Variety (Jul 1926)

18 VARIETY FILM REVIEWS Wednesday, July 14. im SCRAPPIN* KID BliM 8tr«ak WmUtb ■Urrlnc Art Accord. DDlverMl prodwtlOB. Stonr and aMnario hj m. Richard 8ckay«r. Olfford 8. Smith, llrector. At th« Arena. N«w York, one lay, July 11. Ronnlng time, 40 minute*. Another Blue Btreak Western. Short, snappy, and capable of excit- ing, as are its brothers. Btory of the hero, orphan girl, vil- lage gosslpers, train robbers, reward offered for their capture, beaten up and captured by hero, collecting of reward by hero, paying oft of mort- gage with reward money by hero and clinch by orphan girl and hero. Also forest Are, advances of rob- bers to orphan girl, kid brother, BherlfT, banker's mean son, horse, dog and cow. Not to omit a dying mother. A perfectly formal but enjoyable "western." Art Accord Is the hero. He Is likeable and a hard rider. Velma Connor, typical "Western" heroine. Is pretty and a neat actress. C. EL Anderson does the heavy. Others In cast are Jess DelfTbach, *'Hack" Bell, Jimmy Boudwln and Bdmund Cobb. Also "Buddie" and "Rex," Accord's well-trained horse and dog. A forest fire, giving the cinema a speedy start, looks like the real thing and'is good. Shown as half of a double bill on 8th avenue. New York. As enter- tainnvBnt it had for its running mate an old tale of love in society and Jungle atmosphere, beateu by a mile. SHE Lee-Bradford (BnKllah) production, faa- turtnff Betty Blythe. Adapted from norel of same title by 8lr Rider Hacsard with captions written by author. At TlvoH, New York, aa half doable Mil. On* day. July 7. RunnlDf time. M minuter ^ Marcus Lo^w may take justifica- tion for bis recent remarks to Brit- SAMMY Ballet Master And FEUCIA SOREL PREMIER DANCER with PAUL ASH mn4 HU Qang ALL THI8 8EA80N at BALABAN A KATZ ORIENTAL THEATRE CHICAGO ish producers and exhibitors on £n8llsh-made pictures, on thia En^- lish production, "Sho." Mr. Loew says if the English will send over good pictures they will And distri- bution. "She" Is not one that will. As half of a double feature bill for one day at the Tivoli (Clighth ave- nue and 61st street). It may have cost the house $7.60 In rental, |7 too much. A direct fault here and with everything else all wrong diverging from that is the one who decided "She" could be converted Into a commercial fllm. With the book one of the best sellers of Itq day. that day was long ago, and in this day **8he" In celluloid could never sell one copy of the H. Rider Hag- gard novel (with the H dropped IS the Sir was conferred). The burning hit, as in the stage play, may have been depended upon for the kiclc. But it didn't mean enough in its draped nakedness. Betty Blythe and Carlyle Black- well are the two Americans in the cast, and leads, with Leander Cor- dova directing. Many may blame the director for the complete cipher made of "She" as a j^ture, but every demerit may be traced to the impossible story, except the terrible photography. To mako a serious pretense ot a woman living 2,000 years Is the first wallop given the film story and that wound it up right there. Afterward, although the director actors and the rest went on in their serioaB vein. It waa just a laugh for the roof audience at the Tivoli. The scenes are merely a series of mythical, mystical strangenesses that never convince, never should have been tried In straJirht picture making, and only rssult In thie pic- ture being aiiother slam against the British film Industry. Some while a«ro Miss Blythe went over to. England to make pictures. This may be the one she later start- ed A salary suit over. **She** <8he-who-must-be-obeyed) was msde entirely In the studio or on the north ooaat of Ireland, if Ire- land haa a north coast. The story plunges Into a cannibal country where the flesh-eaters look like blsckfaos oomediana, acting even worse. A set fashion over there Is that If a girl kisses a man and he returns the caress, unsolicited, they are married. Not a bad scheme for the girls, but dangerous over here, since the advent of automobile dark nights and lightless roads. A column could be employed to detail the errors of this .production, in ^yerythliig. from settings, to act- ing, lighting and direction, besides mob scenes and range Shots. But as a picture it Is not entitled to over an Inch tn notice and only Is re ceivlng more through being English *19he" may have been shown on this side before, possibly on states rights. In the shooting galleries for