Variety (June 1921)

u Friday. June 17. 1921 SALVAGE. t An ambiguous title for this Rob- ert«on-Cole feature, starring Paul- ine Frederick, that ran 85 minutes at the New York Monday night. It has a direct appeal for women, with \ts "motherhood" foundation and a couple of small children, but is rather boring to the males watch- ing it. Miss Frederick Is the dis- aplVoinicd motm-r wliO i»t:ar:y Icat her life through childbirth, with the wealthy father 1 -^. ing the baby bov hidden, telling; his wife the t)abe died, through the attending doctor informing the new father his offspting had a diformed leg and could never walk. Another story runs t^hrough of a young man who loves his baby girl and his wife, though the wife is wrong and does not deem her child more than a bother. This father Is sent to prison for knocking down a man who was escorting his wife home. The father would not dis- close his identity to save the future of the child, so accepted the prison seutence, which seemed rather severe for the punl«sl;nient inflicted. The two-handed story is blended in toward the finish, with the tale then having Milton Sills as the for- mer convict playing opposite Miss Frederick. Ralph Lewis i^ the wealthy husband wno passes out, restoring the child, made normal by an operation, to the mother, and leaving his wealth to mother and son, with the assumption the mother will marry the ex-convict, since the latter's wife committed suicide due from drhik, before the Jail released him. It Isn't as morbid as It sounds. Just an illustrated lecture on mother-love that never can be understood by d jnan but which seems to hold some sort of a charm for nearly all women, whether they are pro or con on the subject. Nothing in the script called for exceptional playing, which left It easy for the seasoned principals. The drink-besotted female player, name unknown, had an awful make- up at times, when the character did not call for pallidness, while the lighting effects nearly as often gave Miss Fredericks a terrible aged look, though at other times and in the proper lights she was quite attractive. The chiWren play- ers were hright, but there was too much of them. No novelty of direction was tried for. None was needed. It is Just a Ktraightaway story, plainly and directly told, with the 85 minutes making it seem twice as long, but still, though minus any action of consequence. "Salvage," with that title meaning nothing to the box- offlce or the picture itself, will pass along, particularly In the neighbor- hood houses. The Fredericks name will send it in likely and the story will hold it, with nothing else. Sime. blame herself when Lawton comes in, but before she can save Crosby her beau Is after hfm. There is 9. regular fight, with Crosfor out in the end and Mrs. Ltawton explaining to the fiance that Jeanne is innocent. This fiance, for Jeanne's sake, wants to tell the truth to Lawton, but for the sake of the couple's baby girl he Is porsiiaded to hold his tongue. It required pantomimic ability of no mean order to put over these final scenes, with emotions xen.-ie; li-ul'—iio h\>/je*t thai oM!<i^r>• mugging would have made them ridiculous.* It Is praise enough to say that Miss McAvoy. Miss Will- iams, Mr. Gordon and Mr. I^wis made them anything but ridiculous. Mr. "WhKlock also was a well-born bad egg. not some director or ac- tor's idea of one, and that. too. is praise enough. In fact. Chester Franklin's direction and Eve Un- sell's continuity were adequate throughout. The photography watj up to the high Paramount standard. Leed. A KISS IN TIME. Shpl»a Athlon* Wanda Hawlo-y rtrian Moor* T. Roy liarn«s Hol>ert C<M)mnn Amea Hfrtram JohitH Bertlo nallaaf WaJter Hiors Nymph Margaret I-^o Mniv A PRIVATE SCANDAL. Jeanne Millette May McAvoy Jerry \Uye» Urucn OorJon Philip Lawton Ralph Lewis Carol I.awlon Kathlyii VVHUama Alec rrosby Lloy.l Whlllock Beity I.u>Mon Uladjra Fox When you see Hector Turnbull's name .signed to anything look out for two-gun, regular stuff. He has scored again with "A lYivate Scan- dal," in which Rtalart presents May McAvoy at the Kivoli this week. Simple, straightforward, direct, moving the emotions with a rush straight to a heart-tight climax, and then making a quifk, satisfying end. ifa a smash right hi the bull's eye. The little dark-haired star is like It. rnaffected, without pretense, a girl- ish. .sinc«>re. wholesome-appearing gill, Hhe gets her points to you by entirely natural methods. She is more than welcome these days in these parts, and after some of the offerings seen here recently the play itself is worth a hallelujah. And yet it is picture stuff In the market,' anybody's candy sense of tlHj word. This Is thanks to Turn- bull. The man knows realities and he knows drama. Best of all. ho knows the screen. Hi» subtle, ex- IK;ri<nced hand is everywhere ap- piirent. Uy the use merely of the word "now." he left with those who saw hi.s picture the Impression that the inju.stice done the youngsters In th'^i"!