Wid's Filmdom (1920)

Sunday, June 27, 1920 & cee re iff DAILY . 7 Sennett’s Feature Attains High Mark of his Best Two Reelers Mack Sennett’s “MARRIED LIFE” First National OD Odie 1S OY ie ae ae Mack Sennett Perle. . ee Not credited Seem te LO)’ B Yemen eee A Not credited CPA TCA MLA N Qe ile nf Not credited Great stuff—every bit as good as Sennett’s two reelers. SES Kem: soe Real good burlesque on melodrama PC LAGIN , ss ss ae ee Masterly eee CRRC ELE PLY Sie SS oo gate ee Good BEREPEAMMANCAS © Mee egos eats hee Satisfactory RL Cte VY OC) Pe tet 8b, iv akc uw ee oobi Good LEADING PLAYERS Ben Turpin a riot; _ Charles Conklin, Jim Finlayson and Phillis Haver fine. SUPPORT Sterling, Louise Fazanda, } Charlotte Mineau. EXTERIORS Includes Charlie MAES Ford Kalla Pasha and CA te Ky eR ee Fitting OO DASA OA | oo © a ee ae All right PRA IS ss. Fe Can’t beat the Sennett bunch for doping out comedy detail—shows here both i in action and subtitles. CHARACTER OF STORY ...... Burlesque built up by wonderful sequences of funny business. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 4,938 feet Producers of two-reel slapstick comedy often discover that they have ventured beyond their legitimate depths when it comes to the production of a feature built along the same lines. Mack Sennett has dis covered this in times past but with the case of “Married Life,” | best of his shorter subjects. ‘Married Life” is great, a comedy riot that will satisfy the biggest appetites for pictures of this kind. The framework of the picture is a melodramatic burlesque. During the unfolding of this plot there appear sequences of comedy built up to big laughs on incidents of the most inconsequential sort. But it is these incidents that make the comedy. The 4) Cie (es) Seg an en he scores just as big a success as he has with the choice of words in the subtitles and their relation to the action is another big point in making the picture a success. They begin by introducing Ben Turpin as Rodney St. Clair, football idol. This in itself is one of the biggest laughs of the picture. Then they work in a wonderful burlesque sequence of a football game, finally winding it up by carrying Ben off the field aiter the other twenty-one men have reposed on his graceiul neck. Years pass, as they say in the classics, and Ben again puts in an appearance as the leading actor in a charity play written by Phyllis Haver who is married to Jim Finlayson. Phyliss plays the lead opposite Ben and the two get away with a number of sweet osculation scenes much to the disgust of Jim, who is in the audience. Sennett’s old comedy business standby, the front row spectators of the show, provide great laughs in this. Charlie Murray, Ford Sterling and Louis Fazenda lead this part of the picture. Of course, the show is put on in a highly ludicrous way, the props are revealed to the audience and Ford gets in the limelight with a lot of jokes about the show that go over big in the subtitles. The next sequence takes place in the hospital where Jim, the doctor, urged on by Charles Conklin, the villian, decides to let an instrument slip and take the innocent Benjamin’s life. There is a_ hilarious sequence when Ben gets inflated with illuminating gas and floats all over the hospital corridors scaring the inmates of the alcoholic ward into more fits. conclude in a chase that, while funny, doesn’t measure up to the rest of the stuff in the picture. It’s really the remarkable comedy business and the wit of the subtitles that registers this in the same fashion as these elements register all of Mack Sennetts’ stuff. You can’t beat his bunch for doping out comedy incident and subtitles when they really get down to serious work (real serious work). Turpin is a riot here. He has been handled specially well. And the rest are all fine. Its a real all-star cast in the bargain. They No Limit to the Business You Can Do On This Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor At the Strand in New York, after a little extra advertising, a heavy display of Mack Sennett’s name and pictures in the lobby of Ben Turpin, “Married Life’ jammed the theatre at hours when it is usually only comfortably filled. Such should be the case in all localities. A little bit of extra advertising, mention of the fact that the picture is of feature length, prominence to producer and main player and all you need to do is to wonder whether your ropes will stand the crowds and whether the lobby floor is strong enough. If you go in for exploitation stunts, this one deserves Use the “Married Life,” not a And be sure to give the rest of It is made up of well known your limit. war picture” catch line. the cast a good display. Sennett fun-makers.