Variety (November 1922)

4t PICTURES ^\i ^ . : ai »- Friday, November 17, 1922 WHEN DAHGEB SMILES Albert B. Bnilth presents this VlUcraph %eattem aubjcrt starrlnf William Dunoan. Supporting oonipanx headpd by KJIth John- son. Story by John B. Clymer. Director, Mr. Duncan. At LKJew's New York. Oct. 28. Familiar type of western melo- drama with usual trimmings of gal- loping horses and rough riding hero, but in this case having an additional •lement of romance. The locale Is New Mexico or tome such part of nation. Robert Ellis plays the young man who is to be the victim of her wiles, the thread of the story hinging on the fact that the girl really falls in love with the man she is supposed to vamp to his ruin, with the result that after he has Hlsned away his share of the land she wins back the papers for him in time to prevent the company taking over the lands. Prank Currier plays the venerable and excitable old Spaniard to per- fection, and the two heavies of the cast are done by Robert Schable and I where there la a ' Lewis Dean, both of whom give fin The romantic J'^^** performances. Miss Allison looked the Southwest. Spanish population. •lement In the story gets some pic- torial quality from the Spanish (or maybe it's Mexican) heroine played eplendidly by Edith Johnson, a con- ■plcuously beautiful actress with a knack of screen pantomimic elo- quence. Duncan Is the conventional type of the western story formula, that Is to say, an impossible super-man. The picture is full of passages in which he single handed gets the bet- ter of half a dosen husky villains and assistant villains, all of them armed to the teeth and the hero having only his miraculous wits and his bare hands. After a few of these incidents the performance of the heroine when ^she shoots a rope to pieces at what 'lo(^cs like a distance of a quarter of a mile with one shot from her trusty .46 Is merely a casual incident in a welter of impossibilities, although It did get an incredulous giggle at the showing on the New York roof Saturday evening. These westerns seem to satisfy a certain class of fans who like their melodrama done with a scoop shovel instead of a trowel and for that clientele the picture does well enough. Duncan is the mining engineer traveling through the west and dropping in for diversion at a vil- lage dance. Stepping aside from the festivities, he encounters in the woods the daughter of a rich Span- ish rancher, barred by her aristo- cratic standing from mixing with the boys and girls of t!ie cattle range and holding a solitary dance all by herself. Here starts the romance. There is a holdup near the scene. decidedly pretty on the screen and showed to great advantage in the dancing scenes, she as least stepping when it was necessary to do so. In the emotional portions of the story she was equally at ease and handled herself capably. From a production standpoint the picture looks as though considerable CALL OF THE EAST London, Nov. f. This International Artists' film, a Bert Wynne production, is of the type which makes one wonder why anyone ever went to the expense.of making it It is very ordinary ih story, in production and in acting. Its great charm in the eyes of peo- ple who do not care for entertain- ment too heavily doped in tragedy and problems will be its setting, much of which is excellent, and in- cludes a good sand storm effect. Jack Verity, meeting an old friend. Burleigh, in Egypt, learns how an accident the latter has had in the hunting field is rAponsible for times when he is not responsible for his actions, but that he has married for companionship in spite of his mental instability. Verity returns the confidence by telling of an affair he has had with a girl money had been spent on it. there whom ho loved, but left on finding being two or three rather big scenes that stand out. It is a picture that you won't go wrong in playing. Fred, THE JILT Universal myntcry-dramatlc feature, slar- rinit Matt M«»or^. Story by R. Itamsey. L«^w's American. Nov. IS. "The Jilt" is far away from the style and aim of Universal product. Instead of a rip-roiirlng action drama we have a |>sychological problem play, quiet in its acting and with all the dramatic foix:e in the under-the-surface progress of the story. In some unfxplainable way the play is Intensely gripping, with suspense maintained at the high point for the ingenious climax. The I trouble is that the preparation off the central situation is rather tlre- soone. / The photography is supremely fine, with .splendid landscapes, bits of rural roads, and interiors of a picturesque Southern mansion, all done in the best plctorl.tl manner. The acting is as good as the back- grounds. Even the most trifling she was married. Of course this girl is his friend's