The Ogden standard-examiner. [volume], December 31, 1922, Page 4, Image 11

About The Ogden standard-examiner. [volume] (Ogden, Utah) 1920-current

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IMS! DEWSFILM REVIEWS"
Frank and Fair Comments on Latest Produc
tions From Moving Picture
Studios
II
By JAMtS W. DBAJT.
NBW YORK. Dec. 31 "For the
last ten yours we havo been educating
our patrons up to tho Idea of seeing
better pictures' And It has only been
In the past few vara that we hove
had discriminating audiences. we
have brought more people into our
theatres by showing better pictures
nd now must live up to the standard
ro MaVe set "
ThUS runs a statement sent to Die
rv Richard A. Rowland, general man
ager of First National. To me It st ems,
jfj t bo much blah, superfluous piffle.
The- idea of seeing better, pictures
Originated With those who wont to the
r . i'r and saw po r pi. tur. s ;ind t -fused
to go again. Th.- discrimination
nf Hudb nces has resulted larg. ly from
published comments on pictures rath
er than from the propaganda of pro
ducers. ThO motion picture has grov. n M
an art becnuso thoso who have treated
the motion picture as an art have b SB
commended in the public prints, while
those who continued to make shoddy
pictures were condemned.
The past few years have been
marked by an ever Increasing amount
of space In newspapers and other pub-!
licatlons devoted to photoplay n.-w J
That is the chief reason for the dis-
criminating audiences that Rowland!
refers to. t
Producers are making better pic-
lures now because they aro the only
nes which show profit.
However, there is much merit In
Rowland's statement that 50 per cent
of a picture's success or falluro de
pends on tho scenario. Th Btorj
should bo at least worthy of all the
Other elements that enter Into the
making of a picture.
When Mary and Doug were in New
York recently I saw thi m in the thea
tre almost every night. They wer
looking for talent for their pictures
One night Evelyn Brent walked on th
stage and Mary said to Doug, "Then
she is!" And in the same breath D
f-ild to Mary-. "There she Is!" And
that's how tho leading woman for
Doug's next picture was selected.
Miss Brent is under i two-year con
tract and wUl appear with Mary alt-r
Doug's picture is completi 6
Edward Knoblock is now engaged
n tbo script of "Dorothy Vernon of
Haddon Hall," Mary's next, and is
helping Doug evolve th swash-buck-Jlng
pirate story that will serve for
his next film opus,
- .
George Ade points out that "Back
Homo and Broke," the urn -nil photo
play ho wrote for Thomas Melghan,
does not contain a oabar- t scene, a
clgaret, a cocktail, a triangle plot, a
villain, a boudoir scene or a bootleg
ger. Rov A, Haines ought to breath
a sigh of relief. Thri ie of every four
plays for stage and screen th se ds
have at least one drinking scen .
A London correspondent writes me
that Lady Diana Maners 'acting in a
scene of 'Tho Virgin Ctue. n" was so
realistic that she beat against a prop
erty castle door until Its hinges broke
and Her Ladyship look u BUddt n tum
ble. Ths correspondent was excited
to the extent of writing two pages
about It. The only thing worth ci ttl-
mentlng on is that the film probably
will omit that scone, thus missing
good comedy touch.
Mary Astor will play opposite Olenn
Hunter In "Tho Scarecrow," a film
version of Percy Maekaye's witchcraft
romance. In this film, Hunter will ap
pear as a scarecrow that achieves a
soul and becomes a man
THE MOVTE CHATTEROBX.
pessue Hayakawa has deserted the
screen to b' Marred on the stage by
the Shuborts in "Tiger Lily."
Allen Holubar went from Vancou
ver, B. C.( to Montreal to film scenes
for "The White Frontier."
W m B
Jack Mulhall will bo Norma Tal
madge's leading man in "Within tho
Law."
-
Charles Ogle has been playing for
the screen continuously for 16 years.
