Variety (January 1922)

, > • . . t 11 > 1 ridav. Tanuary 27, 1922 PICTURES- 39 SATURDAY NIGHT a •oolety girl. launJrew. .Edith • t • • • Jtolwt* ft? %#nti»> Richard'* lister. .Julia Faye 5" 1 * p3l£'.\ ...•• • • • • -K<lyth. Chapman S^inra van rfuyilam....Theodore Roberts 5SToW. » washwoman..Sylvia. Aahton Another of DeMille's "society" ♦Alee backed by magnificent settings whenever the story calls for in- Jiriors of the van Suydam and Prentiss homes with the subtitles being equally embellished. The titles provide- the usual amount of descriptive reading matter plua a certain amount of philosophy per- taining to the theme that deals with In engaged boy and «irl bom to the purple*' marrying their laundreai aid chauffeur, respectively. The social and domestic situation become impossible to both couples and the inale, Jumping, to "Seven years iwcals that the working duo have united. Another in scene disclose that the later, class switch two members of tin- "IW" have be ^-^ Admirably cut. com*re-engaged—though minus the proverbial clinch. Incidental to tracing tho destinies of the coupk s, DeMIHe has contrived amusing action which bads to the pairing off of the quartet, the reasons therefore and the ultimate progressiva incidents that brings about tho conclusion with its axiom of each to his kind, birds of a feather, blood will tell, cr whatever you will. The picture has a couple of thrills through the incidents of the young heiress, accompanied by her chauffeur, driving her car across a railroad t restle only to be trapped by an oncoming train and being saved by her chauffeur. About three reels later me heroine again i^ the subject of a rescue Mom a tenement fire by her former fiance—her chauffeur husband having left her to see that the \ leh laundress wl"e. whom he is now driving g< ts to safety. The remainder of the picture la taken up with the social Waterloo that Shamrock O'Daj meets as the wife of Pr< ntiss In a series of scenes that display DeMllle's ideas of bow a pretentious; home rhould be decorated, and that shrieks extrava- gance. The path that Iris van Suydam lias set nut t > tread as the wife of her former servant furnishes the counter plot. Lcatrice .ioy and Conrad Nage.] stand out from the cast In ttich relts of, th< wealthy couple' having oppof' ihem Edith KobCtta and .'afA iiowt-r who at linns are nut altogether convincing. Theodora Roberts is practically hurled, being allotted scarcely L'oo feet of film, if that, with the oih- r raemWa:*s giving an average performance. Thu story is credHed ^o .Teahb Wai'pherson and is presented bj Jess*' Lanky through Paramount There's no doubt the picture can by one Peterson, Alclen, under the name of Grant, takes his supposedly last $500 and with his young partner proceeds to open a garage on the state road opposite Petersen's new one. How they beat Petersen is Interesting and equally so Is the love interest, amusingly interwined with Alden's attempt to hido his real identity from his young partner and his family, particularly his daughter with whom the younger man falls in love. Mr. Arliss's influence was felt all through the performance. His own restrained methods need no descrip- tion. With the slightest means, he accomplishes much. Suggestion takes the place of elaboration and the cast followed suit. Doris Kenyon has charm, beauty, the air of a slender darling and her frocks were well chosen, setting her off to ad- vantage. Ida Darling gave one of those rare performanc s that are delightful because you recognize in it a transcription to tho s een of pleasant and agreeable traits you have met in life. Edward J. Burns was straightforward and attractive. through the rathe exchanges. It \b better than the ordinary run of pro- gram features and was tho better of the two pictures offered on a double program bill at Loews New York with the r. "Across the Deadline" being the oilier feature. Grace Darmond, with her striking blonde beauty, !g the star of the cast, which In. several corking names in if, including Harry Myers and William Courtlelgh. Philip B. Rosen directed from the script of Will M. Ritchie, Charles Hclmont Davis having contributed the orig- inal story. 