Variety (August 1923)

■T^^ssr. •r-T'f'h"''^'!^" ■-*?WftiJF^">TWP,?»-,S»ipv7T)(» .tfSB^T. P IC t U R E S .1 ■'..<7X'-:^'^:!^'fmrt^:wrfiK}^ ' v^-^v Thursday. August 80, 1923 VARIETY'S BACK REVIEWS Through requttU from oxhibilor. «»king datet of P^b^i**'"" "' Viff-ioty oonUining a raviow, thio notieo is o'VO". to tho offoot that any Variety reader wishing to know tho data of tho paper carrying any review, will be furnished the date or datea upon application by wire or ntail. ... , ■ i. j If desired a copy of the review will be also furnished. ASHES OF VENGEANCE Plr«t Nlllonal piclnrf, pn»<-ntM by Jo- •eph Hchfnck «nJ .larrliig Norma Talma.lK''^ I>lracte<l by p-rank Lloyd, from tho script •r H. B. SimerYlU*, with Tony OaU'UfJ '"« pbotorrxpher. At Uie ApoUo. New York. f^Jeotlon tlm». lU inlnut». _.h.,,^-, Toctond de Brcux Norm* Titmiadlte Rupert <1. vntac £2"'""' Tf ™ Swfl-oun Wallace iwrr C»tl»rln» d4> ModJcl •'"'•"■•.^'"SsSCi'f.l^ll JJarJot'. aunt <N«lre McDowell ComttTd* IS Roch* Courtenay Foote g^^«r.u. •.-.-.^."i^rcJir.; A pretty picture not emphasized with action but heW up by the work of Miss Talmadge and Conway Tearle. Split Into two parts the film la at the Apollo a» a "special ahowlng." _ ^ The fllm Is another costume effort and picturesque 11 nothing else. One interior ol the upper strata of mediaeval Franco attending a ball at the King's palace was worthy of note, and as It la used to put the atory under way It becomes doubly effective. Many ot tho outdoor scenes are attractive with the remainder ol the Interiors appropriate and upon occasions, lavish. The picture lacks nothing In pro- duction with the photography giv- ing It lull value except In one In- stance where tho lighting Is ex- tremely bad. That la when Tearle Is In bed, with Miss Talmadgo watching over him. Lloyd. In directing, seems to have obtained all the results possible from the story. It Is always pleas- ing to the eye and in a drowsy man- er that would be perfect to watch were one Installed in a logo chair at the Capitol. The story deals with a lifelong feud between tho Vrleao and Roche lamlUes. Rupert de Vrleac (Tearle) engages In a duel with the Comte de la Roche, who succumbs to his mercy, but Rupert allows him his life as a result ot an outburst of Kitlrlcal generosity. The same night the attack u^on the Huguenots is launched and the Comte returns the favor by saving Rupert, an avowed member, and his tetrothed from the mob under condition that the Vrlenc representative will become Ma servant for a period ol five years. « The bondage becomes effective Im- mediately with the meeting ol Toe- land de Breux (Miss Talmadge), the Comte's sister, and Rupert coming as a matter ol course. While In the rolo ol acrvant Rupert learns of hid flancco's marriage to another. Numerous heroic deeds have en- deared him to Toeland and the finale Is reached when the Comte prematurely gives him back his freedom as a reward and the als- ttr and Rupert declare their love for each other. The cast has turned In a •ice piece ol work, but it Is Miss Tal- madge and Mr. Tearle who pre- dominate. Wallace Beery as the cowardly Duo de Tours Is the only other member to gain particular- at- tention and this he does emphati- cally. Bkio. CHILDREN OF DUST JLrthur Jacobs prennts a Frank Bonagc Auction. Btory by Trlnlam Tupper. ■t National, distributor. Projeetlon time mJnutos. Featured In the cast are Wohtnr Walker, Pauline Oaron and Lloyd ibVlMib At Froctor's S8tb Straet, Au(. 