Variety (March 1924)

26 VARIETY t'ICTURES Wednesday, March 12, 1924 HAPPINESS Uotro I'li'iurc slarrlnit I^aurrvtto Taylor. From 111* I'liy I'y J. ll.iiiliy il ■iiii'-ra, w:u> prepaii'd ilio »• f ji v •r.<lnTi. lui'-kt'l liy KJnc V'id.r, Sh i»« ut the ItlaUn. K ix Yivk, Wit'k Mirru U. Kiuiiilns t'l'io tO J.-nny Wrc.irv LaTircttf T.iyl )r Kornic.y M.wl' .M..Uh'li I'at O'M.ilh-y Mrs. ChryHl.il I't.ll' Hi.Ida Ilo|.|i.T I'hlllii i^hmljs Cyrtt Cha.lvvirU Wra. Wr.'ary K.lUh i.irliu (iailte I'lTkiin Jouny. a \saif . Mr, H'>.H'»<'lsl''jn ratlcrj-un Dial JoTti Strin-IlnR .. . l-aurTi'-'* (Irani .t.*liai!utla M.UII--JU Laui->'tto Tijlor ha.s rodirnod to tlio wrocn in a Molro pnxlutluin of "ilapi)iiic«:s" a play in which she originally apprari-d on the ppnken stage. ScomiiiKly Misa Taylor is not going to i»oiiiiit anyoiie but licr.sclf to b« soon In the scroon versions of any of the play she ha? b'^on in on the fitage. There are lialf a dozen artrcs^os of the scTien who woulil have Uofii far more ilosirable in fhe role of Jenny Wrciry tli in Mirt.i Taylor. Miss Taylor soeiu.-i a little too ma- ture to i ike an errand girl on tl-.e screen. In frying lo get over the Itnprewsion .'-he Is a youngster, it forced kittenish stuff that UiJn't regi.^tor. The picture was partially .shot in New York anJ on tho co:ust. Any time a direilor thinks, ho tun get B'lvny with those .studio .stre^'t s.'oiu's and match 'em with the ro;il tbiun he bj mistaken. In this picture tlio couple of stii'lio strcotd used tit iiid out like a sore thumb. "Happine.-»s' wiia a rom<ily draina with a message. Aa a j)lcture it i« neither comedy nor drama, and al! the forced bits trying for comedy fall flat. Tos-sibly that la the fault of Mr. M.Timera' ad.aptation of Ms play, for ho may have held too tlosoly to his stage vcrulon. One good bit of matching !n *ho film—.T. camera was placed In a ma- ohance In New York and driven down Sixth avenue, then the Inside of the machine was shot at the studio with Mi33 Taylor, Iledda ITopper and Bdith Yorko In the sea*. Till ( haufl"eur wlio drove wa.s a darb and nuifct ^lavo graduated from a t.axi. IMt O'Malley plays the K^J oppo- site Miss Taylor and endovv.i It with an iaiiiiite touch makii.g it stand out. Hodda Hopper a.3 the .'^vjciety widow was also likable, while Cyril C1i:idwlck wan just hlnwelf. There is a lot of fashion ^tuff and models i>arading gown.^. This pas.s«id out of fe:iturc making >ear.s ago. JiiMg Vidor ia directing ovor- looked m.iny liltlP touches of de- tail, one parli'Ul triy wan the death scitie ot the mother. She wa.s Htill breath in>4 al'UT suppojfod to have Ii,a.-sed out. Just .a program pictur^^ is aliout .r.l tiiat can be sa;d l"or i'.. A SOCIETY SCANDAL A l^'iih 7.M\ior anl J?si«« Ij».-ltv- prt-si-nt Oloiia S\v.in.'«on in an Allan Dwan i>roiiuc- llon (li.stnlnitiMl by ramous I'layors-I.asky. .Snij,.|v {i.mc.ly-draMm ^a.^cd on play by .\lfri-J .'^u'ro callod'^lW i>ri^tfliinB La.ly," In wliich lOlhcl Itarr'yrfiurn starred at Long i.-ri' la.ll sca.sun. I'lay ran foT about ttirei nionllia Willi nviraKO mirccis. K'rnvit Hal ,i'y Old biTCCfn vir..lor. At Illvoli wi-ek Maroh 1' Hiinnint; time 80 nilnute.i. ...