Variety (December 1909)

VARIETY 13 "Then and Now" (Ediion). The Idea of releasing a TbankBglving Hiibject on the day after seems like "cold turkey." Ou Friday this Edison reel wus started on Its course. The comedy Idea la .not at all bad, and baa lu it a large degree of novelty. The Puritan family- mother, father, aud a whole brood of children— ■tarfa on | journey to the distant home of the grandparents. Ou their way they are beset by but the bruins, perhaps in deference to the fact that only tb« father carries a gun, stand in line, so that only one shot is necessary to drop them both. Later a quartet, after shooting score of arrows through hats, costs and other places where they can do no harm, line up and are dispatched in the same simple fashion, the single bullet lying tbem all low at a stroke. The scene shifts to modern times. The same sort of family starts out to take Thanksgiving dinner at grandfather's. While they encounter no bears nor Indians, they do have adrentures with swlft- movlng automobiles and the other current perils W a crewded street, arriving at their destination \pn greater wreck than the ancient family. There are good laughs In the piece, and the contrasts shown in the second half are bound to arouse a ■mile. BUSH. "Annual Celebration of the. Behoolohildren of Newark, N. J." (Edison). The annual celebration, so the illuminated screen tells us. occurred Oct. 19. Wherefrom it would appear that Not. IB is rather a late date to show it. sdded to which is the fact that the film is snnounced as 'topical." At that, it is a pretty subject. Over the green lawns of a Newark city park thousands snd thousands romp and plsy, while teachers put sections of the scholars through graceful drills. All the children ere dressed in white from bats to boots and, contrasted with the green lawns, make a most attractive picture. RUSH. "Bine Beard" (Edison). This la a fairly adequate presentation of the fairy tale of the wamon whose curiosity made her disobey the wishes of her brutal husband and open the door of the secret chamber. A capital dramatic trick is used In showing the swift ap- proach on horseback of the wife's two brothers while she Is awaiting execution at her husband's bands. This is shown in an excellent series of exteriors, alternating with scenes In the palace where the frensled woman Is awaiting their approach. RUSH. "The Gorernor'a Daughter" (Kalem). Thla reel should score the top mark for Kalem. The story goes back to the picturesque Colonist period. A rsdlcal clergyman falls In lore with the daughter of Virginia's Governor. In bis clerl- csl garb he urges his suit, snd becomes engsged to her. War against England la in the air. The minister Is of the Revolutionary party. Gowned In a long robe, he paces slowly through the streets. At the door of the church he meets the Governor and his daughter, Just as a party of Revolutionists passes. He throws aside his rob* and stands revealed in the buff and blue uniform of the Continental soldier. A period passes and be Is called upon to enter the enemy's country aa a spy, He disguises as a woman, but is dis- covered and pursued, taking refuge in the house of the Governor. Meanwhile the daughter has broken off the engagement and refuses at first to shelter him. When the pursuers, however, grow neHr. she relents and hides him In a chest. The Hrltlsh soldiers arrive and demand their prisoner. The girl denies knowledge of his pres- ence. The Hrltlsh officer attempts to kiss the girl. Her lover springs from his hiding place and after a struggle, knocks the other unconscious. Taking oft* the Itrltlsh officer's uniform, he dons It. mid after ordering the soldiers to be gone, makes his escape. When the war is over, the minister, strain In his clerical garb, returns to urge successful suit for the hand of the daughter. The settings are all exteriors and extremely pretty, n particularly attractive feature being the handling of lights and shadows. RUSH. "The Bigamist" (Path©). A highly dramatic subject, if one chooses to consider bigamy, abandonment, and a suicide by drowning, dramatic. Most people would rather describe such Incidents as gruesomely shocking. Resides, the fabric of the -tory Is nonsense. 'Hie authors ask Intelligent people to believe that a wife «»f a rich man would voluntarily permit her husband to desert her and make no protest, even for the sake of her child. A young French medl- crii stud, nt marries during the time of his studies. |*pjiu the completion of his course he returns and tells his parents, wealthy and arlsto- Mc people, what he has done. They refuse to Fcelve the wife, forcing him to renounce, her (by what operation of French law docs not appear), and she Is left alone with her child, while the man marrlcM u young girl of bis parents' selection. Four years later the first wife Is discovered in miserable circumstances. At last she takes the picture of her husband, now living In luxury with his parents, and. together with a picture of the ha by (now grown to young girlhood) and u short note, send them to him. Then she goes to the nearest water and throws herself In. She Is dragged out. unconscious, but still alive, and carried to the