Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

98 Visual Education OMAR THE TENTMAKER Omar, the Persian poet and maker of tents — the girl he has raised from babyhood, yet does not know as his daughter — the young Crusader to whom she has given her heart — what a study in contrasts! The whole play is like a page from The Arabian Nights. From beginning to end the picture is colorful and vivid. It is a page torn from The Arabian Nights — a song of Persia visualized. And it impresses one felt in reading a fairy tale. No matter how dreadful the misfortune or how great the suffering, it is going to end as all fairy stories end, with the rob with that delightful sense of unreality bers and the other wicked folk punished and the good folk living happily forever after. The play has been voluptuously staged. The bazaars and the courts, the shifting street scenes and the quiet gardens steeped in moonlight, are all combined to form a picturesque pageant of oriental life. Sultans and robbers, priests and slaves, Crusaders and beggars, jostle one another in charming dramatic proximity. The most obvious flaw of the picture is the performance of Guy Bates Post in the leading role. Unfortunately this distinguished actor does not film well and his appearance is not that of a youthful, impassioned lover; nor is he more impressive in his gray hairs as he nightly entertains the wits in the tavern. His interpretation, suave and polished on the stage, becomes gesticulatory and impotent on the screen. Virginia Brown Faire as Shireen, the unhappy love of Omar, does excellent work and the large supporting cast is well chosen both as to type and ability. Altogether, OMAR THE TENTMAKER may be classed as a superior picture, not only because of content and intelligent treatment, but also because ot an innate charm. Released by First National. eeping' Abreast oy pthe screen Brief comments on current films for the special information of parents and teachers Bull Dog Drummond A modern melodrama calculated to make your hair stand on end. Since you realize from the beginning, however, that the fiendish efforts of the villain will in the end be thwarted, and since it is clear that the hero will rise superior to every emergency, you feel little anxiety concerning his fate and that of the heroine. Second-rate entertainment, and not for children. (Hodkinson.) Dr. Jack The conventional comment to make regardm •■ Harold Lloyd is to say that in this cheerful comedian may be found Charles Chaplin's only rival. While Lloyd will never possess the unique art and subtlety that distinguish Chaplin, he is beyond doubt a preeminent funmaker. In the role of Dr. Jack, an ambitious young physician with extraordinary methods of practice, he is happily cast. The picture is wholesome and cheerful and secures the laughs without any evidence of the suggestive and with very little of the slapstick. A tonic for the whole family. (Pathe'.) Fabiolu hi commenting upon a picture like this, all allowance must be made for its sincerity and earnestness. "Fabiola," showing the persecutions and martyrdom endured by the early Christians, is not intended to entertain, amaze or in struct but to appeal to the spiritual and religious sense. This purpose it doubtless achieves, although open to much criticism as an artistic production. Having been made in Rome, it has the advantage of such impressive backgrounds as the Coliseum and the Catacombs. The narrative, however, lacks unity and coherence, and the directors have failed to emphasize dramatic moments. Like many continental films, its photography is ineffective. {Fabiola Photoplay Corporation.) The Flame of Life This picture is an adaptation of "That Lass o' Lowrie's" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In a compelling manner the film presents the story, dealing with elemental passions and culminating in a very thrilling and realistic mine disaster. Priscilla Dean as "the lass" is intense and direct. Wallace Beery's presentation of the brutal miner, however, is so overwhelming in its thoroughness as to dominate the picture. Since there is so much fist-play and violence, it might be well to keep the children at home. ( Universal. ) The Flirt The typical American family is here subjected to a kindly but minute cinematic analysis. Booth Tarkington knows