2S. flowers lor his mother's grave and Is seized and beaten by the old gar- dener. Little Cella Van Houghton, daughter of an aristocratic family, witnesses the beating and goes to the waifs defense. The two chil- dren become fast friends, and young TerwUUger Is given free use ol the garden and becomes the fast friend of the ancient gardener. It is Indi- cated that the children are childish lovers, but Cella Is supposed to be pledged to jftiother young aristo- crat, last of the wealthy Liver- mores. Cella has a gold coin which the trio bury while playing pirate. Sub- sequently the treasure la missing from Its burial place and suspicion falls upon both boys. TerwUlIger'a dream Is to have BO express wagons, each drawn by a horse named Cella. We pass over the years to the youth of the children, when the war breaks out. TerwlUlger never dares hope for Cella's hand, and In order to further the wedding ol the girl and his rival confesses to the theft of the gold coin. The war breaks out and both boys enlist. There are some mediocre passages of trench fighting and TerwlUlger la believed to be killed. LIvermore returns home to find the old gardener grieving for the supposed death ol TerwlUlger and they try to comlort him. The gar- dener Is troubled by the suspicion ol the boy's theft and plants a coin near the same spot to clear his memory. But In digging up the gardener's gold piece they come upon the original coin, which ab- solves TerwlUlger from blame. At the same time TerwlUlger hlmsell comes home, but no satisfactory ex- planation ol his reported death and resurrection Is ever made. At any rate, the declaration ol love comes promptly, and lor the fiplsh they add a dream ol the old gardener's. In which he bluffs his way Into Taradise by reciting to St Peter a history to show that sometimes to lie Ife saintly. This touch Is a gracelul bit ol comedy, but the story it is designed to set off Is trivial and dull. Rush. every meal, A d« MIHa or » Nellan might make an extremely effective bit ol human interftat business out ol this, but in "Daytime Wive*" it dwindles away Into a trite and artl- flclal nothlngneoe. Physically, the film holds two fair thrllla—a flght^ on the top of atructur* for a sky- scraper and the eavinf in of the latter after the beams become loosened. Some masterful photog- raphy Is shown at this spot. A little sandy-haired, pug-nosed devil of some four or five years and bearing the bright green name of Mickey O'Ban runs away with the acting honors. Not a Jackie as yet, but as cute looking In his own mis- chievous way, and certainly oa worthy runner-up to the one and only Coogan. Derelys Perdue la absolutely colorless as the heroine. She Is pretty, but If she Is a good example ot the independent, re- aourcelul business woman, most men will prefer the petted darlings ol the powder puff, Wyndham Standing does well as the husband, and Qrace Darmond, wearing lovely clothes, makea the most out ol her ridiculous role ol his wife. A new- comer named Kenneth Gibson Is the best looking villain to be Imagined. He tries bard to be mean and churl- ish id smokes Innumerable cigar- ettes, but his handsome lace, par- ticularly because It lacks the symbol ol all movie desperados, a mustache, puts him in IJne lor de- cent, upstanding parts Instead ol nasty ones. Tho rest ol the cast, including Craig Blddle, Jr., as a workman, have little to do. Dlecrlminatlng filmgoers will balk at this one, but with the sensational played up it will prohably get by at the cheaper neighborhood houses. TO THE LAST MAN Laaky presentation and Paramount plc- tura featurloK LM:)ia Wilson and Richard Dlx. From th« atory of the same name by Zane Orey, adapted by Dorla Schroo- der with Victor Fleming the director. Photographers, Jean Howe and Bert Bal- drldffe. At the Rialto. New York, Aue. 26. Ronnlns time, 71 minutes. Jean Richard Dlx Bllen Jorth tvOla Wilson Colter Noah Beery Qaaton label • Robert KdcKon Blue •...Frank Campeau L.e« Jorth Fred Huntley Daggs Edward Brady tilmm Bnica ■ Jean Palette Guy Lenard Clapham Bill Ouy Oliver Mrs. Guy Winifred Greenwood DAYTIME WIVES Proeentcd by F. B. O. and writlin by Lenore Coffee and John Goodrich. Di- rected by Emlle Chautard. Photographed by Lucian Andriot. At the Central the week o( Aug. 26. RuqdIo( time, SO mln- utes. Ruth Holt Derelys Perdue Eawood Adams Wyndham Standing Franclne Adams Grace Darmond Michael O'Shea..) Mickey O'Ban The foreman Eddie Hearn His wife Katherlne I.»wle Larry Vsientlns ...Kenneth Gibson Perry Martin William Conklln krodui Ttnt : This story is thin atuff