0 ^; 10 v, <i,~ n Miss Darmond there but one woman, Patsy Kuth Mil- is but everyone's hit stood out. the picture fur- nisned as pleasant an hour as pos- sible at this stage of the screen's development. Lccd. TURN TO THE RIGHT gnris Tiiiinser ah.-p Terry B*»coua Jack ^talball Harry* My' r* <Hlljr Mu^kc I,» aeon Tilling*'!- Mrs. Has. r>m. . . ^ .. . U.: t y B« BOOM. .-vr-rt .1 s .• .SiroriK Sammy Martin Mr. Marfan t.< si. i Morgan .. .tfforni' • *QOper Kdwanl Connelly «IIa Knott Hetty Alkrr .Margaret I»«>mln .William Rl.-t»-h*r F.ric Ma> n* Ray It»i»l«?y A clean,' vtdtelesome picture, that would easily hold up at any first - run house for a couple of weeks. Instead, John Golden and Marcus Loew brought it to the Lyrk) Jan. L'3 under the Metro trade mark for a special run. If, as reported, they paid $200,000 to Winchell Smith and John E. Hasaard for the screen rights to their Stage success, the decision as to opening is under- standable, carry the $1.65 as described exquisitely don« lake its place as a bos o for DeMille's ? »me and nefis with v.l.i.ii h< h. home life of the "Hi:::' fllce feature the lavish- es don« the charucti rs, though somewhat reflective of former palatial resid* ncos as con- ceived hy him, Will satisfy. Also tlie pictorial narration of romance connect" d with the interciass mar- riage id. a will always nppeal strongly to the majority of the fair •ex. t5kl0. RULING PASSION #»n-.r 8 Aid' n Ang\« AUlm ''Bill" Merrick.. Mr*. Aldt-r. Ptte r*on f»rt*r Andrew*. Dr. wiungV.'.'.V • • • • • ...... ... .Oeorge ArPti . .. .lVnn K.irji'n ISdward J. BO bis DarlitfK ..,?. W. Johnston . .Erntat Hilliar.l .Harold \Vrtl«lriR< .... Itr:.iii L>ar)« y s is! Certainly, What a picture this It pleased the Strand audi* nee Jan. *2, when United Artists brought it there with George Arliss starred. >>om Kan Derr Biggera' Saturda) Evening Post story Forrest Halsey has written a photoplay that is Just that. You recognize a controlling hand in the whole that seems t«» have devised a complete play and not patched together pieces, and this recognition has a singularly satisfy- ing effect. Harmon Wright is a young director who has made the most of specially advantageous cir- cumstances afforded him by Mr. Halsey's story and .a first rate cast, and Harry A. Fishbcok't photo- graphy and Clark Kobinson'S art work supplemented the r» st very happily. Janus Alden, overworked, is pre- v «^iletl upon by nis doctor and family to retnv on his fortune, but cnfor< • d re «t gets on his nerves and it is orought out amusingly that those "ho have worked, deprived of that "lain diversion, In effect a ruling Passion, are precipitated toward jaeir grave rather than saved from h ♦♦ ' ^ U,tn hi geltiriK w<»! ^'tter, when an insurance suggest* to him to get rome small ouatnesfl as a hobby, a dlveraion. ig leaving his i>ig company, he said. noneMy was the best policy, that ""honesty worked and now In a small way why. From the picture standpoint this was a change for the better. Bring jour moral down to everyone's cap- * c, 'y to understand and you g*t a dl«i e i rcal ro *Ponfte than when >ou gai in millionaires and their doings, oowevrr gorgeously. Finding him- partner In a garage with n Jian, both ha\i:\g been stung lot from followed was ex- the in- mi e. not agent policy own loss," he shows Perhaps the name will top. but it remains, above—in addition, ?. Rex Ingrarp. who directed-, puts the rellning touch of the artist to his work. June Mathis and Mary O'Hara turned out si workmanlike scenario, and .lohn F. Seitl's iihotograph was A-l la grade. Prom the stag*' showing th.