Variety (January 1922)

40 .PICTURES Friday, January 27, 19^2 fritory, ami largo saves his train from wreck, winning Mildred's gratitude. J-'he ltd been engaged to Lannirig, hut banning has been flirting will Little Red Feather, and. In the end, to further his schemes, kidnap* Mildred. The rescue is the punch of the picture and worth while. A glimpse of Ked Feather hathing w;is another pretty touch. The acting was unexpectedly good. ."Williams. I newcomer, has a whole- some, pleasant personality, and should improve with direction, and tVirginia Adair was away from the usual and pleased, showing delicacy In her portrayal. Helen Voder came through vi:ii some excellent panto* mime and the men tie-manned their parti sathtfactorHy. i red. > , THE SEA LION r No extended comment is called for in the case <»f this absurd rehash Of Jack hondons "The i>ea Wolf" put out by Kobar? Bosworth lec- tures, with that star and producer In the principal part. Mr. Hosworth made his ki eat screen success some years ago in a Mm version Of Lon- don's powerful sea tale. This garbled invention adds nothing to his reputation. It is sponsored by First National. It was the current attrac- tion at Proctor's 58th Street over on the Fast Side where a typical neighborhood audience declined to get stirred up by its crude fiction. The data furnished by the billing Is to tin- effect that the story is by Kmelie Johnson, scenario by Joseph Franklin Poland and direc- tion by Rowland V. I-.ee. Bessie Love plays the lead in the sup- porting organization. The players are excellent with lirst rate types Of rough seamen and Bosworth would be his authentic self if the travesty of a tale would give him jhalf a chance, But how could any actor <lo in the part of a rough .-.id cruel sea captain who is seri ously referred to by the title as "The Sea Lion" and Ids ship casually introduced as the ^Vsea lions lair?" And that ain't the half of it. The story piles ridiculous detail upon mock heroics until the whole affair runs into un- intended travesty. The film started Out interestingly enough with some capital marine scenes about the three-masted whaler, with a real whale hunt, probably cut in from tome educational subject. Interest was fairly well sustained when it iappearcd that the captain was an embittered man, his wife having ap- 1>arently deserted him while he was at sea on a previous voyage, running Off with another man. On his arrival in San Francisco % new chapter opens. We are shown Si gaudy eabaret (is there any dram- Otic film that does not somewhere fret itself in a cabaret?) and the high flying young man. described as "a 5 aster" is revealed at his revels. S is cast off by his family and in desperation ships with "The Sea Lion," on his next trip. Here's where the blow off comes. The Sea Lion fs be ca lmed and tru* water supply rutts out. The crew mutinies at its cruel master who takes all the re- maining water, but he meets them Oil by ■quad* and platoons and t>eats them down with his bare fists. Just then land Is sighted. It seemed O little out of order that the Whaler should find himself in tr • ^i< al Waters, but such is the case. In the offing lies none other than the well-known South Sea Islands Inhabit, il by an old man and a beautiful hue legged girl, and we have as t»nse and serious drama? the exact situation * liich .Mickey Nciian made into a rollicking bur- lesque in "The Lotus Eater." Only the Bos worth drama in its intensity' Is twice as laughable ns the travesty. There are many adventures after the discovery of the Island and its Quaint dwellers, all leading up to the startling disclosure that the beautiful girl is the Sea Lion's o\\ :i daughter. It appears that the Sea Ubn's wjfe was kidnapped sixteen years before by an old suitor and carried off to SSS while the Sea Lion jfhis name is John Xeison) was away On a cruise. The kidnapper's ship was wrecked. All hands we're lost (presumably a lot of rugged sailor men) u id only the frjiil woman, about to become O mother and an old steward were saved. The baby was born on the Island and grew up tinder the care Of the ancient steward, although the mother, having serv< d the scenario writer's fell purpose., perished. Put sixteen years after this whole his- tory Is made known lo Kelson by the written record of the wife in her family bible, which the beautiful daughter brines aboard the "J>air." That amazing detail Sught to be enough to indicate the sort of trash this "Sea Lion* 1 Is. The rest doesn't matter. Some of the marine shots, particularly the approach of . a Violent storm across the water, and some spirited shots from «h«> dee*. Of the notiOOnVr showing the rush- ing billows, were cxtreim-iv inter- bating. The pfiotogranher dealt fclndlv with the ocean. The rest of the picture \n a total loss RsSO* as the heroic simple but ab- s escapes and Splendid action filn., direct, unpre- tentious, but plausible and interest- ing in story and characters, and packed with