Wid's Filmdom (1920)

: fle "A a. ‘ be 14 OF of DAILYW Sunday, August 15, 1920 TD AM DTP PE ES TRIES SP ETL RT OE LT TT Unusual Story Twists and Excellent Treatment Result in Fine Picture Mary Miles Minter in “A CUMBERLAND ROMANCE” Realart DIRECTOR®... . .4 je eee: Charles Maigne AUTHOR: iu: ..2 ccna tas John Fox, Jr. SCENARIQEUB Yo fee ae ee Charles Maigne , CAMERAMAN) ees cee eae Faxon M. Dean AS A WHOLE ...... Different twists to Kentucky mountain romance and great atmosphere and detail make this stand out as unusually enjoyable. SOR Yate. een Has a lot of comedy, very pretty romance and decidedly unconventional finish DIRECTION? ae.) Unusually good particularly as to handling of star and injection of local color. PHOTOGRAEFLY Se ee eee Excellent LIGHTINGSAR some ta eee teen ere Excellent CAME RAEW GR irene a eee aie ae Very good SoA Rote i Confines herself to characterizations and omits mannerisms—her best performance. SUPPORT? \t¥n eee ack : 3 sf ere ee Very good EXTERIORS *# 4: cana a eee ee Beautiful DN TERIORS oe foes ee eee Realistic DET AIC &. . 5 of80 SRE tee cc tosan aa eee Fine CHARACTER OF STORY ...... Romance of Ken tucky mountain girl and “foreigner,” without the usual clinch for finish LENG THTORIBPRODUCTIONgsa sc. 5,679 feet They certainly wished a terribly cut-and-dried title on this one. It seems to suggest the same old story of the Kentucky mountains and practically defies originality. But the contents of the picture are quite the opposite of expectations. “A Cumberland Romance” has much about it that is familiar, but the twists given the romance between the mountain girl and the “foreigner” are decidedly different, while the fine touches of local color, atmosphere and attractive detail that Director Maigne has incorporated in the production make it distinctive in many respects. Special mention should also be made of Mary Miles Minter’s performance. It is undoubtedly the best she has given to the screen. She confines herself to the development of a very interesting character and drops the “cute”? mannerisms of recent attempts. There is only gne spot in the continuity that lags a bit. This is a long scene between hero and heroine, in which a flock of conversational subtitles are used. Undoubtedly necessary in the telling of the story it is entirely too long. The story proceeds with the meeting of Easter Hicks, the mountain girl, and Clayton, from the city. The more or less conventional course that this action travels is relieved by the pictorial beauty of the scenes and the fine touches of the director. The wedding is arranged, but it is not a gloriously happy occasion. Each party recognizes the great contrast that education and environment has caused. This causes an undertone of indecision that is productive of good suspense. At the wedding, Easter’s father, drunk, picks a quarrel with Clayton and draws his gun, seriously wounding his daughter. This tragedy stops the ceremony and awakens within Easter a realization of her true love for “Sherd’” Raines, her mountain suitor. Maigne, in his capacity of scenarist, has kept the sympathy with each of the three characters despite this unusual ending. He has made the very best cf the author’s material. And he has been aided by fine performances, for besides Miss Minter’s attractive characterization, John Bowers gives a real picture cf Clayton and Monte Blue develops a most interesting “Sherd” Raines. Guy Oliver as Easter’s father has considerable comedy to interpret and gets the most from it, while Martha Mattox and Robert Brower appear to advantage in supporting roles. Should Please All and Go Very Big With Star’s Following Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor Here's a picture that will give great satisfaction to all and where the star is popular it should go particularly well. This because of the immense strides made by the star since her last appearance and the altogether excellent treatment accorded the production by Charles Maigne. Play up the unusual ending of the story. You can create an interest by building advertisements about the choice the girl had to make between her local” suitor and the man from the city, This will be a good angle to play from because most people will, of course, pick the city man as the winner and you'll fool them at the last minute. Besides giving the star all that she deserves, dwell on the author, John Fox, Jr. His stories are vastly well known. And if you haven’t been giving Maigne a play, it’s about time you started. He has come through a winner with all of his recent efforts and you'll soon be getting “director specials” from him. a a