*? lltjal .scenes would be righted —eventually—and thus came the end of as near perfect a showing as it is possible to make in a program feat- ure at tho picture game's i)resont stage of advancement. Little Jeanne i.s a French orphan adopted into the home of the wealthy liawtons. Lawton him.self is interested in his race horses and neglects his wife. There is another man. Alec Crosby, and as the pic- ture starts it.s pace you sigh and .say here's another triangle, sex stuff, with the censor already aroused. JJul not at all. Three years later, when whi.speringH of scandal come to Lawton's attention, it In throuKh bis mother. She thinks it is the I'reneh girl, not Mrs. Lawton. who ij5 nttr.Toting Crosby. All in a day | the thing mounts to tragedy, .leannes beau. too. becomes suspi- i lous. Ho is Lawton's trainer, an.l tliey are off to the track with the string when remarks overhe.ird arouse their suspicions. Who is ^lilty? Master and servant tear l»ueU to the home, where Cro.^by is almut to elope with madame. He fails. Jeanne interferes, taking the An amusing Realart, current at the Rlalto. Thomas Heffron has scored another punchy comedy in this screen version erf Royal Brown's story "Ffom Four to Eleven Three." published in McClure's, adapted bv Douglas Dety and featuring Wanda Hawley. The story has "class" In its cliar acterixation and hi ail its back- grounds, a highly desirable qualit:. In a screen comedy where humo generally runs to groteaquerte.ss. ar; It has a wealth of action. The flv reels are as full of dashing aut chases as a two-reel western is o horseback galloping. The story i breezy, with amusing types of pellt( people, all of them young and«of re- freshing "nlccness." The settings when they are of in- I terlors are of genteel honres and f when they are in the open the>' pic- ture landscapes of utmost loveliness of .springtime country. The storj- itself growK naturally enough out of a basic situation and develO|w un- derstandably. Brian Moore has written a story and his publisher asks Shiela Ath"- lone to illustrate it. Sheila objects that the talo is impossible—no hero- ine would lot a man kiss her when she had known him only four hours —and Moore undertakes, without her knowledge, to prove she is mis- taken. The author thereupon in- sinuates himself Into the girl's apartment in the guise of a trades- man delivering goods, lures her into a stolen taxicab and rushes her into the country, where he makes absurd love to her In a lovely blossoming orchard. Meanwhile Sheila's fiance starts In pursuit, aided by the police on the trail of the stolen taxi, and an amusing three-cornered motor citajse ensues, leading to the loveliest im- aginable roaOhouse tucked in among the hills of rolling country that looks like Westchester county at Its late May best, and back again. The flight finLshjps in Sheila's apartment "(Greenwich village or its equivalent somewiiere else) where the author Is about to be arrestetl for tha tarxl theft and Is confronted by Sheila's finance. The theft he squares by showing that his father owns the taxi company and the kid- naping is set straight by Sheila's breaking her engagement and an- nouncing that she will marry him because his knack of getting into and out of spectacuUir difficulties appeals to her Irish heart. Of coure she has to kiss the hero with- in four hours, and does so. Ml.ss Hawley's beauty is appro- priately set In springtime woodlands and orchards, and there Is no great demand upon her acting ability ex- cept that she k)ok sweet and smil- ing, and she does this to the queen's taste. T. Roy Barnes, in a merry way, fills the bill as a hard-driving hero and lovemaker. Walter Hiers, In one of his fat-boy characters. star trying to escape a pursuing manager with ft contract of $2,000 a week. When the revelation comes the fan feels abused and hoaxed to provide a pleasurable pose for an egotistical picture actress. The shrinking modesty of the producer in displaying its name on the title flashes leads one to sus- pect that the fllm was made by one of the principal manufacturers and then put out under an alias because it didn't register hopefully. I't wUh good iuugrnent to lake it off a regular program, although the direction Is good and a considerable amount of money must have gone into the production. At the opening an airship drops from the skies and deposits the heroine in the middle of a western plain. She bids affectionate farewell to the air pilot and walks out of focus Into the landscape, Back to the sumptuous ra^ich house, which looks more like a California mil- lionaire's country place, and Joe. the cowpuncher, confides to the foreman that on his last trip to Chicago he fell in love with one Marta Sills, who confessed that she was a crook. Next we find the alr-rlding hero- ine In the county Jail, where the foreman finds her and brings her to the ranch chateau. wh*»!e tlie cattleman's wife and family may reform her. The supposed girl crook goes through all the motions <>f beiiYg reformed, while the fore- man watches over her anJ sets that she