hospital, where It happens that her husband, the deserter. Is the consulting sur- Reon. He Is summoned to handle the case. Im- mediately he recognizes the wife he has cast off. »nd a harrowing scene follows with the crowning Incident of the woman's very realistic death, one of the most terrible scenes that hns been shown on a moving picture screen. Meanwhile the dead woman's message lias come to the hands of the other wife. She writes a note to the little girl. Tlie husband Intercepts It. and supposes that the wife (ambiguous wording makes this believable) I* making an assignation with n lover. Where- upon (being himself the soul of purity), he gets oat. his revolver and give- chase. The wife meets the little one. After buying flowers, he visits the Itraveyard (the sort of burial place we call Pot- ter's Held), and husband, little one and wife, full across the grave of the suicide. Pretty stuff, kn't It? If such matters are true to France. VARIETY'S OWN PICTURE REVIEWS by all means let France see their dramatic repre- sentation, but America can get along quite profit- ably without them. And how about the Honorable Mr. Censor Board, which many are growing to believe is composed of sticks only. RUSH. "A Bed Man's Lots" (Columbia). Indian pictures appear to be In great favor with the Independents." This ranks among the best yet sent from the factories of the Minor League. The betrothal of an Indian brave to the squaw of his choice is followed by the capture of a white maiden, who finds still greater favor In the eye of the redskin. He releases her during the night and renounces his tribe to return her to her father, a settler. The picture Is supposed to represent the days when Indians fought with bows and arrows, and in an attempt to overtake the fugitives the redskins employ these weapons. The Indian takes the girl to her borne in safety. He Is given a seat at the settler's table and looked upon as one of the family. After a while he asks for the girl's hand in marriage. Here the picture la weak In acting. The characters shake their heads too much, and the conclusion is that the producer was short on acting material at this stage. However, the decision of the girl and her parents Is plain enough, and the. redskin Is taught his place. Several scenes along the river are pretty, aud the photography as a whole de- serves praise. MERRY. minister in high bad temper kicks him out. For revenge the musician, noticing from a picture of the minister thst they bear a striking likeness, disguises himself to represent the minister. Dressed in the letter's clothes, he makes bis way to court, where be is received by the courtiers as the minister himself. He makes himself a favorite with the king, and when the real minis- ter arrives be la lgnomlnlously throat out and the Interloper put in his place. There are good laughs In the scenes at court, where the musician takes all sorts of liberties with the king and courtiers. RUSH. "The Parson's Prayer" (Bison). A "down by the sea" melodrama. The scenes around the lighthouse are hasy and the photog- raphy Is bad. but the water scenes are splendid. The father sails away and the villain coaxes the girl into his power by a false note. He attempts to force her to marry him. The parson comes, and when she pleads, refuses to perform the cere- mony, although his life is threatened. In a fight which follows, he whips the villain. It is an incident, not a story, and lacks interest. MERRY. "Mixed-up Letters" (Paths). The confusion resulting from placing two let- ters In wrong envelopes makes the thread of thla comedy subject. A young man, offered the op- portunity of making a wealthy marriage, finds himself called upon to break off an affair with another girl. He writes two letters, one to each girl. Tbey get into the wrong envelopes. The girl whom he had meant to cast off receives a warm love letter, agreeing to a match. Immedl- dlately she hurries to the young men's apartment. Of course he understands the situation Instantly, and Btarts out In a chase to Intercept the other note. This chaBe leads him Into a long aeries of humiliating adventures. He tries to argue with mail clerks, gets angry and finally la soundly thrashed. He arrives at the home of his fiancee Just, after she has received the mlssent note. There he Is pro*- ptly ejected by her Irate father. RUSH. "The BridegToom'a Joke" (Vitagraph). Desiring to shake his tormentors, the bride- groom tells fonr of his msle acquaintances he will spend the nuptial night at a certain hotel. They engage a room next to the oue for which he la registered, secure a key which unlocks the fold- ing door, and after the ceremony come to their room and wait for the bridal pair. They have a long wait, become sleepy, and are finally PRODUGL5RS' BATTING AVERAGES FROM NOV. 24 TO DEC. 1, INCLUSIVE. M. P. P. Co. Reels. Good. Fslr. Poor. Per cent. URBAN-ECLIPSE 1 1 0 0 1.000 E88ANAY 1 0 1 0 .730 MELIES 1 0 1 0 .750 OAT/MONT 2 0 2 0 .750 VITAGBAPH 1 0 2 0 .7*5 PATHE .4 1 2 1 .550 LUBIN 1 0 1 0 .500 EDISON 1 0 0 1 .250 BELIO I 0 O 1 .250 INDEPENDENTS. COLUMBIA 1 1 0 0 1.000 IMP 1 0 1 0 .500 BISON 2 0 1 1 .375 (Where the averages figure the same the order In which the