Variety (July 1923)

^vr.' VT ■ T>*«r»j.T ■\,''', tL' 1 -V* ■■'"'> ■:'"r»'" Thursday, July 26, 1923 PICTURES :i:s< THE VICTOR ■'^■U-i.M-ml oroducMon •Mi releaie. Directed V :j'«±i,?JJi *^Lavmmie from Qemld Beau- ?Lff 2ht ■tory. "Two B«ilB lor P««Mu». " ""Snli aj »boT« fgr th« acreen. Bc«narlo 2?'* Richard Bchayar. Harlwrt Rawlln- *!. ^tamT Half of a doubleh«ader at fi-'« New York theatre. N«w York. July ir Running tlma approximately 60 min- J{^ The princlpai players aa caught from m!l.*r^U Fltihugh Waninr "^ Cecil r -• Herbert Rawllnaon mjtAt Waltcrt Dorothy Manners '^'- Esther Rala(«n ■j^'.-scbaup JMdle Orlbbon ' tjnlversal seems to have a pen- chant for sportlhg ^torles^ and prob- IbTy the success of H. C. Wltwers Slather Pushers" series has deter- '~«ined a policy of doing: more of this gort of work. The twin reel series has been generally popular, and al- Mady U- has released a full-length feature with a baseball theme as the central motive. This is a ring yarn jLtain, and from the typewriter of «n« of the best of present-day sports itory authors, Gerald Beaumont. ' If Beaumont's series of racing, fMng and other athletic yarns have not been garnered by some producer they have been overlooking a sure- fire bet. Beaumont, as an Ink-slinger who knows the sport proposition •from the middle out and has the knack of mixing the realism with genuine literary ability. 1« in the late Charles E. Vnn Loan class. He has heen among the demand writers in the "Red Book" and similar type periodicals for years, and this story probably first saw publication there. v,. The romantic and society interest Ss thrust prominently t9 the'fore to relieve the boxing scenes for the punches, but the lat er are by no means relegated to the background. They merely add novelty to the Idea of a scion of Lord Cecil Fitzhugh Warring essaying the "leather i^sher" game as a profe«^lon. ' The younger Warring (Herbert Rawlinson), despite the flutter he Is heralded as having created in the American marriage market, is shown flat broke, despite his Immaculate attire of cutaway, silk topper and swagger stick. Similarly situated is Teddy Walters, actress (Dorothy Manners),, who Is breakfasting sumptuously In the park on 10 cents' worth of doughnuts. The couple realize each other's financial predic- ament, and for about a reel and a half the suave but penniless peer Is shown "conning" his and the girl's way through a fashionable hostelry. ^ Finally forced to look for a "posi- tion," he cannot even get a "Job," and accepts employment as waiter In a cheap eatery. There he spoofs "Porky" Schaup, a pugilist, who is a regular patron of the dining place. Porky takes offense and also the k. o. when the lord-waiter plants a per- fect haymaker on the pug's button. That starts Warring's ring career and ends the contemplated marriage of a chewing-gum king's daughter to the impecunious lordHng. Esther could stand for anything but a com- mon leather pusher. Warring de- termines t6 quit the game, but ac- cepts a final match with the same •Torky" for the middleweight title, and annexes it after a thrilling three rounds. He formally proposes to Teddy, and everything ejids happily. Rawlinson did some exceptionaHy good work in and out of the ring, and iwirticularly in the squared circle Vtood for somfe realistic punishnient, also giving more than a fair share In return. The picture should hold up alone In the daily change houses, although it was half of a double bill here. ; , Abel. / YOUTHFUL CHEATERS '' Glenn Hunter atarred In this FUm Guild fcoductlon released throuRh Hodklnson. ank Tuttle directed from Townsentl Mar- tin's story. Fred Waller, Jr., credited for l^boto«raphy and general supervision. Ran an ho>jr as half of a double feature bill at toww'B New York theatre. New York, «uly 24. "Youthful Cheater.s" as a title suggests its flapper theme, a rather worn-out thesis at this late date, but always more or less interesting. The expo.sition In this Instance "Would have the audience believe that life on a Long Island estate Is a continuous marathon of careless abandon, carnival, revelry, party and in.souciance rolled into one, In- terspereed with not a little indul- gence in intoxicants. And the young folk hardly over 25 years of age on an average! The action Is first Introduced with a flash of MacDonalds, father and Bon, in the far cast, bringing med- ical relief to the heathen tropical natives. It shifts Immediately to the Long Island di«tpict, where the ve.ssel has cast anchor in thtj sound. Edmund MacDonald has contracted what later develops to be malari.a (or wag it cholera?) and his .son Tad (Glenn Hunter) has arranged for the periodical visits of a physician, who comes over in a rowboat. Martha M.insficld, the female lead as Lois, is shown in the midst of a bacchanalian lawn revel which winds up in her determination to take a spin in the motor launch. She invites herself onto the Mac- Donald schooner and Is marooned for a number of days when the Visiting medico determines to quar- antine the vessel. Her life on ship- board permits for the romantic develonmont. , Tart Iq Invited to Loi.'j's home and the frw weeks on shore metamor- phoses him from a barefooted man to a syncopatinj^. ^elf-indlIlgent cake-eater. Lois and Tad become •"Kaj,'!