does not esqape. .Toe has been sent to a neigbborlnip ranch on duty. At the flnUh It la disclosed that the airplane passenger was the film star who had her brothei* bring her to the wilderness to escape the film magnate's pursuit with a contract. She found the real girl crook in the local Jail and changed places with her. That was alU It's a queer sort of story. It proves that Actionizing fiction U no more in- lereating thar» burlesquing bur- lesque. Arthur Berthelet Is set down aa the director. He did all he could with the impo^ible story. Its only virtue is the beautiful scenic set- tings for its absurd situations, and one or two spirited shot'j of horse- back riding and horse breaking. The riding Is for sport, by the way. When anyone wants to go any- where, he or she takes an auto. And this in a western romance. RusJi. THE MOTHER HEART. Marion Shirley Maaort Kdna Pesxjr BHinoi Kr^wmter i rec4l Van Attker Roberta B«t%vin B. TUton i'lifford Durant. WlUiam Buckley Jack Raymond McKe« Fox program feature suitable to the market. Howard N. Mitchell wrote the original story and directed it from a scenario by £Idward Frank Clark. All did competent worlc Though this Is entirely a hoakum bid for sobs and laughs it gets them The mother of the two girls, Marion and Fxlna. dies from shock when the father Is sent to Jail on a tech. nical charge of stealing food he was too poor to buy. One of the girls. Edna, la adopted Into a wealthy home and shows herself an ungrate- ful snob. Marion is true blue. She takes care of her baby sister and wins old man Roberts' heart by act- ing as his housekeeper. As he is the man whose manager brought the charge against the father all turns out well when the manager proves to be a bad egg. The acting puts the thing over Edwin B. Tilton in his scenes with the baby gets onto the screen some well-shaded and effective panto- mime. Raymond McKee also is called on for characterisation that he realizes to the full. The rest U ordinary work but capably handled by a well-balanced cast. At Lioew'f New York the audience alternately laughed and wiped tears away—« good test. The photography Is exceptionally food. Lced. SOULS OF MEN. The title is another of those flashy captions that have nothing to do with the story except to decorate the front of the theatre with an eye- catching phrase. The story is in- (osmopolitanProduction 1 Rigtit Now This Picture Will Attract Crowds Away From Outdoor Sports And Into Your Theatre You have the keenest competition to contend with now—baseball, bathing, boating and every other outdoor sport. Summer weather always has, and always will, hit box office receipts. But there is one way to beat the weather—to get "the money in spite of season—that is to play hit pictures—hits so sure-fire that they will draw audiences irrespective of anything. "The Woman God Changed" is that the absolute proof. It drew of a picture and here's gives the tale just the toueh of sub dued low comedy necessary to put zip into a screen comedy. The pic- ture is rich In quick comic twists and in scenic beauties, and scores 100 per cent, as a light teaturo. PENNY OF TOP HILL, A modern western comedy-drama in which motor cars take the phice of galloping bronchos. It carries the trade-mark "A. J. C." as the prodiirrr, and features Bessie LiO\*e. Offered us half of a double feature bill at Loew's Circle, it proved a tame affair. It is true beyond argument, of course, that the honk-honk has re- placed the bray as a means of travel on Western ranches, but it's an annoyance to force the fact on romance loving film fans. Also dining in dinner coats in the ranch hou.sc, however modern the ramch housf may br, does violence to all conceptions of Action. It would be ns ffhr to have the Hawaiian belle take h<r Saturday night in an open iilumbing bathtub. Tho .story aims at arotisinff ciiii- o.sity ovi'r a myslory, but succeeds only in irritating and annoying the spectator, and the heroine (Miss Love), who one Is led to accept as a refoinud crook, turns out to be nothing more intriguing than a film $39,079.25 in 14 days on Broadway—seven days in the Rivoil, seven in the Rialto. This amazing box office take was diuring two weeks of interrupted hot outdoor weather while a lot of ''legitimate*' stage successes were giving up the ghost and taking to the store house. Playing Its Fourth Week on Br€>adway and Going Bigger Every Day The Only Picture Ever Held Over for a Second Week ai Mobs* Broadway . The B. S. Moss* Broadway, New York, ran this great money- getting pictiure last week. It drew so much money to the box office that it has been held over for a second week. No picture has before been played two weeks at Moss' Broadway. This record money-making feature has been booked by all New York Keith, Proctor and Moss high prices, reserved seat, vaudeville and picture houses. Get the sure money. Play "The Woman God Changed" at once. n •*.'*'» Ifs a Paramount Picture rRKSKNTBD BY THE FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORPORATION I« . . « . ft A'