(ilorii bwana^n .. .Itod I*a Uoi-'uie Itirardo forle?: M.irjorio Colbert Dam. I l''.irr .. Harriion I'elei., - - Ilert.,r Colbert Allan S'lmiwnn Mrx ^falu^l^I^(^)lhert.. .Mri. IJa Watennan .M; .. llaiinilon rennlield Mrj. Thelma C'.inv'rRi' Mr. .'J'liiiyl^r Purr Kra.'ier Coalter Mrs liurr Citherin(> Proctor Mr Hanillton I'enntV-ld Wilfred Donovan IVtrK la Do Voe Yvonne HuRhes Krii-iulji ot Marjorle: Calherlnu Colobum, .Marin .shjUon, Dorolby Stjkea. Cjr.iolbj'] Keefi> 'A Society Scandal" should catch a lot of patronage from the rank and tile picture fan.s. The title and subject matter will Insure that, for the story is about the doings of so- ciety folk. The picture on Ita merits rlas.se.s as pretty good. There are portions that reach heights of excellence, and The Sensation of the Year at the MARK STRAND Sunday, March 16th a Corinne Griffith Production, Inc., presents LILIES of the FIELD" Featuring CORINNE GRIFFITH and CONWAY TEARLE Directed by JOHN FRANCIS DILLON Another great stage success be- comes a marvelous screen produc- tion. Directed by the man who made "Flaming Youth," the lead- ing role enacted by the sensation of Black Oxen/'—"Lilies of the Field" will take its place as one of the industry's biggest achieve- ments. A HtM: HaticMtal Picture there's a lot decidedly ordinary. A little bit bettor than the average program feature about .si-ics it up. The society atmosphere 1« con- sistently preserved. When the upper crusters are shown in action they look the part in.stead of appearing suporlici.al and actory. In settings the baekground.s har- monize properly with the high hat atmosphere. Tliiire'a comedy relief sprinkled through the exposition of the plot that arises ii.itur illy from the story itself. That helps to in,ike the ile- piction of it iiileresliiig .and enfer- lainliig. .and the fact of the laughs not being dragged in by the heels kuep.s the u'tion going at a bwift tempo. The tll'ef ar? on !he whole old- fashioned in construction. One, for in.stance, la cold blood .and not In ;iny manner fiicetiously reads: "In the great open spaces where men .are men." Thi.s is descriptive of a camp Io( atliiii one of the characters has in th>' rnount.i ins. In detail the director did very well with one e.xception. luit he Hopped b.idly on that one. Thi.s was the In- cidental b'lalnesa ot a newspaper reporter. Working for one of th*- big dailies, the report^T rushes in to the city room just before press t.me with .a front ii.ige story. The general pub- Ik; will never know the difference, but tii.it reporter certainly wasted a lot of t:me by not pr.tbbing a phone In the ii-iu.il way of ' leg-men" on d.iily newsiiapers and phoning in liis stuff to a re-write man. An inteifeiing mother-in-law. .silly >(>ung wife, .-.ip husb.uid, a lawyer who secure.! .a ilivorco for the sap husband and Liter f.ills in love with the sap Iiusliand's wife, and a boy friend ot the wife are the principals around whom the tile revolves. Gloria Sw.mson i.s the wife. She plays int'^Iligontly and with a likMble repre.iision. llusb.ind i.s done com- petently by Allan Simpson, and Rod L.a Kocqiie plays the lawyer with a society polish that v.on't rub off. The wife's boy friend in capably done l>y Hicardo Cortez. Wilfred Donovan, ;iside from tlio l>usine3!4 of the reporter's part, .a direetori.il fault, makes the bit convincing as to ch.iiactori/.ition. The title it^^elf. "A Society Scan- dal." notwithstanding there isn t much that's more than very mildly scandalous in the story, .should go a long way toward coaxing '.be ciis- ioiners up to the box olIKe. /t''fi. rlv*d too late for ac*Iv» partlcip«.- tlon In the pold ruHh. It'« inter'X<tlng for any program. Von. MBS. DANE'S CONFESSION rii.