^! but .seem not to take It Yery seriously. MacDonald, Sr, i eventually entera the acene and brings the youth to his reallxation. Lois, the pleasure-loving, has ex- preesed her unwillingness to confine herself to a shipboard existence with her betrothed, but contributofy circumstances in which the sleek "heavy" and one of his former amours figured also Ir the means of bringing out the 6tem stuff in her and it all ends happily. There was too much of the party stuff, indoors and out, but probably made necessary by the me.igerness of th^ basic plot. Stripped of all the fol-de-rol, the story could be packed into two or three reels easily. Hunter's work was aleo convinc- ing, as was that o the aotor per- sonating his father (name not caught from screen). Miss Mans- field's characterization was imcer- tain and undeflned and accordingly the sympathies were not always centered in her favor. The chap doing the heavy sufficed, but also did not ring true. His sleek arti- ficiality cried out that in real life there ain't no such animal. In the small daily change houses the picture could hold up by itself, although for double feature pur- poses it shouldn't miss. Chiefly com- mending the production is the fact it is consistently diverting. Abel. THE EMPTY CRADLE liurtuu King production, prcB«nteJ by Truart, with Mary Alden and Harry T. .Morey featured. Adapted from the story entitled "Cheating Wlvos." Directed by Hurfon KInar. Shown at Fox's Academy of Munio. New York, June iT-'M, on duubl« feature bitl. Time, U7 minutes. John I.Arkin Harry T. Morey Alice Ljirkln Mary Alden Buddy L<arkln Mickey Dennett Krankle I^rkln Bdwanl Qulnn Samantha Adams Marda Harris Kthel I^wis ..Madelun JjA Varne Robert L.ewia Colt Albertbon I..awyer I>ew Storm Martha Blake Rica Allen Ix>ula« "Licwia" Helen-Kow;and The idea behind the original title is that wives who fail to bear chil- dren to their husbands are cheating the latter out of their just fruits of married life. Perhaps "Cheating Wives," if it could have passed the censors, would have been a better box-office title for this picture than "The Empty Cradle." The picture is one of those rather wiahy-^ashy mclodiumatic affairs that seem to.plea.se the majority of the picture house audiences. "This picture is no better nor worse than hundreds of others that come along every year and a great many of which play pre-release runs on Broadway. Perhaps with the "Cheat- ing Wives" title this might have had a chance on Broadway, too. It is the story of a small town, where the rich live on the Hill and the middle class of workers on "the road." Those en the Hill are the social elect and the mentors of the town. Those on the Road are the drudges and the wage-earners, who make it possible for the other half to live on the Hill. Mary Alden is of the Hill set, but she falls In love with Harry T. Morey as John Lar- kln, a "poor but honest blacksmith" of the Road. They marry, and Alice Larkln is cast out by her relatives on the Hill. Through years of pov- erty and want she remains happy in ner three children—two boys and a baby girl. The baby girl is the punch. Christmas comes and there is no Santa Claus for the Larkin home; but at the same time a lawyer ap- proaches Alice Larkin and makes a proposition that he will give her 150,000 for her baby and assure her that It will have a home of plenty and be educated as a lady. Seem- ingly she accepts the offer. The girl baby is taken into the home of the Lewis family. Here the wife has lost her husband's affection because she has not brought a family into the world. Robert Lewis, Incidentally, was a great admirer of Alice before she left the Hill. His wife Is not only planning to win him back with a child, but at the same time figures to be avenged on the woman she has always looked upon as a rival. The $50,000 offer for the chil0 is made at the time when John Larkin has been blinded while experimenting with an Invention, and the wife seemingly accepts to get a specialist to restore his eyesight. When he has recov- ered he Is shown as a jealous hus- band, fearing his wife's association with the Lewi.ses as a cover for Lewis to again become friendly with her, and In a rage no fires a shot at Lewis, which strikes the child that the latter is holding in his arms. Right here Is the weakest part. The mother awakes and finds that It is all a dream, but at the same moment her wealthy aunt walks in on the scene with a lot of Christmas presents for the kids, and all Is jako for the flnl.sh. It's a lot of old-fashioned hoak, with that dream-ending thing hav- ing been done to death time and again: but after It is all over it's no worse than others have done it. Miss Alden gives a corking porf(»rm- ani f .