^ sto-y is well known. If ere again- *oa lias- com i* s« en leaving home, the farm, his widowed mother and orphans! sifter to make a fortune in the city wherewith to marry Elsie. Deacon TlfUngev's daughter, the deaeon op- posing the match. In the city .Joe turns to th. left, takes up with the ponies, gambles, and in a year or SO, oil the Verge of a big turnover, is nabbed for crime, Sent innocent to Jail, he < omes out resolved to turn to the right ihereafter and make* hi^ way home in time to sa\e his mother from being cheated by the (Paeon. Two prison pals show up. and country intlu •> • - |. - form them. Joe, loo, In .he end is vindicated. The comedy, due to the crooks, is rieh in this screen version. Harry Myers and George Cooper, as <; and Mu^«. got an equal their pans. Heal laugh laugh, but the whole cast rellent. Alice Terry was genue, a very much younger p t than in "The Four Horsemen," and Lvdia Knott as Mrs. Bascorn looks eally like hef enough to be her ther. The suggestion was in- escapable. Clean-cut performances were offered hy Jack Mulhall and Others In straight roles, while Wil- liam Bletcher assisted in building up the laughs. From sheer mastery ESdward Connelly scored as the deacon. Eric Mayne, too, brought real dignity to his role. The bass drummer sought to en- liven the evening with interpretative discords, but with him suppressed things should run smoothly. If any suppressing is done it also should include the program's blurb calling Hex Ingram "a young man conceded to be the genius of tho screen." Youth will be served, but this silly piece of enthusiasm written by one young man about another is not only absurd. It is offensive, recall- ing" CrifhMh, Neilan, lnce, Lubitsch— a halt* dozefl of the illustrious. In- gram has a nice talent, discretion, above all a sense of form, being a S< ulptor, but this sense of form to an « gterft crimps the fullness of his work. It doei not How freely. It divides itself into groups, eptftOdefl of arrangement, and never yet he caught the spectator in a pelling grip that forces out thunder of heart-felt applause. Nor could he do it at the Lyric opening. The claquers were busy, but by exaggerating the applause and applying it Indlaeriminately to . •.. rv name flashed on th" »cre< n the audience kidded the claque - ret us hope—off the payroll. Meanwhile this; Ifl a first-rate merclal picture, it has tears laughter, adequate mounting finished charm. L Jro'jp^ has com- the oin- and and td. HANDLE WITH CARE r.i.-p Dsrmond Harry Myen j.4inf» Morrison P ann« ,> Lee; \« >t Plesrd.< •« Phil Hurnhsm • t>avl.l N-rn- l^. 1 ?* '1 B r2* t * i'. •. r i*ATter...*. .... iv.r r*rter v ^ • • " " Jt JGLft5gS by Rockett production, distributed the Associated Pr« ler. All of tlie other roles are male characters with five types of men Shown. The quintet woo the star and she selects one of them and after two years of married life de- cides she lias made a mistake be- cause her husband has forgotten to recall their wedding anniversary. She upbraids her better half and he makes a strange pact with her, consenting to let her have a divorce if any of the four former suitors will agree to elope with her. Thbi brings about a corking comedy sit- uation well played up. in the end husband and wife are reconciled and take a second honeymoon trip. Tho locations and sets are par- ticularly good and the photography splendid, for which Philip Hum de- serves credit. Myers and Courtlelgh gave splen- did performances with Myers hav- ing a shade the best. Landers pfevena playing the lead opposite Miss Darmond, while seemingly rather too old for the role, played admirably. The exhibitor can go out after this picture with tho all-star state- ment and get away with the claim. anywhere Fred. the scene fades back to the rull- man, and the listener to the story discovers from a ac;i r on the tellers hand that he is tho "man in the case." Hut the sympathy won't go down. Kor one thing tho character of the rounder Is pretty average rotten on the face of it, and any plea for him is utterly insincere even under the loose literary ethics of screen llctionists. Any theatre gathering would have to be alto- gether infantile in mind to accept the tale as anything but a travesty on life. The prim comedian In this case is not "Lire," as the high- faultin' title writer would have it, but the .scenario reader* who failed to stand between the maker of the story and the fan public. Hush. NO "DEFENSE J'.l.n V.mninp Willlnm r>unr>i\n Ethel Austin liMi'ii Johnson i-v.-.fc rh u Apthorpe .la. k 111 "tardson Muton Hulet li.-iny Hebert Mrs AuMiii Ifsthltde Brundass MacBobert* Cnarlea Dudley The picture will stand up for a couple of days. THE GRIM COMEDIAN Mario l.ainontf.... Ha. Vey Martin..... Dueothy Old T>ad «JrHiir> Mi" re Bill.