to spread prer mor» than five reels. It has ^me agreeable light comedy touches, but there Is no substance to the !»hoIe. The work belongs In that lelass ol pictures which try to make jlhelr principal appeal on what ahould be incidentals. It la all well ianough to elaborate upon a good •tory with side lights and Interest- ing detail, but they only heighten the effect ol a good story- they can- not make the story Itscll. Intrins'Io Interest Is the essential, land that Is the element absent trovn this effort. It la conceivable that ''Children ol tho Dust" might have made an entertaining novelette, but Jt is a distinctly dull picture because It has not enough suspen.<!e or ac- tion. Tou could boil the live reels down to the bare statement that It is the history of a puor boy and a rich girl who overcome social ob- - ataoles and make » bappy love inatch. belped pa by ft bumble old I irardener. In the screen tclllnif ther« are beveral touches that are remindful ■ ol O. Henry's literary tricks. They are humorously managed and make ' excellent sldo lights, but the story itself doesn't hold together In con- vincing fashion. The first two reels deal with the childhood ot the prin- I cipals. Toung TerwilliKer Is the 'nard of a drunken triickuKni. He breaks into a private ganUn to get Mediocre pictures that try their hardest to be entertaining are some- times excusable, but mediocre pic- tures that endeavor to moralize have committed one of tha most heinous sins of fllmdom. No audi- ence wants to be bored and rebuked at the same time. "Daytime Wlvea" does just that, and, to make It worse, the sermon it preaches ts a very hall-beortod aod unoonvinclng one. With an jelabomte production and the best to be had in direction and casting, something might have been accompll.shed with this film, as its story holds inherent poesibllltles. But any original twists or ideas In the plot have been burled under the limitations and handicaps tbat bind the typical third-rate production. The direction is ordinary ■* best, the acting uneven and tb» eontl- nulty and sub-titles, both Important factors In a picture ot tUa deMrlp> tlon, particularly bad. A "daytime wife," 1r« iir* in- formed, la a working (Irl, not mar- ried at all, whose duty K Is to look after her employer's affairs, as ell good business women should. The reason lor the queer appellation is never made quite clear, but the point evidently la to contrast her with the glided butterfly ol a regu- lar spouse whose sole ambition seems to be to spend the money earned with great effort and strug- gle by the husband and his "day- time wile" assistant. In this par- ticular story it Is the secretary that takes the erring wife's place when a crisis arises, and it Is this same secrrtary that brings tho now re- pentant wile back to her forgiving husband. Naturally the business girl hates to relinquish the man she loves, but she is comforted— and hrre la the most glaring In- coneistcncy ol a horribly Incon- sistent picture—by landing the "pro- gresuivo young banker" whom she has met for the first time that even- ing and to whom she drops an un- mistakably insinuating hint about marriage. Aa a aide plot there Is introduced the troubles of a building foreman and his wife, tl.e kind who patron- izes the delicatessen store before A well made, feudal, western that should click on the strength ol its story and the work ol the cast. Authenticated as having been act- ually "shot" in the Tonto Basin, Arlzonai, where the tale in bookform was located, tho exteriors seemingly not only bear out the claim but are ol Intrinsic value lor their beauty. Fleming, in directing, has trailed pretty close to the narrative aa laid down when a novel and outside of permitting a few overly dramatic subtitles to get by has turned In a creditable piece ol work as his bit. And the photographers have well taken care ol their end. ■^ho story is that ol a family leud, between the labels and Jorths. transplanted Irom Texas to Arizona and carrying on until only the boy