cheapness. It deserved no more nor that much. No record of it is in Variety's files nor is any previous local exhibition recalled. Also un likely It will annoy any other New York audience. Bime. THE NIGHT PATROL P.B.O. releaaa ■tarrtas Richard Tal- niadg*. Prodvced by A. Garlaa. Btoty by r. H. Clark, and dlreciad hy MaM Noel. At the Ideal. New Torlc. aa halt of double feature bill, one day. July 7. Running tlma. to Bilaateab Dick Bradley Richard Talmadse Hie MoUMr Marv Carr The Olrl Roee Bloeaom The Boy Gardner Jaiaca The "Duke" Victor Dllllnsham His Olrl Grace Darmend Richard Talmadge is now making his productions for release through Universal. In •"The Night Patrol" he tries to be both a character actor and an acrobat. He is a better acrobat or stunt man. The story has him as an Irish cop. In love with a girl. This girl's brother got In with crooks and the young cop himself arrested the boy as a murderer. Convinced the boy was guilty only on flimsy circum- stantial evidence^ the oop disguises himself as the Frisco Kid. crook, and by the aid of a cracked lip. putty noe% and rough clothes, gets in with the crook gang which he be- lieves guilty. He brings them to justice and at the last minute saves the girl's brother from electrocution. The film Isn't breesy except In spots, and a somewhat tragic theme pervades. Talmadge. though an ex- cellent stunt man. Isn't good enough actor to carry oft the heavier mo- ments, so the picture loses some of Its effect. Okeh for a day In the smaller houses, but not up to the usual Tal- nxadge release. Bitk, Hearts and Spangles Preeented by Bam 8ax for Lumas Pic tnrea Corp. A Gotham production. Btory by Norman Houston and directed by Frank O'Connor. Wanda Hawley featured. 8u- PM^Iiid by Renaud Hoffman. Rwx Barclay Georse Chesbro Bill Adama Charles IVirce Steve Carrie Robert Gordon Peter Carrie l>arry Btaera Grace Carria Barbara Tennant Dr. Carria Eric Mayna Harry Rlley J. P. liockney Bobby Frankle Darro Peg Palmer Wanda Hawley .£00^1^ GENE TUNNEY oneofitUe.and fefh^erial A poor story made into a poor picture with a fairish cast. It is a circus yarn. A boy chucked out of college wants to go with the circua He ftpproaches the eques trian director, and that worthy tells him he can be a roustabout. He falls In love with Peg Pahner, the bareback rider, and sticks with the show and the girl until the clr cus reaches his home town, where he tells his father of the expulsion only to find that expulsion from school means expulsion from home. So he signs with the circus once more and soon becomes, so the sub- titles run, "The King of Clowns' (although the picture only showed him doing stuff that a self-respect Ing clown wouldn't attempt). . The boy's romance wlth'the bare- back rider gets more and more serl ous, but the equestrian director, a mean sort of a guy, tries at every opportunity to hurt the girl. Sven in the ring, with her horse going around, he lashes her feet and, despite that equestrian directors aren't really that bad, it seems that this fellow attempts to act as though he was a small-town cut- throat in misplaced atmosphere. His'final mean act Is to let the lions loose. One gets him and the other one almost ruins the .young clown, but once the boys get after the Hons, they run right into their cages and act like tired, toothless lions ought to act. Wanda Hawley is the bareback rider, but about all Wanda did on the horse was to sit quietly while it walked slowly. Wanda's years are taking their toll. Robert Gor- don was fair as the hero, and Frafikie Darro turned in nice work as the kid. Where circus details are con- cerned, this one la all wet; and, in addition, it's not very entertaining. At best, a dSily change or half of a double bill for the galleries. cast, which represents a consider- able sum, the people mostly being of nota As a sample of the Ineptitude that characterises the whole feature it might be cited that emphasis is placed from the beginning on the !act that both the leading charac- ters are typically Irish. But when they get to the "happy ending" be- fore the altar, it Is apparently a Protestant Spiscopal minister in- stead of a priest who marries them. Th^ f.