- Pas« Geoffrey Hstchina. Carieton Bvtcnlsa* . .Pho> be Hunt Jack Holt . .Gloria Hope Beit Woodruff .. .Laura I>avarlnc Mae Hopkins John Harron Joseph J. Dowling * ■ ■ - - The Gjftfn Comedian is none other than Tafe, "which turns the laugh on all of us." according to a title in this r.oldwyn picture current at the Capitol. Tru story is by Rita Wei- man, and the production is desig- nated ;ts- Frank Lloyd's. It's a curi- ous sort of story, filled with naive, almost childlike sentiment which sets Up all kinds of objections in the mind of the grown-up spectator. The character of Martin Harvey, played by .tack Holt, is an odd compound. He Is an Utter cad in the beginning of things, a spend- thrift i Her loafing about the musi- cal comedy back stage. He pro- vides a luxurious apartment for Marie LamontS (Phoehe Hunt), a queen of the meny-merry,- with motor ear Incidentals and the rest Of the equipment, and lords it over :bis intimate domain. Marie has a daughter In the convent, and when the girl pleads to come home, Marie decides to revise her mode of life. Martin, who has always made cyni- cal sport of Marie's maternal af- pcTions, becomes enraged at her determination to leave him and live with the girl. His attitude is that if there is to be any casting off, the privilege is his, not the woman who ha? been living on his bounty. Not a very agreeable person, this. Nevertheless, when Marie's daugh- ter does come home, disclosing her- self as a charming young person, Martin falls desperately in love with her and pays secret court. He says it with anonymous flowers and Jew- elry. When Marie learns of the in- trigue, she forbids tho daughter to s» e Martin, who thereupon brings the girl to his apartment by a tele- phone message. Marie confronts the pair there and there is a clash between the woman and her former lover in which she wounds him with a pistol shot through tho arm. Martin is cured of his infatuation and agrees to send tho girl back to her young sweetheart The strange part of tho tale Is that Martin, who is at first pictured in a most un- favorable light, is later presented as honorably in love with the younger woman, and the auditor's sympathy is invited to his pathetic situation. If this were not sufficiently dis- torted fiction, the situation of a mother in conflict with her own (laughter over the ownership of a i vnical rounder is not particularly » lifying. Of course, mother and • laught» r are not rivals for the man. The emphasis is entirely upon the older woman's instinct to protect her daughter from life's dangers; but there is about the whole situa- tion on unwholesome flavor. This kind of oblldue romance is all out of order. Some day some enlight- ened maker of fh-tion is going to set a clean, unstudied story of romance in the surroundings of the theatre back stago where a manly man loves a womanly woman and they get married. Somehow the locale of tlie theatre invites the imagination of the uninitiated to self-conscious inventions of lurid loVtA In the present case there Is a labored effort to win sympathy for the no account hero. He is lirst in- troduced In a railroad Pullman, where a card game brings up a dis- cussion of fate, and he rreites the history of Marie Lanmnte to illus- tra e hi* point that life \n the grim comedian, At the end of the tale A Vitagraph production In six reels, adapted from the story "Pardon," by Clarence Davies; scenario by Graham Raker, directed by William Duncan, who is co- starred with Edith Johnson. Another variation of the "Enoch A i den" tale, wherein a husband, supposed to be dead, returns home to And his wife married to another. In this instance ho Is accused of killing a man who is trying to black- mail the wife, stands for the con- viction to shield the woman he loves, and so on, until it all turns out happily for the original husband, whom she loves, and herself. The continuity runs along so smoothly that it makes for an ab- sorbing photoplay, and it is still further made interesting through the artistic work of Jack Richard- son as the second husband of the double-married woman, who is an unrelentingly ambitious politician and in the end permits the woman he married to return to the man she loves. William Duncan is sufficiently melodramatic as the sacrificing hero, while Edith Johnson is adequately emotional in the role of the woman about which tho .tale revolves. Excellent program feature. Jolo. EXIT THE VAMP Wlf*» .....,.