firms are given Indicates tbe relative values. The "Independent's Leugue" will be averaged when their films can be seen.) "Dooley's Thanksgiving" (Bison). A fairly good comedy picture, too much like others to be worthy. Dooley wins a turkey lu a rattle, and a "Jag" at the same time. He Is tho object of sport on his way home, with his wife giving him a good thrashing when he reaches there. MERRY. awakened by a noise next door. Stealthily un- locking the communicating door, they are greeted by n stream of water, which the bellboy turns upon them, following instructions which he had received from the groom earlier In the day. Tbe idea of the laugh is not a very good one, and the film runs only fair ull the way through. WALT. "Her Generous Way" (Imp.). The best humor Is found In the weaknesses of human nature. In this picture a young wife cannot resist the pleadings of the unfortunate, and is generous to a point where she gives away the money coaxed from her husband to, buy a new hat. If credulity is possible when a wo- man's hat Is at stake, then the picture is a fine one. A den of the beggars is shown and their hilarity at night. The blind man is reading and the dumb man singing. The husband forces one to take the young wife there to see the "poor blind man" after she has left him because he upbraided her for misplaced generosity. She sees her mistake. All Is forgiven and the hus- band buvs her a new bat after all. Photography fair. MERRY. "Dirigible Balloons at St. Louis" (Vitagraph). Here Is a dandy film. The title describes It. Three of the cigar-shaped balloons are shown in flight, ascending, sailing around and coming down to earth. The operations are clearly shown, und tho film Is better than twenty-five "comics" or any other style which must be "manufac- tured" from tbe raw Idea. WALT. "Jean \aljean" (VitagTaph). Frequenters of the moving picture shows will l»e glad that the hero of "I/es Mlserables" bus died. The picture story surrounding his demise was released Saturday evening, that being the last of four reels dealing with Victor Hugo's novel. Although the scenery was faked, as It had to be of necessity. It was well done, the objection tot the series being almost entirely that If any of the reels were missed, the story became difficult to follow-. The Una I one deals with the wedding of Marlus and Cosette. escape of Vuljean and his final death of a broken heart. To those not fa- miliar with 'i.es Mlserables." and there are thousands among the picture bouse audiences, the story was not made plain. Certain battle scenes about tin- Parisian barricades of the revolution were capitally staged and extremely well acted, skillful use being made of rather small stage space. Altogether the scheme of telling a con- tinuous story In separate reels does not seem to work out satisfactorily. RUSH. "The Heart of a Clown" (Edison). A poorly faked up subject along a hackneyed theme. Tho circus comes to town, bringing a little girl who Is very 111. The clown nurses her. leaving her bedside to give bis performance. Tbe next morning the show leaves town, and the little girl has almost recovered. The circus ef- fect is worked out wretchedly. A couple of acro- bats, a horse act and n troupe of trained dogs are Introduced, the actual performance being given In a painted street before a miserably painted background. Edison didn't even go to nature for the essentials of surroundings. The crowd stands In the street and the performers pass the hat. This Is not the way circuses are run over here. The costumes of the villagers denoted some for- eign types, but at best the production is u mighty poor reproduction of a circus. As to the value of the film as entertainment, It Is almost nothing at all. The animal acts entertain and the acrobats are fair; the rest of the film Is a Jumble of nothing at all valuable In the bid for entertainment. Even Edison can do better than this one. WALT. "Tho Ill-Tempered Minister" (Gaumont). A rather broadly drawn cmnedy scheme Is the basis of "The Ill-natured Minister." The time and loi-ale make It a sort of fairy tale. A cho- leric old prime minister approaches his palatial home. A poor musician has Just been Invited by women of the household to piny for them. The "A Life for a Life" (Lubin). The Philadelphia actors attempt to become In- tensely dramatic In this subject, ami succeed only In becoming Intensely ridiculous most of the time. Hands wave like windmills, and enough hair Is torn out of the poor picture actors' hair to make a mattress. If they would not really burr themselves by literally attempting self-de- struct l< n of the I.ublu wigs. Tlie scene lays close to the sea shore, tbe men being life savers or lishertn'-n. A young man Is saved from the sen and brought to the house of an elderly couple who have a nice daughter. One of tbe young men of the life-saving party proposes to the girl and U accepted with tbanks. The man who had been saved is next seen courting the girl, and tbe man whom she has promised to marry sees the couple lovemaklng. The antics of "tragedy" which tbe fisherman or life-saver pnta forward are more comical than serious, but he eventually commits suicide by drowning. When