truly sensational ". tunt" material. It's a breath-tak- ing tale In the gorgeous settings of the real Crand Canyon of Arizona. Its backgrounds alone as a pic- torial would be sufficient to hold in- terest, out in addition it hold* a cap- ital adventure tale and pl.nty of thrilling feats by the audacious cow- boy In to. Out of the opulent wealth <>f MPsatjona, it is enough to de- scribe the achievement of the hero, who is shown in an aeroplane flight Over the actual canyon. The plane is seen in its soaring flights abort the wills of the abyss, tipping below the rim of tht awesome crater and as a Climax apparently 'dropping the ero to the end of a long, trailing rope, from which be pinner* into t' e river. Probably the landing is trick I stuff, but it u so well managed that it would convince even the most so- phisticated. TO ofl intents and pur- SOSes it is a real feat. A series of tit!es at the outset make:- it appear that the stunt was done In reality, at least as far as tlie aerial flight was concerned* and there is nothing in the lihn to raise a doubt oi the truth of the statement. If that aero thrill was not enough. Mix does a horsel Si - dash up what appears to be mile- of almost perpen- dicular, twisting trail, a hair-rais- ing performance. Almost as thrill- ing were his many climbs on a flen- der rope up the straight sides of lofty precipices. Much 0( the action takes place On a narrow shelf of rock along the Side of the cliff's face, surrounded by heights almost terri- fying to behold even from the se- curity of a theatre seat, and with the distant peaks background of the sorbing tale. There urc endle pursuits, with men on foot climbing the dizzy /altitudes of the walls and sprinting about on perilous footholds \ ith Riddy distances stretching be- low them. Hardly o moment passes but has its thrill. It's as well sus- tained a Western melodrama as has been seen in many a day. Of its kind, the production matches any- thing that comes to mind as a yro- gram release. The film has a brisk beginning. Mix rides into the picture from the surrounding forest in time to inter- cept a limousine speeding through the mountains. He holds it up. lin- ing up at the roadside a group of what appear to be women tourists, but who are revealed as smuggled Chinese coming over the Mexican border. He is an immigration bu- reau agent sent to check th • run- ning ot Chinese. "The man higher up." the govern- ment le'irns. has concealed a whole army of Chinese In the CJrand Can- yon, awaiting a chance to get them into the States, and Tom is picked to ru;. the band down. He gets himself employed by the runners by a clever trick and is among the fugitives in the canyon when the girl ward of "the man higher up." on the way to Join her guardian, gets lost among the cliffs of the mountains nearby. Mix finds her on a narrow shelf halfway up the wall and takes care of her until the outlaws learn his real Identity and attempt to do away with him. Here is the begin- ning of the sensational fight and chase which runs through three or four reels to it.? breathless finish. To attempt to detail its incidents would be a task, but it provides an hour and a half of gripping a 1 ven- ture and net ion well worth anyone's time. Jans Novak is the pretty heroine, and there i< a magnificent horse. It's n picture for anybody's the- atre. The marvel i* that it was not h Id out as a Special and given the exploitation it deserves. The picture Is a credit ts everybody concerned in its making, and that go**s double for Mix. the best rough and tumble stunt film actor that ever took a chance. One picture hero !t!:e this is more credit to the business than all the sorrowful, introspective screen ladles that ever struggled with'a broken heart or stubbed her toe on th« Double Ktandard. Move power to (he i reed! '.*■■«•*. LITTLE EVA ASCENDS SKY HIGH A f- \ !• ■'• tses like Ihfs Western Mventure st..ry with Tom MiK as Its hero will make up for a lot of medi- ocre, and worse. s*u f " from the Fox :StaMishmeiit. "Skv H ; «h" which bear^ the rams of Lynn It >vno1ds as ocer-.r'.-* writer and director, It a kindp.t:d of the dust The most drastic adverse com- ment to be made with respeci to u. A. Walsh's film prcducti . of Peter B, Kyne's story. "Kindred of the Dust." of which Director Walsh has mads n special feature for First National. i-< that while he condensed the tale and yet followed the book- in its essentials; be tried tp er.com- i»ass too milch of the interesting details. As a result he submitted at a |ire-view showing at the Bits- Carltoa'lnst rYidsy evening (Ian. *?o> po minutes of footage, which should he ruthlessly cut to seven reels, when he will have \ Splendid drama, well played, esccHentty photographed, admirably directed and fnu of romance and suspense. The director has carried to ureat lengths the practice of ultegorl <lly visualizing i \\c poetically descriptive rah-tltles. The story would sound trite in its summary here, but as enacted by Ralph Graves as the hero. Miriam Conner ns the long- suftermg heroins, Lionel IVlmors as the stubborn father, and W. J. Fer- guson a* a comedy character, it Makes for hi • ■>' -e enter- tainment. Jolo. Hoy St. George (Little Era)..Gar»Ui Hustes Muttit Moore Eleanor l*1»lde I'riMlU Trie* Mar ColUss Blanche Bt. o*or»» Unira Via Moore John Hi. i^orf Ben Hararerty Mr. Wilson Edward M&rtindal* Junius Jlru'.us...............Harry I^oraloo Mr. M •>•»!