Wid's Filmdom (1920)

maw 1 @ bb 2 qgye DAILW Sunday, March 21, 1920 FES EA TE EE Bang Up Detective Mystery Melo With Genuine Spectacular Thrills Maurice Tourneur’s “MY LADY’S GARTER” Paramount-Artcraft DIRECTOR viene ak sos cee eae Maurice Tourneur AUTHOR js. iia i ilce itee eee Jacques Futrelle SCENARIOJBY: 632.752 sce eee Lloyd Lonergan CAMERAMAN. 5. ioc sue ee ee Rene Guissart AS A WHOLE. Bang up detective mystery melodrama with a flock of spectacular thrills. SLORY3e Very cleverly handled—mystery fascinates and interest always increases, DIRECTION....= Tourneur has done very unusual work and puts stamp of distinction on picture. PHOTOGRAPH Yaa epee eee Excellent LIGHTINGS | i.e <a oer a. ee Splendid CAMERA WORK........ Very skilful, particularly in bank robbery scene where several offices are shown at once. LEADING PLAYERS........ Wyndham Standing, Sylvia Breamer and H. E. Herbert split ..honors. SUPPORT?) ...che, cee eo eee ce ene Very good EXTERIORS gee Some very pretty; all appropriate INTERIORS Cie cfeeicts cet. nilsson Very fine DETAIL .2: epee nents Completely convincing CHARACTER OF STORY...... Mystery surround ing theft of valuable jeweled garter and its final clearing up. LENGTH OF sPRODUCGCTION? 332 4,823 feet Maurice Tourneur comes through with a prize detective mystery story in this presentation of Jacques Futrelle’s story “My Lady’s Garter.” And not only has he served up a very sustaining mystery story in which the identity of the culprit known as “The Hawk” is kept well concealed until the very end, but he has also introduced a balancing portion of pretty romance and several spectacular thrills. The motorboat chase, the explosion of the yacht and the thrill of the narrowly avoided crash of onrushing trains stand out as gems of physical sensationalism. “My Lady’s Garter’ is melodramatic to the core but again has Tourneur dressed his picture artistically. The photographic and light effects are to be commended in particular and the clever manner in which he has handled the bank robbery scene, by shooting down on an entire section of offices, besides adding to the power of the sequence gives it the stamp of the unusual. The continuity of plot is well preserved throughout, the action being clear even though it moves at above the average speed. After a flash history in which the origin of the order of the Garter is explained, they show the hands of a crook removing the famous jeweled garter from a show case in a British museum. The crook is believed to be the Hawk, as elusive of the law as he is famous. Detective trail him to America and here suspicion is thrown on Bruce Calhoun who is seen with the garter in his possession. Bruce is in love with Helen who is also courted by Henry Van Derp, introduced as a member of the Dutch secret service. The Hawk perpetrates more crimes in America. He robs a bank while it is heavily guarded by detectives and then plans to bleed Helen’s father for a large sum of money. ‘This is the beginning of the climax sequence at the end of which it is revealed that Van Derp is the Hawk and that Calhoun is a member of the Secret Service. The garter shown in his possession was the mate of the one stolen in England. The story is handled skilfully and a lot of convincing suspicion is thrown on Bruce. You are led to expect others of being the culprit also but the final revelation comes as a clever surprise. There is a good comedy sequence in which Charles Craig is the pivotal character. In fact Tourneur has taken care of everything in “My Lady’s Garter’—suspenseful melodrama, thrills, romance and comedy. Sylvia Breamer as Helen, Wyndham Standing as Bruce and H. E. Herbert as Van Derp render fine performances and are ably assisted by Warner Richmond, Paul Clerget, Warren Cook and Louise Derigney. A Variety of Advertising Angles to This and All Are Good Ones Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor This one ought to draw very well and there’s no doubt at all about its entertaining qualities. What with the title, the author’s name and Tourneur’s, the advertising possibilities of the picture are unusual to say the least. Again there are the leading players, all of whom are well and very favorably known. Don’t neglect them. Still further there is the type of story presented. A good detective mystery story appeals strongly. And here you have some genuine thrills to back it up. You can talk a lot about the motor-boat chase, the explosion of the yacht and the near smashup of the trains. These are handled expertly and create a lot of suspense.