|i»pcnd9nt Kntllah film, wkh no Infor- mation ffiven a» lo dlre<-tlon, ca»t or dl»- irUiutlon. Featurlnjr tVjiint Halm. At tlie l-rvoli, March 8, as bxlC the WU. Bum ib^iut DO minute* ' Mrs. Dane'." Confes,sion" was evi- dently made three or four ye.ara ago. I'robably it would never have seen Ihe light had it not been for the marital adventures of Count Salm, who appoirs in it. As It stands, the screen owes very little to the hus- band of Millicent Kogera, a."i thia Knglish produc-tion must be num- bered among the .several far down in the negative diss. No .announcements a.^ to direction or c.ist are made, but anyone having read the papers .about a month ago cannot f til to recognize the amorous count aa the heavy. Strangely enough, this suave it somewhat greasy nobleman il no' a poor enough actor tv> earn a genuine roasting Cast a.s the most despicable of rtjovie villains, he does manage to shove a bit of ability into the work here .ind there The lilm is poor :n comp.arison to the count's work, vvliicu means its pretty bad. The story is '.['.e old une .about the^ woman who inuiies tlie wrong man, Irims lie'.s a luute. divorces him, narries the right and then i.s hounded by number on-? until she shoots him. Hiif --iie didii't -.liooc l.im in th" first ree. THE WANTERS .r M. I • b« next to ImpoMibltt, aa It la « most dlBconnected meas of nonaenaat The "Iiona 'WagoD" aeeraa to b* one of a train bound for the we«t just after the Civil War. The story concerna Itself chlefljr with an at- tack by Indiana and the supposedly Intrepid and heroic defense by the ploneera. Love Interest ia dragged in, but It never secma to Interfere to any great extent with the red- skina and their waya. The hero is a Mexican who wins the girl In the end, despite her family's objectlona to him aa a "foreigner." The rea- son he finally gets her la because all her folks have been slaughtered and there's no one left to squawk. Matty Mattison U the featured name, and he might be worse. Vivian Rich ia the girl and the rest are un« familiar names except for Karl Met- calf, passe lieavy, seen in a minor role. The photogr.iphy is good In spots, but there Is too mucli shrubbery and not enough of the open spaces and prairies tliat lend color to out- of-door shots. The figlit scenes are uu'it"Uii.'^h. NORTH OF HUDSON BAY .\ I'" IK prxlui-i:on .-larrinK Torn Mix Dt- r.'.-tPl liy .Iijlin I'linl l-liotoirruihi !)> l>an Clark. At tlio Lire..- MuvU C. Iluns 06 minute**. WiJi'W Dini" J-nnl"! !<•* Mich.ael Dane Tom Mm MLliiii'id Frank I'ainpnau riou^li Frank I.^lgli l.onpo Fr.ink Kohler tVlii Dan# KuKcne I'aletta .lean Kaililoeno Kay liuisi' A.! Ir .-emjnt FLOWING GOLD I \f >!'Mlr-ima pr-^^.^r.t -i hy It.-harJ W.ill.ir. I Tully, ■lirccto.l by J.>doi'li Ut> <JraH.'*'^, fmm 1 ihr. liovel by R>?J r.faih. KiHtribulod bv j I'ir.-Jt Nallon.Ll A' SlranJ, N.-w YorU, week 1 Kt Marrti ;>. Itunnins lim'J 7.'i nilnutp.1. I AlleRhenv Hri."kow Anna Q. Nil.»»on M'alvin tlray Milnn .Slll.^ It.ul.ari r,i.-kc-r .\lic" I'alh'.un ll-nry Nol-tim Craufur.l ICont 1 UuJdy HrNK.iw J,<l,n Rocll." t'i'hf Snii-ulp ItlonJ* I'lsui,. Kl'./ueraM Ml Uri.^kow Jo/4)M)>ilnp <'n"»well I'a Hrlsk'nv . ll.'rt Woodruff IVmi I'lrk" . Jlm,.?3 fo..'ii.jn Ked-tilooded feature whi.-h coverw a whole lot of f^rritory but has caught the atmosphere of a boom oil community: is full of local color, and while the story ia streitched a bit to include several senaatlon.nl melodramatic punchoa it ia fairly croilu'.ous. due to the e)ccell<>nt direc- tion, splendiil exit, convincing Work of MlHon Sills and the speed with which the notion moves along. The story concerna the sudden j enrichment of tlie IlriskOwa by fhe '• bringitig in of an oil well on the old j f.irm. Calvin r'.niy (Mr, Sills), pen- niless adventurer, living on his wits, I arrives In Dalla-s. He bluffs his way to wo.ilih and the favor of the Criskowa. Ifij. la a .