wife. They meet and find that love is by no means dead. This love leads to Burleigh at- tempts to shoot his wife, whom he suspects of an intrigue with his friend. Then in remorse he creeps out Into the desert, dies in a sand storm and leaves the lovers to find happiness. The scene in which the demented Burleigh shoots at his wife's reflection in the mirror, thinking it is she. is the best thing in the picture. The photography is universally good. Neither Doris Eaton or Wal- ter Tennyson show much greater hiatrionie ability than they did In •TeU Your Children." Both of them are^tifP and amateurish. The rest of an economical cast does Its best. International Artists seem to have a penchant for "problem" films of one sort or another, but they forget that getting such material over re- quires a hundred per cent, better acting and production than does the ordinary story. Qenius alone can excuse nastiness, and not often then. Oore. BRIDGE OF SIGHS London. Nov. 7. The Unlone Cinematographica Italiana can always be relied upon for good fUma of strong entertain- ment value. This Is no exception to the. rule and has the advantage of showing Italy's pet strong man actor in quite a new type of role and pe- riod. The story is somewhat com- plicated but is well told and the climaxes are well workettHip. If the film has a fault it is that the pro- ducer, having started, off with his hero as a gallant of the perioit. sud- denly remenvbers his reputation for "stunts" and put them in ^d liMtum. This, however, will only serve to in- crease the value of the picture with the popular audiences it is intended for. Sansonia^is still the Sansonia they know, whether in modern at- tire or in sock and buskin. Roland the Strong marries Leo- nora, the daughter of Dandola. but is soon imprisoned on suspicion of having killed Impcria. the lover of a Venetian courtesan. This is part of a plot to make Fodcari Doge instead of the strong man's father. The plot is successful. After five years' In- carceration Roland escapes and sets off in pursuit of vengeance. Leonora in the meantime has married Ro- land's rival, Altieri, but her heart is still faithful to her first husband. In thn end Roland la avenged oa all his enemies who dia various un« pleasant deaths and Is reunited to Leonora. Many of the settings ar« very fine and attention has been paid to well-known Venetian land* marks, such as the Doge's Palace, the piU&panile of St Mark's, the Bridie of Sighs, etc. The crowd work shows skilful stage manage- ment. The acting Is not so good as usual in Italian films. Qore. 'KNIGHTHOOD' SUCCESSOR Nazimova's ''Salome'* Dua at Cri« terion About Jan. 1 Hiram Abrams has closed a deal with the Famous Players whereby he will take over the Criterion the- atre for four weeks w'th an option of six additional weeks, following the run there of "When Knighthood Was in Flower." The latter pro- duction is to be kept at the Criterion until the first of the year. * Another arrangement closed for a Broadway house was the deal made by the Film Booking Office for the Robertson-Cole feature. "The Still Alarm." to go into the Astor theatre on Jan. 8 for four weeks. "BLOOD AND SAIO)'' SCORES London, Nov. 16. Famous Players production of "Blood and Sand" from the Ibanez novel of that name, starring Ro- dolph Valentino, was splendidly re- ceived at the Scala Monday (Nov. 13). episodes are done In an Impressive - - I naturalness of manner that goes a Duncan is suspected and we get a .^^^ ^^y to establish the illusion of reality reel or so of pursuit. Meanwhile. | the senorita's papa has betrothed the girl td a prosperous American rancher, but the girl protests that she loves only the stranger of the woodland dance episode. Duncan and the girl meet again, but he does not recognize her and in pique she plots his murder. By mistake the assassin's blow falls upon an Innocent party. Again Dun- can is suspected of the crime and there is more chase, ending in his An inexcusable error of Judgment was the device of making the heavy a returned soldl^ of the great war. He might just as well have been a scientist made blind by a laboratory accident or anything else. The ex- pedient of making the vengeful vil- lain a blind veteran gains nothing and arouses resentment. It is^nly a matter of titles, anyway, and may have been made so In the edfting of the film. If it wa.s an afterthought capture. . He is about to be lyncifed j j^ ^^^ ^ mighty bad one and should when the girl, her attitude chanfje* toward the hero by understanding the situation, brings about his re- Some of the complications arc In- genious in a crude way and the story certainly moves swiftly. That's about all that can be said for It Rttsfc. WOMAN WHO FOOLED HERSELF Sdw«rd A. MacManua' production, wHttan