•' .......••••>. .Jierk Foaton Mr. Trice .....John Prince Montg* unorw Mun>liy Trod Warron Rictiard UansnelJ W. H. lirowu S-L (Sawyer - Lubin) Pictures produced 'Little Eva Ascends" un- der the direction of George D. Baker for release through Metro. The pieture is an adaptation of the Thomas Beer story of the same title, published in the 'Saturday Evening Post." The action centers around a barnstorming troupe play- ing -t.'ncfe Tom's Cabin." The manager is a woman, whose two sons are in the company, the younger playing "Little Eva." His objection to playing the girl p4rt causes trouble in the organisation, the mother overruling his protest. Reaching a small California town the father, deserted hy hts wife while the children weie*\ery young. is found to be the proprietor of the hotel. The younger boy, so be will not leave the show, is not informed the friendly proprietor is bis father until after the performance, which ends in disorder, when the two boys are taken under the wing of their pater and given a home on his ranch* with a cash settlement made to the wife to have the boys remain there Gareth Hughes has been ereU cast for the juvenile lead, developing sirong comedy. The supporting cast has been well laid out. As screened the story is draggy In s|h>!s. too much time being devoted to the per- formance of "I'ncle Tom's Cabin.*' In otber respects it Is Intsrasttna; and well mounted. JInrt. killed by a tragic tojcio pollsa In- digenous to Afiiui. Maurlco Elvcy, who directed the subjects, may plums himself confi- dently upon his success with the first firs shown here, EUly Nor- wood, as Sherlock, Is an Ideal selec- tion. No alien or native player sug- gests so faithfully the grim, thoughtful physiognomy the public of this country is wont to identify with the character because of the portrait broadcasted hers of William Gillette in the stage version of the same role. The photography is comparatively without flaw, the London and other British exteriors shown proving as interesting as a travelog. The spots cameraed are said to be actually those recorded in the Doyle stories. The Alexander firm has dolled up the imports in native sub-title clothes, and here and there snapped up the original action by recutting. But tlie credit ot the transfer of the adventures from tho printed form to the screeu expression be- longs to Klvey and Norwood; not for*getting St oil. The bay of the Alexander firm is advantaged by the new Holmes series Doyle has Mtarted with syndicate publications throughout the world carrying again the Sherlock advertising. Although in tVo reels, any of the five phown is big enough drama to bill as a feature. If the produc- tions are anything, they're box office stuff for fair. THE ROOF TREE K**n Thornton William Kuaselt Sail < McTurk Florence LVrabon Dorothy Harper Sylvia Iireumer <':tl.*l» ll»rp«*r Rob«>rt I>aty Basi Kowtett Arthur Morrison Mn\ n-»wsl a tt At Fremont SHERLOCK HOLMES The occasional fluke that hops up filmville with a dash of the wholly unexpected every once in a while has occurred again. Tho pictures made by Stoil of London haven't hit very high standards of concept or production since that enterprising Britisher decided to add picture making to his manifold other amusement outputs. Aecordingly when some time since it was an- nounced that the prodm-.cr had evolved 15 of the Sir Arthur A. Conan Doyle adventures for screen consumption, the informed smong the trade of his own and other coun- tries Bomehovr couldn't seem to whip themselves into any consider- able degree of enthusiasm, this de- spite that the rich Holmes material was Virtually all new soil for the camera. Stoil got craekerjack re- turns from London and British centres generally where he started to exhibit the results of about two years of studio and laboratory work on the Holmes material, but the smart ones outside the £>toll en- virons credited all v the interest to the fame of the author and the backwash the famous Sherlock Holmes fiction Feries had created. Attempts of agents on this side to open a market for the production failed. Prices offered w ere negli- gible. Just at about the time the Stoil folk had about decided there wasn't any more film business* in America the Alexander Film Cor- poration, either very astute or very lucky lately in picking out dark horses, grabbed the 13 adventures. One has but to see the iinrt five they have made ready for release, commencing Feb. J, to discover tills spread-eagling firm has put its J elamps down on a