Wid's Filmdom (1920)

SN ee DAILY 2 @ Sunday, August 29, 1920 (Q fi Ee Production ‘the Best Thing in Average Blackmail Story Corinne Griffith in “THE WHISPER MARKET” Vitagraph Mae ke 1, CoM En Ses oho. «oes cal Vee George L. Sargent (GREG MS RGSS 2 Oe Neg ee ee nr ar W. E. Scutt SOREN ter CR ES Yates. 4. es. te Graham Baker AoA Were A Niger. os, en ae he Re Charles Davis Ps ASV ELIOT ies Blackmail story running along conventional lines Ss LOR Yaeger: Includes little that has not been done in pictures before DERE CLLONG cee... Did fairly well with material at hand — POE) by AD EAY Benes chee Seat be Up to the mark TEASE) EOI CSS Meee rae a cctS..), atiniy sincc Deets Good AS PLU eee VO) RK iss ins ees Always fine SS PL Ly Seer rca dee Is quite attractive throughout SOEPOR Tew ecm George MacQuarrie registers well as sort of semi-heavy; Eulalie Jensen, Howard Truesdale, George Howard in male lead and James O’Neil hold down characters well enough TOME EG ECL) En SU Oa ME i”... Vesre lo ey, as Scarcely any DNC RLORS he Splendid; Always look genuine DCT ALi ter a tateciot Little things were kept in mind CHARACTER ORs LORY, 2 7.,: Smugglers in Brazil attempt to blackmail consul’s wife that they may further their plans DoNGloHaOhK PRODUCTION @2 2... 4... 2. 4,713 feet There is little that is really out of the ordinary included in this offering, it being a blackmail story of average quality. The general scheme of the production and the different incidents are in most cases quite familiar, the one unusual twist coming at the conclusion when the innocent heroine is in the villain’s hotel suite, with her husband ready to search the premises for contraband. ‘The sets, atmosphere and technical end are indeed creditable. Great pains apparently have been taken with the sets, with the result that all of the interiors, which makes up almost the entire footage, look realistic. There is one point that seems rather implausible, that being the escape of the star with what she believes is an envelope that contains the staged evidence as to Her entry into the smugglers’ home, seizing of the envelope and escape her disloyalty to her husband. look like the sort of material usually credited with being likely to occur in pictures only. Juliet and George Saltmarsh, ex-blackmailers and smugglers have secured passports, but their coworker, Burke, cannot leave Brazil due to the suspicions of the American consul. It is planned to have Mrs. Saltmarsh cultivate the friendship of Erminie North, the counsuls wife ultimately to aid Burke’s leaving. This is successfully accomplished and at a party which Mrs. North attends, unknown to her husband and against his wishes, a flashlight of her is taken as Burke embraces her. In her efforts to regain the photograph, she is led to Burke’s hotel suite, which is searched by the consul and a secret service agent just as the time of her visit Erminie secures the evidence when her husband suddenly knocks at the door and is locked in another room as he enters. At this moment,, Burke developes a manly nature and offers to sacrifice the desired contraband if the room in which the star hides be left un searched. The offer being accepted, the heroine throws the blame upon the Saltmarshes, and facilitates the sailing of Burke. MacQuarrie holds down the role of Burke in good style, while the star is always pretty to look upon. The others also perform creditably. Let This Ride Without Elaboration Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor In this story of blackmail, you have little cause for The most advisable procedure is to let it ride with an announce elaboration in an exploitation campaign. ment that will let them know in a general way what sort of an offering it is and then let them use their discretion. You should be able to select some catchy slogan from the material included. Tell them that Corinne Griffith was about to he sacrificed on the whisper market—an innocent victim of circumstance and then promise them something unusual in the way of her emerging from the mess. Corinne Griffith should be all means come in for her share of the publicity you give this and it might be a good idea to let them know the names of some of the members of the cast with whose work many of the fans will be familiar. A teaser campaign would probably work out well in conjunction with this.