and girl are left as representatives ol their native kin. The clinch finish caUs off the strife after much gun play, horsemanship and pic- turesque falls off bigh mountain rldgea. There can be no wall because of a dearth of action In this one for the fllm teems with it Individual combats, a bar-room gunplay free for all, chases, and a well executed avalanche give some Idea of what goes on during the 7B minutes the picture Is on. Neither is that to say that the film Is wild and hectic. It's not. The action carries along nl ely, gaining momentum on the way to reach Its conclusion without having lost a member of the witnessing audience. The feature Is "pie" for all the younger picture theatre-goers throughout the country while the older members should alsg get a "kick" out of this fast moving vehicle. Richard Dlx, as Jean Isbel. records favorably as the youngest, fighting halfbrced son of the famUy with MIrs Wilson In the role of Ellen Jorth neatly taking her share of the burden. Others to stand out In the cast are, Robert Edeson, Noah Boerr and Winifred Green- wood who made a small bit stand out tor all tbat it was worth. Bkio. minus the neeeaaary-Value la atwT to carry >t throng, and baa only the work ot Jack Holt to redeem It Fitzmaurlce'a praaentation llkudona he baa attempted by abeer atreagtb of aettlnga and eiotbaa to put thla one across, and while the lavish In- teriors Impress and the clothes of Misa Negri make the women talk, it doesn't alter the fact that a Monday night audience at the Rlvoll laughed The wlUuI, thoughtless and spoiled characterization Miss Negri was given would seem to have been somewhat beyond her registering powers. Where the role should creute^ a sympathetic atmosphere there Is none, with Just the opposite becoming more true than otherwise. Miss Negri throws upon the screen a distinctively hard personality, which, when she Is vamping, is fool- proof, but when It should create pathos there Is a direful lack that In roles of this sort is courting disaster. Along the usual "society" lines is tho story, bounded on one side by a fake Hindu prince loaded with pieces of eight who continues to chase the girl after her marriage, and on the other by a poor, Ameri- can husband who must wait for "an important deal" to go through be- fore he can give his wife her ac- customed luxury. Between the two the tale skips from a few Interiors of South America to Paris, to New York and thence Long Island. It's of little Interest outside of the star's flash costuming and a sincere ef- fort on the part of Holt to Biake the conglomeration realistic. A courtroom scene caused a gale of laughter which swept the house. There's one of those Included In the continuity, .a plea of guilty by the wife to release her husband, who would shield her, the branding ol the girl by the Hindu, who retali- ates by shooting him, not fatally, and the riot In court when the wife revetfls the brand upon her shoul- der which sets the mob upon the phoney prince. The latter incident was the laugh. Outside of Holt the remainder of the cast hardly qualifies, although Charles de Roche Is allotted special billing but doesn't rate it. Skig. SHATTEEED REPUTA-nONS Released by the Lee Bradford Corporation and starring Johnny Walker and Jackie Saunders. This In all the information given during the fllm or on the advertleinp sheeta. At the Circle Aug. 21 aa halt of/«. double bill with "Th* Untaroeable." nutinlng time, 61 minutes. 