-IS the wife, and Morty i^ the "frwe l)Ut honest'' type to perfortlnn. The kiddies are the best of the picture. Fred. ATWELL'S SPECIAL PUBLICITY Ben H. Atwel] has been engaj^rd by the Fox Film Corporation to handle the exploitation and gpr-dai publicity of the features they will exhibit nt the Time«? .Square and Central thcatrr.o, New York, next month. . SPIDER AND THE ROSE PrlaolpaJ Pletaraa praaent "Th« Spider and tba Roaa," a B. F. Zeldman produc- tion from the story by Gerald C Duffy, directed by John McDennott. Shown at Proctor's 28d St.. Naw York. Juna 2t>-27. In conjunction with vaodavlUe. Time, ti minutea. Paula Alica Lake Don Ifarcelle Richard Headrlck Don Marcallo Gaston Ulaas The Oovernor Joseph J. Dowling Mendoaa Robert MoKIm .Vaitre Ren&ad Noah B«'ery The Secretary Otis Harlan Seven reels are devoted in telling the story of an uprising against tyranny in California when Mexico governed the district. Jyst why all of tl\^ footage was necessary is a question. The story could have been told more briefly and with more satisfying results. It has been done in one way or another in pictures before and In most cases more con- vincingly than here. It is apparent the producer realiz- ing he had recruited a cast of con- siderable strength determined to make an attempt to create a big picture. He did not take irto con- sideration the story. It is such a simple tale told in so many ways before it could hardly be expected to prove engrossing when drawn out to seven reels. As it stands the production lacks interest due to its length. The story twists a..d turns losing Interest with every wiggle. Alice Lake and Gaston Glass head the cast. Tho Glass role far out- distances that of Miss Lake's. The picture is built around his char- acter with the Lake role in- significant in comparison. Glass goes in for. some Fairbanks acro- batics which he accomplishes with but a fair degree of success. There is no reality to this worli. Glass ap- parently lacking the grace for this style of acting. Some of the sup- posedly aensatlonal scenes of the production in which b« is the Jead- Ing figure are ridiculous. Robert McKim comes in for some generally good all around work In a villain role. His work adds much to the worthwhile side of the feature with Noah Beery and Otis Harlan dis- playing their usual ability in roles of less importance. Joseph J. Dowllng handles a weak part ac- ceptably. J In the production end the pic- ture contains all of th% necessary atmosphere for a Spanish tale of this order. The country In which the picture was taken undoubtedly is the same as the locale for the story. The direction in all prob- ability experienced little difllieulty in picking locations. The studio work is of minor Importance. The story centers around Don MatccUo, the son of the Mexican governor of California. The gov- ernor through the efforts of Men- dosa, a double-crosser in everything he attempts, rules with an iron rod. The people are planning to fight the oppression when the son Joins their ranks. His love for a girl forces him to tell her of the plans. She unintentionally lets the secret out which results In the arrest of the conspirators. From then on it is one battle after another with Mcndosa appointed governor through trickery. The youth turns the tables by releasing the prisoners from jail after he had been thrown from a cliff and been thought dead. With the return of their leaders the people gain control of the situation and the old governor is reinstated and everything is serene with the love angle also brought to happy ending. Stories of this nature were used for two reelers In the old days. Hart. XOTHES WITH B0T8 Los Angeles, July 25. A couple of millionaires, chap- eroned by their mother, are making the rounds of the picture studios here looking for extra work. They are Drexel Blddle and his brother, Craig Blddle. Jr. / Their mother evidently Is keeping her eye on the boys so that none of the "screen vamps" grab them off.. MORE HOLLYWOOD SIYOECES Los Angeles. July 85. Renee Adoree. who married Tom Moore u little more than a year ago, doesn't want <^ Moore any more and is suing for a divorce. . ^ *^ , •.:^'--' Another picture star wfio wants to be freod from the bonds of matri- mony is Helene Chadwlck, who is suing William Wellman for divorce, charging desertion. XIRKWOOD'LEE WEBBIHO Los Angeles, July 26. The marriage of James Kirkwood and Li la Lee may occur almost any' day. Th^y have procured the necessary license. '^ Gloria 8wanto/i*s Salary Tie-Up Los Angeles, July 25. Olorla Swanson can't draw her" weekly pay envelope on the Lasky! lot. a« it has been tied up by an attorney, who alleges the picture girl owes him $7,600 for services rendered. She is making an appeal to tha courts to release her money. •it-v, I^ADGE KENNEDY makes a triumphant return to the screen. after two years' absence, in this love- comedy. Monte Blue, Pedro de Cordoba, Vincent Coleman and Dore Davidson are in the cast. Adapted 1>v Rufus Steele from the play, **Dear Ale," by Luther Reed and Hale Hamilton. Directed by Henry Kolker, Read the Critics: ** *Thc Purple Highway' is clever, entertaining and enjoyable. Iht idea is diffcr- cnl and U very well acted—."NEW YORK AMERICAN:— —. ' ^ v ':,..:,.,; .\, '''%; 1/ •'Good cast. Good entertainment."—EVENING WORLD. ^ ; * * "Refreshing. Mij-s Kennedy hae never done anythint? more dclitfhtful.'* '• —MORNING IKLEGRAPH. '.■''.: "Wlioevtr te.'cctcd this cast certainly shut his fyr% and •ai<l, *1 lanv? the expeasc.* ** • Harriettc Undcrhill in NEW YORK TRIBUNE. (Above is 3-co). Preit Sheet Ad. Mats and electros at Exchanges) jX (