his body is brought ashore tbe girl becomes distracted, finds that she really lores him, and sends the sur- viving suitor on bis way. Then after much medi- tation, abe, too, drowns herself, and Lubin has finished another "release." The film Is fair in spots, poor In others, and never good anywhere. WALT. "In the Consomme" (Oanmont). Thla film gets a big laugh from somebody, but tbst doesn't make it a good film or a pleasant subject. A servant, while washing dishes with s sponge, is suddenly called upon to bring the soup to tbe dinner table. In her haste she drops the sponge in tbe soup bowl and turns tho con- somme over it. When it reaches the table, tbe near-sighted lord of the manor serves the sponge to himself end eats it. He Immediately feela a great desire to drink, consuming bottle after bottle of wine. The sponge starts to ei- pand until finally the old man looks like a bal- loon around the middle. Doctors are called In, but they can do nothing more than place htm In bed, where he continues to swell up. He is left to sleep If he csn. Burglars enter the room, snd the swollen men's outcrys bring them down upon bim with their knives. They fire him a couple of stsbs, when a geyser of water spurts up to tbe celling. Tbe doctors and nurses rush in and are thoroughly drenched, the room is turned into a pool, and the swollen patient is on tho way to s speedy recovery. It's a pretty aloppy film. WALT. "Brought to Terms" (Sellg). Sellg Is s long wsy off from a good film is this subject; he hss chosen a moat nnpleaaam theme to gsln a laugh and carry his point. Bats. Just disgusting rats, turned loose into a room filled with women Is the latest Chlcsgo idea of fnn, and the way the story works out is no credit to Sellg. Some henpecked husbands sre drsgged by their wires' apron-strings to a sort of politics 1 caucus, tbe females are holding la tbe borne of their leader. The men are sent to a room by themselves, to keep quiet and attend to the children. Exasperated, one brilliant mind thinks out a plan for deliverance. He goes to tbe "city rat catcher" (whatever that la) and buys a trap full of rodents. These tbe men tun loose through a partly opened door into the room where tbelr wlvee are in convention. The ratt are seen running about, and tbe women naturally take to the cbalra and other high spots. This trestment, strsngely enough, mskes the women submissive to their husbands' will, and the con- cluding slide reada "She now eats off his hand." The aucceedlng section of the film shows the bus- bsnd holding a rat In the air by tbe tall, whllf tbe wife shudders snd the rodent wiggles. Mem- bers of tbe lofty-purposed Pstents Co. are going a long way to keep In step with tbe procession. WALT. "Making it Plsasant for Him" (Sellg). This Is a rather fair sort of a comedy subject without much of s ysrn associated with It. A woman In town sends for her country cousin to call upon ber. Just before be arrives she sends a note to her servsnts thst she csnnot be home, and requests them to "make it pleasant" for tht cousin. Tho servsnts neve on bsnd s variety of costumes which tbey are to wear to a ball that evening. They don these and appear before tht countryman. Thus strangely attired, they "beat him up" and do all tbey can to make It exciting Only a week ago another firm released s subject along much tho ssme lines, excepting It was s foreign noblemsn who wanted to wed an Ameri- can girl, snd was generally shaken up by th* girl's friends. The Sellg film bss an ending wblch Is not at all pretty. The woman of th* house comes home Just ss the melee Is at lt» height; her cousin makes a rush for ber, and grabbing ber with one hand at tbe nape of ber neck and the other one-half way between heel* and head, he hoists her through a window. Pretty stuff! WALT. "Seeing Things" (Melies). A "Jag" picture, snd the hero of tbe event sees double. Trick photography Is employed U. bring out the llluslou snd there Is much sctloa all the wsy through. Two keyholes, two clocks, two wlvee, tow cooks snd two of almost every object in the room keep the Inebriate wondering. There are many laughs resulting and the film Is of the sort of comedy which always produces laughs. WALT. "Consul Crosses the Atlantio" (Urban-Eclipse). This photograph was taken by ('has. Urban in Ihtsoii, while the monkey "Consul" was on Its way to exhibit In America last July. It shows the chimpanzee in the many and various "stunts" he performs before the public, as well as In sev- eral antics appropriate to shipboard opportunities. It Is a dandv til in for general exhibition. wai/t. "Baby Swallows a Nickel" (Easanay). This |s the short end of the Essanay comedy release of the week'. The father gives the baby a nickel, and when two children are alone the elder one takes the coin from the baby and runs to buy herself candy. When the mother enters the room and finds the baby has not the nickel she Jumps nt the conclusion ha by has swallowed It. Then sets In a comedy chase for doctors. When the little girl shows up with five "lolly- ixi^s" she receives a spanking end that settles the film. A picture nt clir*e range of the prettiest little girl Imaginable Is the real delight. WALT.