•* Ethel Clayton Husband. T. Hoy Hmnn r.t Ji i I,... Theodui e Robert I The The Th* The Vamp '••»••# .Funiaiue La Hue Taramount release, starring Ethel Clayton, based upon the story by Clara Beranger and directed by Frank Urson. This Lasky produc- tion was not built for the bigger picture houses. Shown at a pop vaudeville theatre, tho picture sec- tion had to be bolstered by a strong comedy, which makes certain the fact that the feature la being sold at a moderate price. The story will suit women. It has been designed along the proper lines for that. Tho old eternal triangle idea is its foundation. The slaving wifo turns the tide by becoming a vamp and allowing her spouse all the leeway he wants in l)is atten- tions with another woman. This causes him to sicken of his new acquaintance, with the customary reconciliation at the finish. It Is a short cast production with a light story, done before in many ways. In this not over effectively. It has a slight homey appeal, but with little else to commend. The cast does well enough with so light a vehicle. Few opportunities for the director to display initiative. Picture exhibitors who demand bargain productions from the big exchanges are the onlv ones who will consider "Exit the Vamp." Hart. on a continuous plan. This change of policy might account for tho lack of attendance at the late show, for surely the names of John Emerson and Anita Loos have been looked, upon as of s«nie box-ofllce power in the tllm world, and both of these names were displayed prominently in lights in front of the theatre. Tho cast in tho production Is a corking one, and the picture on tho whole is well portrayed by the ar- tists. Basil Sydney plays the lead, Ho is the gay son of a life insur- ance millionaire, whose dad has died and left a peculiar will. The boy is given the home and a spending ac- count of $50 a week until he reaches the age of LT>, then his father prom- ises him something further. When the time arrives the endowment proves to be a job at $25 a week as a lifo insurance solicitor, with tho proviso that if lie makes good for a year the entiro fortune falls to him. He is in love with the daughter o* a seeker after a political Job. Tho girl played by Mae Collins and her father being Edward Connelly. Tho latter is not so sure that the boy can make good, and finally, when, as the result of a revolutionary plot, the father is appointed Ambassador to Eunkonia, he Informs the hoy that when ho receives his fortune, he can come there for the girl. When the hero receives the news) that ho has to work for a year grabbing risks for his late dad's) company, he choses Bunkonla as tho scene of his soliciting activities, which brings him on the scene just at tho moment that the revolution is going to break, and he manages to do the grand heroic all over tho lot, defeat the conspirators and win the girl in time to havo her in his arms for the final fadeout. It is all presented in an exag- gerated manner, with a battalion of colored marines arriving on the/ scene to handle the situation. That is presented in the light of bur- lesque, but It Is doubtful if the au- dience south of the Mason-Dixon line are going to accept it in that light, especially when the colored boys start prodding the white about at the business end of their rifles* Incidentally there are one or two other touches of the color question that crop up In the picture that will be certain of censorship in the> southern states, especially when tha darky major domo of the hero is) shown as the bailiff In a court room scene ordering tho court to be) cleared in the following language: "Oct out »er here, you miscoiorea white trash.'* Other than that, for northern rer« ritorles where the race question isj not as decided as it is in the «outh t the picture is a fair burlesque corn* edy of the program caliber. Frcd % RED HOT ROMANCE Rowland Ptone. Basil Sydney Lord Howe-Urecne ,. Henry Warwick Kins *'.'