«ort of social I mentor .ind .iiivlsor to the nouve I rich faniil,\-, .laving the son from I marriage lo a dosigrung courtesan, I The SuicMe n:onde (CUsle Fitz- gerald). j The daughter of fhe 'Prlakow.i I (Anna Q. Nilsson) la secretly :n I love with Griy bui: be'levea he loves I Harliara I'arker (Alice Calhoun), the Ishrriff'a daughter. Henry Nelson I (t'raufurd Kent) is the heavy. He w.as rjray'a superior ollicer fn the United States Army, the latter be- ing coiirt-marll.iled out of the A. 1'^ F. due to ;>erjured testimony of N'olson. Clr.iy wit'.i tiie a.=isist\noe of Brls- kow gains contioi of Nel.son's bank ind forces .Nelson to .sign a con- P''"'''*''>" on the screen world. r oiii.i p. M.iyr i»r(»n*n'alion and .^1 I 111 iir'HUiiii.iti. ii.-i (l:i-''. 'fsl by :'. K''it'a:^;ng tbrou^ti I'ir.*'. National I'^rotn lli.> .'■lory by i,."ila W«ln wiili K. li Pilmcr tlv (ih itoeiMiib.r. Sho V liir .it f,o,'\v j N'-w Vorl; lU.'ji I', Man U S. li'jiinT.^ :iiii-, 7'J rn-ti.i. M.irie Pr^-vos: he.id.i at. extensive ■i.st, wlij for the most part, are ] given minor bits to wtiMe .iway the llime within thi.- tale of a serv.mt I n\.lid's desire for the ailvantages ot iier miitre.-s 1: a an a.eiage feature Wis.i Pret O.St as he m.iil, does nicely and, at least, has eliminated the ii ibit of tiilliiiu from a corner of her mouth, if lejthing else The n.lines, ll.isherl ;>n m.i.sse al the be- ginning, m.ake it impossible to grasp who the indnidiials are, but the bijy opposite Miss Prevost i.' deserving of nienfion for a re.-etvod and digni- fied performaiu'O in tune with the c.iuse. The production interior ietting. and so forth, should prove of eaoUKli iiujlity to m.ike the picture a -suit- ■ible pronrim I'ider withi.a the in- icrmedi.ite houses, despite the pa- trons will lind they've gone up ig lia.t the same tyiie of story m.my limes previously. Stahl has carried the theme along evenly, though cer- tain deletion might help, aa it threatens to hit ar. upgiaJj more Ih.'in nn-e The mairiai?'' of tiie maal to the .•Kin of the house, ultra wealthy and among the soct.i' elite, lays out the usual plan of con'inuity under those conditions v/itli such a snatch of the inside love intri*;ues of the "400" In- serted fiir what might be termed ".^ex .stuff ' The usual embarrassing situations are In the [irescribed man- ner, ultimately pathtinding the way to the proverbial ivuniou at the finish. A few comedy inSTrts early In the picture revcAl Misa Prevost at her best, .iltliough her performance on the wiijlc i;s adequa'e to the occa- sion Sic'a. THE LONE WAGON Smforl production, wri'>n and dirp.t'^d hy I''r«nk a. M&ltlson, PhotORiraphy by lOlrri'T l* Dyer. K'»alurinff Matty Matti.ion. I'ait inrludi-a Vivian Ill.:h, I.afayotle Mc- K'-f. J'^arl Mclralf. Cieim Crosby. At ty)e»'«, New York, Marclj 4. Runs Cj mln». Nearly a year ago ' The Covered W.igon" opened at the Criterion and proved to be a screen epic of pioneer day.s. Since then there have been several Imitation,!, good and bad. Now cornea "The Lone Wagon," but no one need worry, aa thi.; new pic- ture should make little or no im- imimTTTTT fc.-;slon (xonei .iiing tiray from the army scandal. (!ray h.nd previously defeated N'olson's attempt to brand lum as a thief by accepting a mission from a local jeweler to sell the liriskowa jewelry. He outwits a couple of crooks who hold him up by squirt- ing te:ir t; IS in the hi-jacUers eyes. A burning oi! well and a cloud- l>ur.