. She is called upon to do things at which strong men might quail, things that start one's heart going like a trip-hammer, and make one wonder whether_she will ever .appear in another pic smugglers, is featured. Gold Seal drama contains sensational situa tions and realistic pistol battle. Released Tuesday, January 19. CAST. Grace Elliott Grace Cunard Francis McGarry Francis Ford Harry Eldridge Harry Schumm A Revenue Officer A. Mundov The Smugglers Abduct Grace and Take Her Out to Sea. ture. Francis Ford plays the role of Grace's sweetheart, while Harry Schumm is cast for the smugglers' chief. The story : Francis and Grace, sweethearts, are spending the holiday at an island resort Walking alone down by the beach one morning, Francis comes upon a girl native playing with some beautiful sea shells she has collected. The shells attract him. He stops. As he bends over to look at them more closely it seems to Grace, who is watching from a distance, that he has his arm around the girl. Grace becomes piqued at what she believes is deliberate flirting on Francis' part, and decides that what is sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose, and forthwith enters upon a flirtation of her own with a revenue officer, whose ship is in the harbor. Not knowing that he is the cause of her coolness, Francis feels hurt at what he considers unjust treatment. Grace decides to punish him thoroughly, and makes open love to the revenue officer. When Francis leaves Grace dismisses the astonished officer, who thought that she was in earnest, and goes down by the beach alone. The presence of the revenue cutter in the harbor is due to the information received by the authorities that smuggling is going on in that district. Revenue officers are scouring the beach for clues, and one of them stumbles accidentally upon the smugglers' lair. He is immediately captured and thrown into a dory. As they are about to push off for their launch, the smugglers catch sight of Grace, who was a witness to all this ; she also is made a prisoner. The smugglers put out to sea. Francis, coming on the beach, catches sight of them and goes for help. He tells his story to the officer. The latter refuses to chase the smugglers. Francis be comes threatening. The officer draws a pistol and orders him ashore. By a trick Francis gains possession of the pistol and they set out in pursuit in a power-boat which the officers commandeer. By this time the smugglers have gained their launch and put out to sea. An exciting chase follows, with a pistol duel be tween pursued and pursuer. Alone in a cabin, Grace manages to loosen her bonds, and, rummaging around, finds a pistol with but one cartridge in it. What to do? An idea! Taking careful aim, Grace fires at a vital part of the engine, destroying it. Seeing that he is cornered, the smuggler chief assaults Grace. She struggles with him and manages by a deft trick to overcome him. She starts in on the rest of the smugglers. The revenue cutter comes up, and the officers, led by Francis, finish a wellbegun job. Satisfactory explanations are made between Grace and Francis and the lovers are reunited.