Wid's Filmdom (1920)

Short Reels “The Bull Thrower,’’ Century—Universal A moonshiner, cast into some land where bandits flourish and liquor has been banned, puts over most of the comedy in this. Presumably, the scene of the action is Mexico, and the hero has to give an acceptable exhibition of the toreador’s skill to win the hand of the fair maid. And this is where the direction slipped up, for the manner in which it has been screened is not effective. The scenes where the characters jump out of the enclosure wherein is supposed to stamp about the wild bull»gives no one cause to imagine that what is supposed to happen, really occurs. Some of the stuff included in the piece is really clever, but it has several faults that are a handicap. “Naughty Lions and Wild Men,”’ Century—Universal Plot has been made subordinate to action in which animal novelty is much in evidence, in this two-reel comedy which is much better than some similar subjects turned out by this company recently. Several varieties of animals, lions, leopards, monkeys, and their young are seen in it. Shots of a mother ape, with her babe clining to her will appeal, and there are other bits that will draw exclamations from your audience. For the greater part, the material in the offering will prove laugh-provoking. Fishback directed, and Charles Gay, animal tamer, is credited with assisting. Bray Pictograph, No. 416—Goldwyn This is one of the finest screen magazines turned out by any one in along time. Four subjects, one more than usual, are dealt with, and each of them is treated in splendid fashion. ‘‘A Glimpse of New Zealand,” the opening part, which consists of scenes taken along the Wanganui River, is one of the most beautiful scenic bits screened. The tinting, a delicate shade of pink, and rich blue being the colors used, is superb and serves to bring out its splendor. Colonel William Barclay Parsons, noted engineer and designer of various transportation systems occupies the position of prominence in the next section, and then comes a cute bit called “Baby Bruin.’ A commendable animated cartoon, entitled “Sauce for the Goose,’”’ directed by Vernon Stallings, winds up the reel. ‘“‘Eventide”—Ford-Goldwyn Carefully tinted and finely photographed, the scenic portion which opens registers a pleasing impression. Cloudy sky effects feature that part and are of merit. A second portion is devoted to the beaver, ad a third deals with the Canadian Poreupine. All of it is filmed excellently, and it marks a deviation from the string of industrial pictures turned out by Ford. “Good Little Brownie’’—Century-Universal Bathing damsels in tight-fitting one-piece apparel, that permits a considerable limb display occupy the center of the screen for a considerable portion of the-time in this tworeeler, which features Brownie, Gentury’s educated dog. If the censors do not order much of the beach stuff out, for there is a considerable amount of footage devoted to the capers of the girls who sprawl all over each other in the most unconvetnional fashion, it may get by, for there is a considerable amount of humorous material included. The plot has been used before, the best part of the production being some of the business toward the beginning, and that really is not essential to the story. “Bubbles,” Ford—Goldwyn Following the production of a reel consisting of some scenic stuff and portions devoted to «animals, Ford has turned out another industrial concerning soap, telling of the production of that article in reasonably interesting fashion. On the whole, a creditable offering of its type. “Harmony Ranch’’—Universal A fair story, the basic theme of which is not very uncommon, and which has a few points that will cause the critical to question the plausibility of the entire affair, will probably get this over in the smaller houses. Hoot Gibson heads the cast and does his share of the work in acceptable style. You can probably use this if your crowd likes his stuff. It is not very thrilling, but hits an even pace, and if they’re not very particular, they’ll overlook its weaknesses. “Where Did You Get That Hat?’’—Famous Hats—all details about the manner in which they are manufactured—are taken up in the second issue of the Paramount Industrial Magazine. Unlike the first issue, instead of demonstrating the way in which the finished product is used, this shows the scenes at one of the Stetson hat factories. Very good handling of the subject and a worth-while addition to your bill if you happen to need an offering of this nature. Another Mentor Scenic Three parts make up another colored Mentor one-reeler which should prove acceptable. It opens with a portion called ‘‘Wedding Bells in Malaysia.” After that, there is an exquisitely tinted section which deals with the cultivation of the dahlia. Everyone of the numerous varieties of this flower is shown and this part will certainly appeal to the eye. Closing is some stuff shot along the seacoast of Spain and it includes some effective bits. Although the different parts of this have very little in common, the reel will prob ably go well in the smaller and neighborhood houses, where crowds are inclined to prefer variety. “The Millionaire Paupers’—National Several humorous bits of comedy business and a fairly clever plot will get this hall room boy two-reeler over. Some of the stuff—the closing shot in which the boys ride home in garbage cans, the restaurant scene and one or two other portions are exceedingly funny, but there are some knockabout bits that are not very effective. This has been stretched just a bit, but it is nevertheless, a creditable offering. “The Floor Below”—Pathe Neither the theme of this one-reeler which stars Snub Pollard, nor the incidents connected with it are very much to enthuse over. It deals with two henpecked husbands, who on the advice of their aged grand-father, determine to rule their households and succeed in intimidating their wives by shooting off revolvers. The father of one of the wives appears and some clever chase stuff—the only really laughable portion of the production—follows. The finish of the picture shows both old men acting humbly before their strong-minded wives. “The Sure Cure,’ National—Goldwyn Hypocondria, defined early in this two-reeler, with a grammatical error in the explanation, is dealt with lightly in the story by Robert McGowan. The Carter De Havens play the leads in the piece and perform in their usual manner. Several of the situations are very funny, but the stuff aboard the boat is not as good as most of that in the early portion. Incidentally, there was too much footage devoted to the part of the picture which depicts the condition of the youthful husband, and too little to explain the’-manner in which he is cured. Certainly, that could have been taken up more fully. The story deals with a young man who is firmly convinced that he has a varied assortment of illnesses. Old and apparently wise physicians continually feed medicine to him and it takes a more modern doctor to prescribe a trip to sea for him. Aboard the liner, he eventually realizes that his troubles were imaginary.