>»t are a few of the meiiow thrills provided, coming along near the I end ot tlio picture and le.iving tlio I hero anil heroine a'oi) a Moating c<it- I t.Tge. .She iescii"S him by diving i iliio Ihe stream wbi.-h is aflame with ] blazing oil. Tile .^i.iiy i.a frankly hokum melo- ilrama, but so well done It will In- terest the nio.sl h.ird -.ed and blase I picture f^in. It Is in liealment that ihe picture geta away from the ob- vious. It moves wiih a speed th.at I defies viviseolioii of the story and la in Intereisling pinorama, coated with the glamour of oil and midden I i I'.ej, n, universally appealing topic |tO :fi« r>.-vi,.iAt ^>...t, ;i,i.i^>n ;i.1io fjf-> Not since the days ot the second- riite serials has such .stuff been flashed in a Broa.lway picture the- atre, A sytiupsis of the plot would Tom Mix seems to have taken Williani Farnum's place a.-j the leader of the neigiiborhood school of male st.irs. All hl.s pltures are formula made, but it is a formula that has been .roundly tested. In "North of Hudson l!ay" there is one d"partiire. The locale Is the Far North instead of the \\'<^tern prairies usually serving as a back- ground for Mi.t'- recUle.-)3 heroism. It is .a change that the disciples ot Mix will welcome, particularly as all the accustomed virility and "devil-m ly-care " < h.ir.n.teristios are enhaiifod by tlie romantic back- grounds of snow and ice. An alleged law of the Xort'a that may be new to picture p.atrons serves aa the b.i-sis for the story. It tells how any one convicted of a murder i.i sent on the "death trail " This means he ia forced to walk through the frozen wilderness guarded by a group of follov^ers un- til death by cold, famine or wolvea overtakes 'him. The watchers may eat .and warm themselvea as often as they like, but the victim must never halt for food or shelter. Fur- thermore, any one caught ffoding him is given the same penalty. It is because of aiding the man supposed to liave killed his brother that Mix i.i sentenced to the hor- rible iiunlshment. *-(ow he escapes lends to the thrills that come witn a magniticent rush at the end of the lllm. First there is a starlUng bare-handed b.ittle with a pack of wolvea. Hand-to-liand encounter* with the villains on the snow-cov- ered ground follow this, and finally the escape from madly whirling ca- noes being dashed down frenzied rapids and whirlpools. These laat shots, t.iken mostly from above for a blood-curdling effect, are as ex- citing in their way aa anythinc heretofore screened. It ia these thrills that will selt the picture. The bits of humor are not up to the Mix standard, al- though one or two little incident* are good for chuckfes. John Ford has directed efficiently, and Daa Clark made good use of his splen- did optiortutiities tor photographlo .■splendor. A new leading woman, Kathleen* Kay, Is pretty, and makes an In- sipid part .stand out. Frank Cam- peau is his usual insidious villain, and .Tonnle Lee adds a fine bit M the hero's mother. DISCONTENTED HUSBANDS A. Columbia Produr-tlon distribute! br C. B. C Film .lales Co. Htory by Kvelyn I'ambppll. Pirpctc'd by Udward J. I.eSalnt. Featuring Jamps tvlrkwood. At the New York. Mnrch 4 Running time, 70 mins. Michael I''raapr James Kirkwoo4 MarBU.rjti- Fras'.T ci^o Madlaoa Caibi-niie Frascr L'armdlta Gcraghty Ulok Kverlnn Arthur Rankin Jack IJallard 'Vemon Steele Kmlly r.allard tirace Darmond Betty Uallard Muriel McCormac 'Discontented Husbands" la a conspicuous e.xaniple of the fact "^zi^s • < • I > • t : Wilson "^ Cosmo Hamilton'^ noHierScmdot An £. H. Griffith Production Ji^Vodkinson Release