real live buy. and that whatever the judgment of 'he American market has been regard- ing the Stoil productions, this Sher- lock Holmes series must r^vl^e it. Tiie five subjects viewed comprise in their separate two-reel subjects a quintet of the most exciting mys- tery detective series thus far to iind th^ir way to tho screen. •The Man with the Twisted Lip" vibrates with the color and drama of thp printed version, with the de- nouement startlingty effective when Neville St. C'lalr, gentleman, is re- vealed as n beggar with a trick of transforming bis identity by old ciotb"s and n distorted mouth, "The Dying Detective." the Holme: adventures where a noted criminal undertakes to trap lbs de- tective, also follows the original In almost complete detail* sug testing Alias Jimmy Valentine*' In its p«»liee and underworld revelations, "The Beryl Coronet* 4 fashes its audience among London's drawing room elements, there to pit the wit of Holmes against a wilj thief, same as in the story, with <!;•• stolen heir- loom nnd it* trail seaming intinitely mors vcii\ in celluloid. % Perhaps the mo-t treis.- of the (ir.st fi v .• is The Kesi,!.•;.» l'.i t i.-nt." the mystery ol •■ sti mp.- invalid and his stranger death, told with a wealth of finesse, In type, but h< re compacted with situation^ so elec- tric with drama th.'> must living observers to nnht .iooml ntt< ntion. Further variety of subject is offered In the filming of the famous Doyle tale of "Tin Devil's Foot." the mystery story of Ihree Ntrange deaths the criminologi u i«i,.it r- takes to solve after professional crime experts have failed. iSsw situations in films or the spoken drama have affected the reviewer more gruesomely than the sight of the three victims of the singular tragedy seen sitting l»olt upright at a dinner, and such ston stark ii I Fox program feature at Loew's New York lust Friday, where it was part of a double feature program, though strong enough to stand up alone. Charles Neville Buck wrote It, Jack Dillon directed, and the BceUtirto is credited to Jules G. Kurthman. It runs about 4,£00 feet and is a corking offering, well act*»d, with considerable emotional value lent to the whole by Al Fre- mont's performance and a running start that catches the interest at once. Under an assumed name, Ken Thornton, wanted for murder, ap- pears In the Virginia mountains, where he falls in love with Dorothy. His life Is threatened for this, and he is finally shot, with the villain multiplying his troubles, but forced to stand up with liim at his mar- riage. The loyalty of the mountain folk is well brought out when Ken is taken back to stand trial for murder, but there his innocence is established by his sister's confes- sion. She shot in self-defense. Returning to bis wif<\ he learns she has been pestered by Bass, and promptly Ken tackles him. Bass' own father turning against his son when he learns the extent of his betrayals. This made an effective climax just before the usual final clinch, and Mr. Fremont made It impressive. Mi.-s Brcamer was her usual attractive self and Mr. Russell up to his nuirk. In a few brief moments Florence Deshon contrib- uted a lot. » l.rcd. JUDGMENT Rlalto Productions, Inc., Is spon- sor for this seven-reel dramatic spectacle based on Victor Hugo's story, "Mary Tudor," shown at a pre-release viewing in New York. The screen titles do not give any intimation of who produced the work, but it bears on its face all the marks of foreign origin. The star is Ellen Rirhtrr. the only plaver whose name is disclosed In the titles. As a dramatic work It has power- ful suspense, but Its technical qual- ity is full of flaws. The studio set- tings are obviously artificial and the principal characters are all theatri- cal. The make-up of Miss RInhter alone would bo enough to kill off any real illusion. She wears heavy black shadows tinder and around the eyes so startling as to suggest that she has a narrow mask across the upper part of her face. All these details injure the realism or the pieture story. But for Strong dramatic valu s the play holds absorbing interest. it deals with plot and counter plot ■n the British court during the reign of Mary Tudor, the "Bloody Mary" of history. The costume features of the display are picturesque, and when the action goes into open-air settings the effect is convincing, Also there are numerous big mob scenes to «:i\.* the story spectacular background. The great virtue of the picture is the splendid way in which Its smashing climax of suspense is craftily built wn toward llif end. The last reel and a half will hold my audi.