Wid's Filmdom (1920)

., 4, E Sunday, June 6, 1920 wid DAILY “ Ss EI aE Little to Recommend This in Either Story or Production Elmo Lincoln in “UNDER CRIMSON SKIES” Jewel-Universal PLIERS LOTR... . Meee on, ke eae Rex Ingram PRAM aes, . a. oy eee J. G. Hawks peat O IBY cee. os... soe te Harvey Thew SP ICAAMLAN ‘ere. 0... Soe aswel Phil Rosen AD vAsWHOLE..-y.: Another sea picture which fur nishes some excitement toward close, but otherwise hasn’t much in its favor. mM Y.. ooo. Silent sacrifice stuff, not comprehensive DIRECTION...... Ordinary for the most part; handled storm scene very well. PHOTOGRAPHY Good LIGHTINGS Satisfactory CAMERA WORK>............5. a ce ahaaeie eM os Good Pe TR ee area", Can fight, but otherwise won’t impress PU PORT ss; .. 2 Harry Van Meter a cowardly villain; Mabel Ballin his wife. Be BARS EO) ER 5. oe. Almost entirely aboard vessel INTERIORS Adequate ied Aliens es. . eee Few errors in story sequence CHARACTER OF STORY...... Sacrificing captain endures false accusation for happiness of villain’s wife. Ss 4 ‘eee es Oke © 47.0) ©. 6 .0-@ cule ® ©6 igiwae phew rele. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION..... About 5,800 feet _ There seems to be a flock of sea-going productions on the market just at this time. ““Under Crimson Skies” makes the third in two weeks. Each one has the captain of a vessel for the central character, and in each instance he has ruled his crew with the violence made popular by London’s character of Wolf Larsen in ‘““The Sea Wolf.” However, in this they don’t make so much of the captain’s treatment of his crew. Instead a villain is introduced and the remainder of the picture has to do with his efforts to smuggle ammunition to the Mexican rebels. The story is very unconvincing and depends wholly upon the atmosphere of the sea to help “very well handled indeed, and very realistic. it over. They have resorted to much artificial means to carry out the story. For instance, the villain is supposed to be accompanying a shipment of pianos which in reality are filled with ammunition. As a means ol acquainting the captain with the fact that he is un knowingly carrying the deadly freight for the rebel troups, they have the child suggest to the captain that her mother sing for him, whereupon he proceeds to uncrate a piano because she cannot sing without ac companiment. There is one sequence, a storm at night, which 1s The decks of the vessel are flooded and the rain keeps pouring down while the crew battle with the rigging. Later the fight between the rebels and the President's forces affords some excitement, but it’s such a wild scramble that the spectator.finds it difficult to keep track of just what is going on. Clayton, his wife Helen, and their child were the only passengers aboard the Southern Cross. ‘The rough Captain Barstow felt sorry for the wife and child, who seemed to mean nothing to Clayton. Bar stow discovered that Clayton’s pianos consisted of ammunition intended for Mexican rebels, but for the sake of Helen and the child said nothing. However, upon reaching their destination one of Clayton’s gang had Barstow brought before the court for assault. Barstow was sentenced to five years. He later made his escape and reached an island inhabited by beach combers. He beat their leader into submission and ’,ecame one of them. Some time a{fter he learned that Clayton and Helen were in the Amer ican consul which was being stormed by the rebels. He gathered together all the beach combers and arrived in time to save the consul. Clayton dies while trying to escape. A sort of epilogue flash shows Helen and Barstow together while a title gracefully indi cates the happy ending. May Get Over With an Easily Satisfied Crowd Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor If you are willing to depend on the atmosphere of the sea and upon the fair amount of excitement contained in the slight revolution sequence you can prob ably get away with this. There is not much else for you to depend upon. You can say something about the terrific storm at night. This has been well han dled and is good to look at. Elmo Lincoln’s name may | interest those who remember him in the Tarzan pic tures. However, outside of his various pugilistic dis plays his appearance in “Under Crimson Skies” does not mean-very much. For catch lines try: “You have seen the various races of the earth in both scenic and feature produc tions, but have you ever seen the Beach Combers? They play a big part in the picture at the —— thea ter. Goand see them.” Or, “He was a tyrant captain, but he could make a sacrifice. submitted to imprisonment for the sake of a woman in ‘Under Crimson Skies.’ ” See how a rough man