«.»anilia the Thirteenth. .Frank Lrfilor General de Castanet Carl 8to<-k<]nte Madame PulofT de Plota Olive Valerie Colonel Casslue I)jn*d Edward Connehy Anna Mae Pyrd Mae Collins Jim Conweli.. Roy Aiwii Thomaa finow.....,«..«.. Tom Wilson Mammy •••••••••....D'llan liflghton Ulgnor Frijols fenlls Edwards The authors of this burlesque are John Emerson and Anita Lpos, with the former also assuming responsi- bility for the direction Inasmuch as the picture, according to the screen, was directed by Victor Fleming un- der the personal supervision of Mr. Emerson. Tho story Itself li noth- ing more than a broad burlesque of "The Soldier of Fortune" or "A Man's Man," with the burlesque for tho greater part effeeted through a mass of sub-tiths, and these not particularly funny. Joseph M. Hcbenck is sponsor for the picture, although the screen in- forms the public that tho Emerson- Loos combination presents it. Mr. Schenck made an arrangement with the Famous Players whereby he rented the Criterion for the presen- tation, so, although tlie production is a First National attraction it is not playing the Ktrand, which holds tho first National franchise in New York for first runs. Monday night, the seennd that the pleturo was being presented, tie house for the two nightly shows could not havo held over 1T>0 people from a short time before nine until the final flicker The Criterion h« re- tofore has bee^ playing a regular two shows a d;iy policy, but the "ItCd Uoi Kviiik;j'.«. ' la o- :ii£ hho\V.n WHY MEN FORGET Richard Ituthaer Milton Ro«m*» Mrs. Mutimcr Mary Jtioura Alice Maud Mutin.ir Vivian Vinson. Kmma Vine Evelyn Hrent Rflt** , Ji'i'ii'* Foster Adela Walthum Beltlmi ('amphelt Mrs. Wnltham Dal«y Campbell Hubert ■Me* Gerald McCarthy Mre. Kldon Hald<e Wripht nantel rabbe olof Hyttent Jim < 'iii'Ti Jarnea U. Butt Rtephpn Txmrwood Leonard R< bnon gillie Rodman Warwick Ward? K«»ne , (;»•..i ro Travers Coues Thomaa B. Moniauu-Thacke* I\ohertson-C\ilo released "Whjf Men FoiK't," n screen version t)f tha Cleorgo dissing novel, "Demos.** written and directed by Denisonj Clift. The production was made In England with an English east and] released in this country under the> ".All-Star Cast" billing. The screen version is not in many respects sufficiently interesting tcj hold the attention of the average" American audience. The story has Its effective parts, but In the screen- ing loses in comparison with the American program picture. The story deals with the r.cquisN tlon of sudden wealth by a man oC the working class, the money caus- ing him to forget his former 'friends} and to fall in line with other cao- ltallsts rather than to help tlie lower class as he had promised to tin. The su ess of a picture In this) country is largely based upon thfT popularity of its pliyers. It Is in this respect that "Why Men Forget* will experience difficulty, as the) cast, regardless of its value in act- ing, contains no players of any prominence over here, slthougn known to a large degree In England* "Why Men Forget'* is a fore'gn picture of Insufficient pretentious* ness to Kan recognition In tiig count! y. Hart* WESTERN FIREBRANDS Hilly F:irpo.. P'j- T! y WltHtltU M.iiir«<i Stanton. '. 11 •. i r i „' r. it lo-.i i'V itiicr. ... H'.txn t Htanton.. John Fargo >•••••• • * • • • . Ada p .. . J ii ' l cairn !!•■ I Aid • * . . If. ' i Y r . Wil mi Itoi i.4 .j. J'. :.. • Jjianqi Released bv A\ Won and produced by Charles It. S< ling. With not much money spent «*ri it, it could still have been j/im.i with bettetf direction, cutting and photography* As it stands, i r i- mm- of.thos* half* way failures, The story itself wag ail ritfht, but arranged so it | failed to tret you an ir went ilonpr. Lanning is up In the lumber terri* lories trying to gel the i». l< •• of x mill down, rn he can share on th«» rake-off. ftribing lumber-Japki to) net forest flies, he starts Kargo *>i% a still hunt f< r the perpetrators who have li. ■ i •;• .; i u- .Hid fright- ening his catl • Robert Stanton^ I.ftnning'i b^.-^, -onas iu»o iu« iu*«