Wid's Filmdom (1920)

Be Sunday, March 21, 1920 K ILw Wonderful Story, tixcellent Stellar Performance and Extravagant Production Louise Glaum in “SEX” J. Parker Read, Jr—Hodkinson Brest LOR Wee. nc. oo. k se Fred Niblo ELIE EU. MGS a,c 074 eee: « C. Gardner Sullivan ptete MICRO) Riven terete, C. Gardner Sullivan React MANW 5 see dice ces as. Charles J. Stumar AS A WHOLE...... Very lavish and rich production containing a lot of dramatic and moral force. BUGeyan ... Very well worked out and all sequences handled with real dramatic skill. DIRECTION...... Puts the dramatic as well as the spectacular scenes over with fine effect. PHOTOGRAPHY Fine BSTC ALN GSM ite oes ees ne 5 Very effective CAMERA WORK...... Various scenes show skilful camera placement. pee PES ie es Role runs wide range and she handled all phases very impressively. Ur EOI | de eerereneen: o> «is Shows to fine advantage Pewee ru ke C) Ris eats hoses oss akg ea eee Few ‘used PE Ee ECL) Resentment cites din Rich and appropriate EAT: . aeon Shots of players lighting and smoking cigarettes too plentiful. CHARACTERIOF STORY... ..: Roof garden queen comes between husband and wife and later, married, finds herself confronted with same situation. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION...... About 6,800 feet C. Gardner Sullivan conceived and developed with his uncanny skill, a dramatic and morally forceful theme in “Sex,” which also serves as a wonderful vehicle for Louise Glaum. All the dramatic sequences, and there are many, have been handled with fine effec ee peme le sel SNe 66. @ 6. 6 6.8 lense w iw @. 6. eo 6 0 6 tiveness both in the writing and the production of. them, and the final sequences contribute a fateful touch to the story that will make it the subject of much conversation. In fact “Sex” is a picture blessed with a BIG story. The story opens showing Adrienne, a roof garden queen, in all her artificial glory. Her philosophy is to look after herself alone. Believing brazenly in this selfish outlook she laughs at the plea of the wife of her most ardent admirer to give him up. As a result there is a divorce. Later, however, Adrienne marries Dick, a millionaire, and finds herself really in love with him. And not until her successor at the roof, Daisy, once a chorus girl whom Adrienne had tutored to become a gold-digger, comes between her and Dick does she realize the utter falsity and cruelty of her former act. Unable to hold Dick she takes passage for Europe, and on the steamer sees her former admirer happy in his reunion with his wife. Happiness is all about her but she has none. The very simplicity of this story is the key-note to its power. The placing of Adrienne in the same situation two times, only at opposite corners of the eternal triangle, is a very forceful stroke and one which, besides being responsible for tremendously effective drama, affords Miss Glaum splendid opporuunities to display her emotional versatility. The picture has been very lavishly produced. The roof garden scenes are startling in originality and effectiveness and the wild party in Adrienne’s home is reckless in abandon. But Director Fred Niblo has shown himself a master of the dramatic sequences as well as the spectacular scenes. In fact these ar handled to surer effect, for the spectacular orgy is marred several times by vulgar incident which should never been pictured. These scenes and shots of the players lighting and smoking cigarettes could well be eliminated. Irving Cummings as Dick, Peggy Pearce as Daisy and William Conklin and Myrtle Stedman as the husband and wife lend exceedingly valuable assistance to the star. Wouldn’t Be Able to Keep ’Em Away From This With a Small-Pox Sign Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor “Sex” is a wonderful audience picture. The title, star, story and production unite in making it the wonder it is in this respect. And as far as advertising value goes you wouldn’t be able to keep the crowds away from this if you displayed a small-pox sign over your door. Naturally that title is going to draw them in apd a few catch-lines concerning the story and the star will serve to make it even more alluring. And word-of-mouth advertising will do the rest. Peopie surely like this sort of a story dealing with the Broadway underworld. Tell them about it by using such reading notices as these in your copy, “Adrienne, the toast of Broadway, laughed and profaned the bonds of matrimony but then love came to her and her selfish philosophy boomeranged on her with terrible consequences,” “The sanctity of marriage meant nothing to this selfish queen of the roof gardens but the day came when she was to pay!”