-nee breathless, a flue. tricky bit of theatrical maneuver- ing. Lending up to this big ''punch** the story has mmv Intere ting epi- sodes and ini jib nts. and it increases iu intensit) as it proceeds, * limbs •o its crisp rlimix and cuds ojiicUh w ithout padding. A handsome Italian adventurer, Frablno, an ex-convict, posing as a Spanish grandee, wins Queen Mary's love and becomes the power behind the throne. All his enemies he causes to be executed. The Queen takes his counsel and disre- gards the advice of her ministers until the people rebel and schema politicians plot the succession £ Princess Elizabeth. Tho counsellors are helpless until tho Spanish Am! bpseador. who has learned of iv* blno's amour with a commoner Jane, betrothed to one Gilbert. ^ carver, takes a hand. The Am- bassador reveals the faithleasnS. of the adventurer to Mary, and both Gilbert and Prabino aip thrown inta the Tower and condonlned to death While the Queen makes it appear that she desires the death of her faithless lover, in reality her love l still strong and she schemes to fee* him*. ~ e * Here is where the tense climax gets its force. By the connivance of Jane she bribes the Tower jailers so that when the death warrant is signed Gilbert may be led to the execution block, his head covered in the black hood required by cus- tom, and it shall be made to appear to the clamorous populace that Frabino is being executed, means being provided in the meantime for the escape of the adventurer. By the skillful management of scenes the^audience, as well as the Queen and the girl, are left in tho dark as to which of the two, Fra- blno or Gilbert, is led to the block, and this uncertainty leaves the spectator hanging in suspense until thj last minute—as clever a sur- prise situation as has been noted on the screen in a long time. The effect is worked up with alternate views of the procession to the scaf- fold and of the agitated Queen, the public execution scene having well- handled mob incidentals. At the finale it is disclosed that Jane, in her love for Gilbert rather than Frablno, has double-crossed the • Queen and sent the adventurer te his death, saving her real lover. English love triumphs over royal trickery. Long live the common people! Red fire! Major chord from the orchestra! The film goes out as a territorial proposition, the Rialto concern hav- ing its own distributing machine in 9ix centres and selling the others on the State rights plan. Hugh. TOO MUCH WIFE Httflbasd T. Koy Barscs Wifs WamU Haw lay J** u' l.ei?h W.iyn* Itcalart farce featuring Wanda Hawley, superintended by Elmer Harris and based on a yarn by I.orna Moon. There are laughs of the hokum sort and a succession of incidents amusing in the broad sense. It should go better outside Xew York, where the Puck and Judge brand of humor still keeps ftie barber shop crowd in waiting. The story is a rathe:* crude treat* ment of the marriage question. The young wife has a hen-pecked father and a bossy mother, and re-5 solves to do differently. She lets her husband do what he pleases, but insists on doing it with him. Desperate, he takes up business as a pleasure, but, missing his com- pany, witle descends on the oificc, fires the sentimental stenop,rapher and goes to work there herself. The result is husband nearly goes craiy, and has to make an excuse of a business call to Chicago to get away on a camping trip bis wife wanted to go on too. While camping ha gets caught in a storm and washed up on an island where the Stenog- rapher also is marooned. With wifie tipped off, the result*- are imaginable. All is straightened out happily. Ordinary stuff. Tho acting is better. Mr. T'.;rnes I? - the type to succeed Bryant Wash- burn, and Miss Hawley is well known and invariably the same, sensibly efficient. Minor roles were capably handled. J.rcvf. BEYOND THE CROSSROADS A Tioneer Film Corp. release, starring Ora Carcw, featuring Mel- bourne MacDowell and W. Lawson Butt, directed by Lloyd Carllon. ' The feature is in about five reels and givjSJ the Impression it had been cut from considerably greater foot- age, thereby destroying the conti- nuity to a material degree. The story is not new. but Is of the kind that usually intrigues the patrons of popular priced cinemas-- romantic melodrama^ with oodles of suspensive interest. Tlio "iero is a modern MOflte Cristo. While prospecting in Alaska Im- strikes it rirh. Is called east W bond his mine, the villain runs away With hN wife, she returns home to die al his doorstep, and he swears 10 !»<« avenged. Villain Iris never mel him; both change their namea and eight yean later the villain u eng iged to a sweet young girl, when ler<» comes upon his trail. HiKh finance, In which the hers pretends to be his friend In ord< f to break villain Anancl ally — no»n bach in which hero narrates t )lS story to the girl— the villain :«I>!> ,, -' , "J upon the scene. Herd says: "liavw Walton, J am .lames Fordham. • have told Leila all. You are a p* nnj« less beggar, for the corporation j s bankrupt/' And then, to the '.-M • I Will be waiting f^r you In »'>' cabin," and shj follow.- the hero. The three principals are ful'J competent to hold Interest to tn finish. Miss Carew is the girl. Mel- bourne MacDowell is the heavy. , n '^ LawSOfl Butt Is the long-sufieniH. hut finally triumphant hero. «/"'"•