1 The director and author may be flattered on their Judgment If their names have been purposely left off the billing. To be associated with It In any way Is a left-handed honor, because It Is a lemon. "Usually there is some redeeming feature, but in this case even the least critical will search in vain. The story, dcereplt with age, is of the loving sister shielding the erring, misguided brother in order not to bring grief to the father who wor- ships his only son as above sin. A sordid bit Is near the end, when the brother and the villain who hap taught him to steal fall over a cliff together after a struggle and are shown lying mangled at the bottom. The Eccneg suppo-ed to be snapped at a fashionable summer beach look like Hoboken on a nasty day. Sub- titled and attempted bits of local color are equally dull. The escape of the brother from the prison chain- gang is one of the crudest pieces of action ever filmed. There are ,no shots that show any photograj/hic originality. Everything Is uniform- ly bad, and the acting is no excep- tion. Jackie Saunders plays th^ lead. Miss Saunders would be smarter If going in for character stuff. Johnny Walker does not make an appear- ance until the fllm is half over, and then he is utterly misca.st as the righteously indignant hero. The rest of the cast is fully down to the general standard of the pictiue. pected of thefts and is arrested. Iq the meantime his eon. who has foU lowed the old man'a footsteps In the postal service, performs his act ot heroism, and for a' finale they have O'Brien visiting Fostmaster-GeneraT' Harry New in Washington to receive from his hands the praise that la the only reward for a faithful servant ot the government. They show the ifostoflflce building In Washington ^or this episode, and really get Posstmaster-General New to pose for the short shot. That is the picture's closing surprise. The special purpose may be dis- closed in the quotation from the New York postofflce front, "Neither storm nor rain nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," and frequent dlssert.atlons on the worthiness of the hard-work- ing postal carriers and the meager- ness of their reward. < All of which Is true; but it does not help to make a commonplace screen story especially thrilling to the general public which demands a thrill and a kick in its screen material. Ru*h. DON'T MAREY FOR MONEY - 3. P. Fim>nian production released by L. Lawrence Webor and Hubty North. Story by Hope I.,orT>lnr and Ixiuls Duryea LiOiKhton: directed by Clarence L>. Brown. Shown at the CentraJ. New York, week ot Auk. 10. Kunnint time, CS minutes. Pete Smith House Pe<ere Marlon Whitney Rubye de Remer Edith Martin Allcen Prtnsia Crane Martin., Cyril Ch&dwlek Rose Graham Christine Mayo The Inspector Wedsewood Nowall Amos Webb George Nichols An "Explorer" Hank Miann Alec Connor Charles Wetlesley This ^e one of the stereotyped society dramas with a little of the underworld element thrown In to make It effective. AU of the regula- tion tricks and .bits ot business that have proven successful In the past are Included so that the picture la in reality comprised of a series of scenes that have proven themselves surefire in the past, and therefore cannot go wrong. The result is a picture that Is ceitain to pleaee tho average dyed-ln-the-wool movie fan in the majority of houses. It is the story ot the good-looking girl who weds wealth, falLs in the clutches ot the smooth heavy, who Is in reality trying to compromise her so that he can pin a. shake-down on her. The hunband walks In on the scene as the heavy is getting In his strong . work, but Instead ol rushing In and beating him up he takes other means to revenge him- self and to make the home-wrecker look foolish In the eyes of the wile. The success of the scheme makes the heavy determined to get square through the medium ot a little gun play, but his accomplice, a girl blackmailer, struggles with him and the gun goes off killing him. Th^n the wife and husband both walk in, and each believing that the other committed the. crime, take the blame on their own shoulder.n, with the result that when the real cause ol the death is discovered there 11 * recuncUlatlon at the final fade-out. Regulation meller hoak lairlX well presented. Fred. i ^LOYAL LIVES Whitman Bennrtt produotlPn, featuring Fairc Boiney, Mary Carr, Tyrone Power and WHllam Collier, Jr. Whitman Ben- nett directing from the script by Charlee Itlch. Projection time, C3 minutes. At Ptoctor'B 23U St.s New York, Aug. 27-29. THE CHEAT Presented by Adolph Zukor under tlv Paramount banner