and directed by Charlea I>oku*. with May Alllaon and Robert KlUa featured. A melo- dramatic ofterlnr In flre rcel«. ahown at T,oew'B New York. N. Y. Releaeed throufftr Patbe by Associated Bxhibltors. Eva L«e May Alhspn Fernanda Pennington Robert Bills Don Fernanda Caaablanca.. .Prank Currier Cameron Camden Robert Schable Bban Dumham Lewis Dean Padre Rafael Arcos This Is the first of a series of Edward A. MacManus productions being made In Porto Rico. Because of the locale of production the first story which Charles A. I^ogue de- veloped is laid in New York and Central America. As author and director Logue has done a worth- while Job. The picture has May Allison and Robert Ellis as the feat- ured players of a good cast. The subject is one that will stand up anywhere under any conditions and It is strong enough to be given more than a single day run. As a matter of fact, it could well have stood up • with some of the pre-release pro- ductions that are getting the Broad- way showings In the big housed. In photography and action it is far and away ahead of the general run of pictures that play the Loew houses without first having had a pre-release showing. And in story there is nothing that the average motion picture fan could ask for that isn't In the picture. Pos.flibly a slight comedy relief might have been added to the other good qualities. Ml.«<8 Alli.son has a corking role as the showgirl out of work who lends herself to a Central American trip as a star dancer for one of the big cafes to snare the grandson of a wealthy old Spanlph rancher, so he will sell hlg Interest In the estate to a large American exporting combi- be corrected before the picture goes any further. George (Moore) is the blind sol- •dler, in love with Rose (Marguerite de la Motte) but bitterly morose at his affliction, a bitterness which gets into his relations with his fiancee, whom he is constantly nag- ging at her Imagined jieglect due to his helplessness. He is torn by groundless Jealousy, charging the girl with keeping up correspondence with Sandy, a former sweetheart. Rose has been drawn to the war victim by sympathy which she has mistaken for love, and decides to break off the engagement. Just at this time Sandy returns from Cob- lenz, and the betrothal having end- ed, Sandy and Rose are much to- gether. George, apparently recon- ciled with the broken engagement, goes abroad. Rose learns from a friend in Paris of a wonderful sur- geon who has worked miracles on the blind and writes to him, de- scribing George's case, asking if there l.s a chance for him. George returns home unexpected- ly and the three young people, George, Rose and Sandy, continue their friendly relations, George and Sandy going on long country motor excursions together. During one of these Rose becomes worried with a premonition of evil and this grows to active terror when they have not returned late at night. The atmos- phere of impending evil here* is splendidly worked up. At iCTigth George returns alone, describing a mysterious assault upon Sandy as they were stalled on a lonely country road, he (George) being forced by his blindness to sit quietly In the car while thugs at- tacked Sandy and carried him away. This recital is capitally screened with occasional fadebacks to show the events as George tolls them, and the mystery grows tense. But at this juncture Rose receives a letter from the I'aris surgeon explaining that he had operated on George a month bef(H-e and restored his sight. The deception of the embittered man is disclosed in an instant, and the iiappy ending Is brought about by the reappearance of Sandy, wounded but alive, and the perspec- tive of the young people restored to ench other, while George departs broken and disgraced. Rush. ^Sp/iia^^ Look BelterandWear Longer UN BONNER RESIGNS IJri llonncr, who hais been adver- tising manrt^er for the Al Ijlchtman Corp., resigned last Saturday. He had been with the organization .since its formation. No successor has been appointed, with the possibility the present publicity man will take over the advertising end. ■A ' *. 'i •■•» Alan Dale in American aayt: "It was a pleasure to watch Miss Brady's work. 8hs is at charming as ever — she it more charming. 8he it real* ittically emotional, animated and fascinating. She dominantly interesting. 8h« ntvr lett down. Every time I toe her in a picture I like her better." "The picture than the play." it far better -N. Y. Herald. A From the play hy Harry Chapman Ford « Scenario by Margaret TumhuU . Directed by Victor Fleming TTiU U the 3-col. adv. Mats and electros at exchanges Ct Q>aramount Q>icture "Full of romance and dra- matic incident.'* —N. Y. OaU, Fi\MOUS PLAYERS *ASKYCORPORATION — AOOLDH 2UNOR. a>.,.W.^t •nrw TOfia ctrv "^^OjT. cvv.^Sn