Wid's Films and Film Folk (1917)

) yaey WID’S would have been much more effective if Friend Skinner could have been able on the finish to have collected quite a substantial sum from his partners when he went back to them, instead of just going back as one of the firm. There is no question about the truth of the value of bluff in New York, and a good many New Yorkers, successful business men, know it only too well. Those who don’t know it from personal experience love to think that the other feller succeeds or has appeared to suc_ ceed because of his being a good bluffer, and consequently that thought should have been given as much prominence as the comparison between the cottage life and the big city servant stuff. I believe that by changing one title, which will give Skinner something more than his old place in the firm, this point can be registered very satisfactorily, and I want to suggest particularly to the Essanay Co. that they do this. Naturally most every one will compare this with “Skinner’s Dress Suit,” which has been a tremendous success, I am glad to note, and while it may not register as just as big as the first one, with most of your peo bulge, still I feel sure that every one will consider it a splendid follow-up and be rather pleased with it as a bit of entertainment. The bluff put up by Skinner in his own office is going to get a lot of real laughs, and we have scores of delight George Beban in THE MARCELLINI MILLIONS Morosco—Paramount ED MAR Hs Ged) epee pe ns Sree Donald Crisp NBM MOS Re st Oe a eee eran e Edith Kennedy SCHNARIO BY 22... Edith Kennedy and George Beban CAMERAMAN.......... Pues dhs tcp ver ate Siena J. O. Taylor AS A WHOLE.......... Old stuff made very entertaining by atmosphere, characterization and treatment STORY.....Boob inheriting fortune only to learn happier when poor; Formula No. 837 DIRECTION.............. Made it distinctive, gave good little touches and kept it interesting Mere Ua A Py wee eo i eee ee a Excellent LIGHTINGS.......................Very good; generally pleasing PATE TUECIAM UC) La teen oan eee tre ee ee Excellent pace Delightful characterization; always convincing SUPPORT... Helen Eddy excellent; others very good MNCs EOL Rey ee te en en Not many, but very good a TS CO) Rd ea Excellent; quite distinctive Good little touches ETTER proof of the ability of a director and star to make an old idea entertaining by atmosphere, treatment and characterization could hardly be found. I doubt if there is any plot more familiar to film fans than the boob-inheriting-fortune stuff which finishes with his discovering that the money was not his and the fact that he is happier without it. In this case, this idea has been made to seem almost ew, because it has been so thoroughly clothed in dis inctive atmosphere and so well played by capable pegnple. ple, because the first story of this type always has the ° Thursday, May 10, 1917. ful little human touches all through the film, some of the bits where the moving men take out Skinner’s belongings from the little cottage being particularly good. When Skinner left his cottage for the city, he had just a few too many bundles to be sure-enough human, and I am afraid that the idea of riding to Meadville through force of habit was just a bit overdrawn. Most of the titles were excellent, and the cast was delightful. Many of the same characters, particularly the wife and partners, were the same as in the “Dress Suit” film. They were Hazel Daly, U. K. Houpt and James C. Carroll, with Marion Skinner as the wife of one of the partners. The Box Office Angle. I believe that you can go to this pretty strong in your advertising as a sequel to the “Dress Suit” picture, get a lot of money with it and give general satisfaction. Of course, if you haven’t played “Skinner’s Dress Suit” as yet, by all means play it first and then follow with this a little later. As a sequel, this is very good, and if Mr. Beaumont and Mr. Washburn can continue to give us productions as human as this in carrying out the “Skinner” series, it is going to be some whale of a box office draw. People do want human productions. The instantaneous success of the “Dress Suit” offering proves this beyond. any possible question. CHARACTERIZATIONS, ATMOSPHERE AND TREATMENT MAKE OLD IDEA ENTERT AINING I don’t have to tell you what George Beban can do with the character of an Italian truck gardener. Just picture him coming into possession of millions, with his beloved wife taken in tow by a couple of crooks, who tried to break her into the society stuff. The pathos of his losing her because he was failing to climb, didn’t get you as some of the other Beban pathos touches have in other films, because you somehow felt that she would certainly wake up at the right moment and the comedy element seemed to dominate. Nevertheless, there is sufficient contrast here to hold the interest and give the comedy scenes the right shading to make them truly effective, and I believe that any audience will enjoy this and certainly consider it very much better than the average program, release. Basically, it is only a chance for Mr. Beban to characterize, because the plot idea is known. He is so good, so human and so convincing in his work that it becomes a distinctive film. Helen Jerome Eddy has done a number of splendid things in Morosco productions, and with Mr. Beban she has registered several times. This is one of the best opportunities she has had and certainly she puts her work over. The remainder of the cast were very satisfactory, but they were really just a frame for Mr. Beban and Miss Eddy. The sets in this were truly impressive. They seemed to have a solidity which convinced you and made this artificial situation seem more like something which might happen. The director, in his treatemnt, has given us action and atmosphere, and the players have provided personality. In the supporting cast were Pietro Sosso, Henry Wood (Continued on next page) 505