starrlnK Pola Negri and featuring Jack Holt. The story, by Hector TumbuM, adapted by OuUla Bergei«, wltli Oeorgs FUsmaurlca directing. Arthur Miller, photographer. At Rlvctl, N«rw York, Aug. 27. Running time, 78 mine. OarmeJlIa de Cordoba Poila Neurl Dudley I>rake Jack Holt Oiauds Mace, alias Prlnoe Rao-Slnsh.... diaries de Roche T.ncy ITodfre t. ..i... .Dorothy Cumming Jack HfKlge Robf^rt Bchablo Uoiaca Drake Cliarles Stevenson Another mark for Paramount so far as production Is concerned, but It doesn't mean a thing for the star. Pola Negri falls to convince in her characterisation of a South Ameri- can heiress. Point the arrow toward the boys which has the underline, "Go Get 'Em," sot up a camera, and thla foreign belle is able to produce with Intelligent direction founded upon a sustaining tnle. But this particular rcIraKi h One of those Indefinite Independ- ent pictures. In this Case the pro- ducer has assembled a notaMe cast, but the story Is weak. It Is devoted to the exploitation of humble, faith- ful workers in the American postal service—a sentimental and sympa- thetic tale of humble, commonplace lives, but without any striking situa- tions. The punch of the picture Is a flght In a railway mall car, in which young Collier battles with a brigand, throwing him through the car door as they are crossing a trestle and leaping Into the water for a life- and-death struggle In defense of the mall bag. Except for this melo- dramatic Incident the story Is drab and dull Long pnR.?agcs are devoted to the humble life of the faithful letter Cfirrler, O'Brien, and his farnfly, which rciAains poor but contented in Uncle Sam's service, while O'Brien's pal, Mike Brady, goes Into the mail order business and piles up a fortune. Postal thieves rob the malls of Brady's remlttartces, and on^ of the marked stolen bills ' cornea taito O'Brien's possession. He Is bus- HARBOR LIGHTS ^ Produced by the Ideal Films. Ltd., with Tom Moore starred. Film version of tlie English drama by Ocorge R. Sims ana Henry Pettltt. Presentei by Assoclatea Exhibitors and dlstributel by Paths Br- chan^e. Directed by Tom TerlES. Shown as half of double feature bill at Vom'B New York, Aug. 21. Running time M minutes. Lieut. David Klngsley Tom Voors Dora Nelson Isobel Elsont Llna Nelson Annette Benson Oapt. .Nelson Gordon Feg» Mal-k Helstone '.....Olbson Gowland Mrs. Helstone .• Mary Rorhe Frank Morland Gerald McCarthy Nicholas Morland .....Percy Standing .Solomon Jeff Barlow Tom Judd Green Detective Wood A. B. Imeson Tom Moore appears In an Kngllsh production surrounded by an entire English cast. It Is a thrilling tale of passion and intrigue with the right out on top as usual. Fron\ the start one feels that they hatr^ already, guessed the incidents which lead td the climax; but they are quickly; fooled when the story through abltf direction takes a sudden twist which practically holds the audience in suspense throughout. The produc- tion Is not gigantic nor big but wlU pass muster. Moore has the typical part and shows tha English cinema folks a, trick or two In speed and action. His effervescing smile is always in evidence, whether the situation oi* scene be one ol love, despair oi^ anguish. Isobel Elsom, as Dora Nelson; gave an unusually capable perform- ance In an emotional role. She had several heavy dramatic i ccnea. An- nette Benson had no easy task oM tho betrayed sister who strove to have her lover redeem hlmsell with her while he was seeking conquest with her sister. The story is ol a young girl smlfs ten with a naval ofncer and pre-< pared to marry blm when his shii< cornea to port At that time tbd lover ot her sister alter bearing that the girl about to be married baa Inherited a fortune de« des he will set her into bla clutches and retrieve the fortune he haa lost through dissipation. Most of the sctnef are Interiors, with the outdoor Khoty being taken in a beautlfut natural ««IMw which will draw mark,;d attention, espe- rlally th«. panoramic views of the cliff and the swirling seas. ^