*m has u scattered few of brisk action, but between the prog- ress of the story lags lamentably. At the very beginning there Is a sensational bit of riding. A girl friend of the hero is on horseback when her mount runs away over >roken, mountainous country. The lero fails in courage to make the rescue, while a mounted policeman, by a daring exhibition of break- neck riding, doee the trick. Toward the finish the movement quickens, when there is a fire and he hero—who has now overcome his cowardice—^makes a brave res- cue which re-establishes him with tils rich father and wins him the lal. Between times the story. If foggy, moves forward about as much by the titles as by actual hap- penings In action and besides is scarcely worth the telling. Picking the blonde and stdic Eva Novak for a peppy Irish heroine was not such good judgment either. Introducing a hero in an act of cowardice makes a poor start, and laying the scenes in humble surroundings doesn't give the story any added value. A cop as a romantic hero Is rather out of the conventional. There's nothiiig partlcplarly gripping In the title "The Millionaire Policeman' that would make the populace rush to the gate, especially when there probably is usually an opposition around the corner advertising a pic- ture called "Her Flaming Sin," with posters and billing to match the titla It is a fair presumption that the film was made for the lowest admission price houses. Even be- fore that clientele it wouldn't get far. It's just one of those films that fans forget. with the excuse that it ties ud w^ the story. ^ For example, the "heavy" to rob the hero's trunk of papers" and naturally he picks moment of the grand entry for coup. Naturally, the excuse la cient for shots of the stirring "s|. of the show. At another point 5a heroine's baby sister is charged a wild bull that escapes from a. pta. Who should save v.ie child but the hero? He does the trick by leaping from his hocso to the neck of the bull and throwing the beast in fuO career. For the clhnax they work In the elephant. The heavy has earneft the big animal's hatred by feediof it a lighted . cigar. Then when the villain is at>out to desert the woman he has pledged himself to wed, in a ceremony in the arena, the elephant breaks its chains and rushing Into the crowded field, snatches the' groom from the side of his brMs and tears him to pieces. This Mt of super-melodrama is capitally managed. The elephant reaches tif^ the villain and seems to whip man himself through the air and. then trample him into the groun^ A dummy is used, of course, but tht. . THE BIG SHOW Made by. Miller Droa. of "101 Ranch" from the story by L. Caae RuoBell. George Terwilllger and distribute^: by ABSoclated Exhlbltora. John Lowell, principal cow- boy with the show, and Branaeline Rub- ■ell. alao a member of the Wild West out- fit, are featured. Running tloM, SS min- utes. At the New York July one day. as one-half double bill. //J Millionaire Policeman Independent by Samuel L.. Brliikla, dla- trlbnted throuKti Banner. Production di- rected by Edward IjB. Saint. Herbert Raw- linson featured, with Bva Novak ploylnic opposite. Runnins time, 82 minutes. At the New York tneatre, July 9, one half double bill, one day. Starting with the title, the offer- ing Is full of crudities such as might suggest that it Is the work of an in- experienced promoter. It has been made economically except for the Naive story of loVe and Intrigue has been woven about the Miller Bros. "101 Ranch" Wild West show, 'With the wild west itself as a back- ground and the regular people em- ployed in the exhibition taking part. i.his Includes John Lowell, Evan- geline Russell, who works the ele- phants, and Joe Miller himself playing the part of CoL Jim, the circus proprietor, a minor part. The* players do not know much about pantomimic acting for the camera, and they don't look much like screen players, but this is an advantage rather than otherwise, adding as it does to the naive sin- cerity of the play. "Naive" describes the produc- tion, but that only makes It more effective. All the neck-breaking feats of thf Miller riders are worked somehow Into the story. Al- most the entire show is given, at one tlmo' or another, but always PAUL ASH NOW AT BALABAN A KATZ New Oriental Theatre CHICAGO BOBBY BURNS THE ENTERTAINING TENOR JUST COMPLETED ^ ^^^^^E^^*!*!WEEKS At the CkicagOy TiToli^ Uptown, McVickert, for Balaban A Katx Re-entaffed Indefinitely hj My Old Pals VINCENT ROSE & JACK TAYLOR Blossom Heath Inn» Detroit OPENING JULY 19th TRIXI FRIGANZA ANNOUNCES HER DEBUT IN MOTION PICTURE HOUSES Opening Loew^s State, Los Angeles, July 16th for Fanchon & Mcnrco. Tour to follow. Address: 1530 Formosa Ave., Hollywood, Calif.