Wid's Filmdom (1919)

Henry B. Walthall in “AND A STILL SMALL VOICE” Natl. Film Corp.—Contr. by Robertson-Cole. j (Released through Exhibitors-Mutual.) RG LE a ee ty gts Sere ka yee os Bertram Bracken. UTE IG) Ret re ay? art jae cies eee Bertram Bracken. EC Am IVAIN er evra acts 0 s+ ote ws es enews Not credited. mAs A WHOLE ...... Conventional] meller aiming for : dramatic effects with varying success. BOTY 5. ..5.0° Starts with Christian Science theme intended to account for reformation of a crook. Wanders off into familiar situations. BrrrCLION,......55 osoecess Prevents draggy moments. TO te EY re asc cd cthcs Bate eset se eeus Good BER LIN GAS Gig seis o hisie Sesion ee oe wie Some clever effects. CAMERA WORK....A few trick scenes that get over nicely. BeeAR a5. Facial expressions have meaning, but role . is difficult. | SUPPORT ...... Fisher attracts almost as much atten tion as star; Fritzi Brunette passable. SE URIORS | 2. oer ose A number of pretty shots. MIRE f0 00. os er sees s All that the story needs. DETAIL ....A few slips such as failure to set clock to correspond with hour of action. BMARACTER OF STORY...<......... _..Harmless. LENGTH OF PRODUCTION...... About 5,000 feet. At the outset, this looks like a Christian Science ) story. They set the theme by quoting at some length | from Mary Baker Eddy and giving enough flashes | of “Science and Health” to make anyone conclude that 1) the power of the Boston woman’s teachings is going 1) to be brought out in the story. ! But whatever the original intent of the author, I can’t |) quite see any good Christian Scientist coming to the ). support of this production as an illustration of the ‘practical benefit of the teachings. When all is said and )) done, it’s merely a meller of the old school in which | the reformaton of the man who has gone wrong is | due to a sentimental liking for a woman rather than | the influence of a creed. i _ Play up Walthall as a star, for he is the best bet | in the picture. Don’t forget to remind your patrons | of his earlier successes, especially in “The Birth of a | Nation,” “The Great Love” and a long list of Grif| fith’s pictures that date back to the days when BioHi graph’s single reelers were recognized as the standard. 'Some of your fans also may be expected to recall his career with Essanay when he received consider| able publicity. It might be well to go to quite a bit of _ trouble in exploiting Walthall, particularly if you are | contemplating running the productions which will fol. low this, for he is under contract to do cight pictures | for the National Corporation. | It is too bad that his first offering is not stronger, | but you’re not gambling a great deal in believing that some of the coming productions will have a bigger » pulling power. In certain types of roles, Walthall is ) generally conceded to be one of the most intelligent 5 0 our screen actors. Kaa _——__—_———— Sunday, December 15, 1918 iff AIL 7 Perera rrr eR BERT SEE 5 EEE AE EI EL PTL SET TT Meller With Conscience As Theme Is Mainly Artificial The “still small voice” of conscience doesn’t speak very loud until the somewhat inconsistent hero looks into the eyes of the woman he loves when she is in need of help. Following the habits of all orthodox crooks, he is ready to commit one last robbery to save her and then reform. Walthall has the role of an assistant cashier in a Southern bank,, while shero Fritzi Brunette is the daughter of a poor, but proud Southern aristocrat. Among her suitors is a ne’er-do-well gambler who persuades Walthall to take $5000 of the bank’s funds to help him through a tight place. Naturally, the theft is discovered and the discredited young banker is up against it until shero’s father comes to his rescue by making good the indebtedness and handing him a copy of “Science and Health” in the hope that it will start him on a better life. Walthall drops the gift book in the shrubbery on the way out and proceeds to New York where he does the Raffles act by becoming a silk-hatted crook and stealing jewels from the homes of the wealthy. Fritzi has married the other man and she, too, goes to New York to face a ruinous career at the hands of a gambler husband, who always plays the wrong bet. The meeting of hero, shero and willun is arranged at a house party, where the host has just acquired a lavalliere of immeasurable price. Here they ring in a number of conveniently meller situations in which the shero may save her husband if she concedes to the love-making of their host, and in which hero Walthall, in order to aid “the purest woman he ever knew,” not only refrains from taking the jewels, but so manoeuvers events that he extricates the young woman from a very embarrassing predicament. The final reformation of the hero is brought about in a way that has become somewhat too familiar. Walthall enlists in the army and we lIast see him in uniform prepared to go “over there’ and redeem himself. The star is at his best in expressing perplexed emotions and Fisher supplies a first rate interpretation of the no-account husband. The weakness of Miss Brunette’s role prevents anything distinctive in the way of acting. Among the good features of the production are a number of really attractive exteriors. D Mention Walthall’s Successes But Don’t Promise Much f Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor. The value of Fritzi Brunette’s name depends upon what you have played in the past. A lot of the oldtimers will recal] her in Universal program offerings and it probably would pay to give her a fair mention in the publicity. The Christian Science angle of the picture is hardly worth bothering with even if you have a church in your town, for Christian Scientists might resent the unconvincing treatment of their creed. Using conscience and faith as a basis for your advertising angles, something like this is feasible: “Does a wrong deed haunt you? See “And a Still Small Voice,” or, “What is the most inevitable force in life? See how Henry B. Walthall meets it in ‘And a Still Small Voice.’ ” The puzzle angle might attract interest, taken after this fashion: “What is it that follows you in everything you do? See Henry B. Walthall in ‘And a Still Small Voice.’ ”