Variety (July 1916)

FILM REVIEWS 17 THE SMUGGLERS. John Battleby Watts Donald Brian Mrs. Watta Olive Tell B romp ton Cyril Chadwlck Mrs. Brompton Margaret Oreene Detective Gray* Harold Vosburgh "Bally" Atkins Rita Borl Donald Brian in "The Smugglers," Famous Players (Paramount) release, scored one al- most unqualified knockout success. This is due in great measure to his fine work as a screen star, but he Is to be felicitated on the excellent team work given him for support In the matter of scenario (by Charles F. Home) and direction (by Sidney Olcott), not to mention the cast and production. For a program feature "The Smugglers" Is really unusual in Its general excellence. One doesn't often find a comedy that will stand up for five reels without padding, but there Is enough In this one to have easily made a serial. Of course one might go back and find a "similar Idea." but this picture is capitally worked out In the matter of detail and shows careful thought has been devoted to the avoidance of the dread charge of In- consistency. You can't very well guess the finish until It is reached, though you are tempted several times to anticipate. Every time you do you're wrong. While every one of the characters is well drawn and acted, a strong contender for honors in this picture is Cyril Chadwlck In a screen reproduction of his well known and popular "silly ass" por- trayal. Rich man on honeymoon In Paris Is taken shopping by his wife, who wants him to buy her a $20,000 necklace of pearls. They refuse his check and he goes to his bank for the cash. Meanwhile he passes a shop that sells Imitation Jewelry and buys a "phoney" to fool his wife with. He has both with him, picks up a purse lost by a chorus girl, goes to the theatre, dances with her; she steals his hat and demands "a souvenir." Laughingly he gives her what he supposes is the phoney necklace, but in reality the genuine one. Then he has to make good to bis wife and presents her with the bogus one. Wife in- sists on wanting her jewels declared on re- turning to America; the choruB girl is dis- charged and comes to America; a U. S. secret service man sees the purchase of the neck- lace and arrests the man for smuggling, seizes the hidden necklace only to find It Isn't genuine; Insists he saw the real purchase, follows the chorus girl, gets her necklace, which also proves to be bogus. (And mean- time there are hundreds of other uproariously laughable Incidents and situations, all natu- rally sequential.) It develops he had really bought a genuine rope of pearls, but the chorus girl had pawned them and when she redeemed them the money lender, figuring she didn' know their value, had returned her an imitation. Imagine the Job "explaining" to wifey, who is no "clinging vine" but a "wise dame." A few more pictures like "The Smugglers" will be a welcome relief. Jolo. THE VAGABOND. In the latest Chaplin-Mutual release, "The Vagabond," It Is announced as having been written and produced by the star. If that be so Mutual might do well to furnish him a collaborator—one with a cleaner idea of what constitutes comedy than the present scenarist. Right from the start your are shocked by an old burlesque bit. This refers to the picking up of an expectoration In mistake for a eoln. There is much to com- mend in the picture, but If Charlie Chaplin ■TRIANGLE PLAY/ ^P mm ;-t!::::-?:tt:: : "-::::«<r Mack Smnnmtt't namm with thm Kmyttonm trad* mark atandi for highmtt Quality in motion picture eommdimm. Rmlmaamd only by thm Triangle Film Corporation. * ' v 0 > ■ • ■■ iiUiiiUi.! 1* : !: : --!!i "'•"•:: :. ;:*•' ifflMfRM wishes to retain his position as the world's greatest drawing card on the screen, he will have to be told not to resort to such stunts, nor the permitting of the leading female sup- port to Indicate in pantomime that her cranium Is populated with vermin. So much for the errors of the scenarist. There are also a couple of errors of direction. While playing the fiddle tbe comedian falls Into a tub of water In a sitting (or seml-recllnlng) posture. On arlnlng he resmues his fiddling and his clothes are perfectly dry. After a heroic travesty rescue he runs off with "the girl" without stopping to pick up his fiddle, only to be shown later that his violin had followed him. as he Is once more In posses- sion of it. Despite these defects there Is much to commend in "The Vagabond," but It is just such carelessness that often turns the opinion of the fickle public to a new enter- tainment Idol. Jolo. CAPRICE OF THE MOUNTAINS. Caprice Talbert June Caprice Jack Edmunds Harry 8. Hllllard Dave Talbert Joel Day Maria Baker Lisle Leigh Tim Baker Richard Hale James Edmunds Albert Oran Tom Edmunds Tom Burrough Dick Deane Robert D. Walker Caprice's Aunt Sara Alexander Fairy Queen Harriet Thompson All hall June Caprice, the new seventeen- year-old film star, discovery of the William Fox office, who makes her Initial debut as a candidate for the foremost honors In fllmdom In the William Fox Film Corporation's re- lease "Caprice of the Mountains." Miss Ca- price was taken from the ranks, her name changed and the Fox forces are to set all of the resources to work to make her the most popular idol of the picture world within the ensuing year. In 'Caprice of the Mountains" the Fox people make a very good start toward accomplishing what they are ufter, but there is one thine that is shown up most forcibly In Miss Caprice's Initial starring picture, and that Is that she is not cut out for the emo- tional stuff as yet. Give her a little more experience, let her get some weight into her action, have a chance to be Bure of hersrir, and then let her go after the emotional stuff if she absolutely must emote. In the mean- time let her romp, be tomboylsh, do the things that the majority of other film stars are trying to do, but are doing badly because of the fact that they are carrying extra years, all of these things come naturally at seven- teen, and little June Caprloe looks as though they would be part of her daily scheme of life. In looks June Caprice is a cross be- tween Miss Plckford and Violet Mersereau on the screen, but In action she favors Plck- ford a lot. The vehicle for her debut was written by Clarence J. Harris and directed by John O. Adolfl. The former has turned out one of the usual mountain stories, with the little daughter of tbe mountaineer falling In love with the man from the city; finally marrying him, then on her arrival In the big town being disillusioned and returning home to her mountains, where the husband later finds her and his heir. In the matter of direction the picture lacks nothing and the mountain locations are very pretty. Tbe In- teriors are good, although they are not used to any great extent. In the matter of support the casting director made a happy choloe In selecting Harry Hllllard as the leading man. The picture is one of the best from the point of continuity of story, direction and titling that has been turned out In the Fox office in some weeks. Frtd, RIALTO Goat* THE TEMPLE OF THE MOTION PICTURE BESSIE LOVE and WILFRED LUCAS, la "HELL-TO-PAY* AUSTIN aad sew Kays VIRGINIA NORDEN STARR INO BALBOA AMUSEMENT CORP. CALIFORNIA ALFRED DE MANBY Rlalto Theatre NEW YORK