Audrey Chapman and Dorothy Man
r, :-. w re cast for "Garrison's Finish
starring Jack Pickford. because of
their work In several Doug Fairbanks
pictures.
Perley poore Shechan. who adapted
Victor Hugo's "The Hunch Back of
Notre Damo" for the screen, lived for
ten years within the shadow of Notre
Dame In Paris.
Frank Borzage. director of "Hu
mOr sque," has become an independent
producer. His first picture will be
"Wandering Daughters," by Dana
Burnet.
The rr enario from which "Broken
Chains" was filmed won a prize of
$10,000. for Which 27,000 contested.
Therefore, originality was to be ex
pected. Therein lies the film's disap
pointment It Ifl Just like hundreds of
Other melodramas which have been
filmed.
This picture elther proves that pro
ducers are In a groove which they
cannot escape or that the mass of
movie fans, represented by the 27.000
contestants, underestimates the pow
ers of the camera.
I incline to tho former belief. Too
many of our films aro turned out ac
cording to established formula. They
are ground out of the studios like o
many Fords. I believe that any num
ber of films could bo pieced together
from the discarded scraps of other
films and prove to be just as enter
taining and with as much claim to ar
tistic recognition as films made direct
from scenarios That, like assembled
autos.
s
The story of "Broken Chains." was
written by MlSfl Winifred Kimball of
Apalachlcola. Fla. It deals with a
rich mollycoddle, who shrikns from
every physical combat, and the wito
ot a brutal mountaineer.
He meets tho girl when he visits
his Umber lands, going there to 'b'reak
the chains -of cowardice." The girl Is
attempting to run away from her hus
band. The husband catches her and
chains her in his cabin The boy
goes to free her and there ensues th
typical rough and tumble fight, the
. .Ulaln finally being tumbled over a I
prerlplce.
That Is essentially all there Is to the I
j story. Miss Kimball must have writ
ten something more than that, else
she would not have received $10,000
for It.
1
Colleen Moore Is the mountaineer's
wife She makes you shudder at tho
torture she undergoes. She also makes
you shudder at her wild antics. Mul-
olm Mi. 1 re-.ir. as the r- :: n t it. d
coward, also overplays his part This
is Indeed a lolent play Allen Holu
bar. the director, caught some of the
rnniil Konntifiil vteOT5 of hill and
woodland that the ncreen haa ever
seen. He should not have intruded
the story and hysterlal actors upon
: nature.
Claire Windsor has a part In this
film. looking back upon the year, it
se- ms that Claire Windsor has appear
ed In more pictures than any other
pi ay or.
. . .
I Ernest Torrcnce filled m- with hon
est far when I saw him in "Tol'ablo
Dald." I loathed him In "TaSS f the
Storm Country." As the mountain
j moron in "Broken Chains" by J
I most repulsive. If he frightens me
I any more. I will have to switch ..lle
giance from Wallace Beery to him as
.the best villain on the screen. I may
'carry a gun and a knife when I go
I to meet him In the theatre.
.
Saw Bobby Vernon In "In Dutch." 0
I very funny comic in which he does his
hest work. . . Saw (Jlenn Hunter.
'a most serious "Merlon of the Movies"
who se. ms eut out for l.lir things on
'the stage and screen aw "Tlr
1 Lake of Silence," n. beautiful nature
study filmed by Roll In Lexter Dixon
... Baw wally Raid in "Thirty
Hays" and thought Wanda Hawley,
his leading lady, quite a stick, as the
j saying is . Saw seven girls
have an elevator and all 7or- Hud
son seal coats. Haven't seen a black
cat for several months . . Saw
i Cain murder Abel, on the screen, and
pondered the pretty question that fac-
i it, the censors How can they permit
Ifoul murder to be shown and yet, how
can the censor the Book of Life?
. . . Saw D. W. Griffith and he
says I won't sec him again for sev
eral weeks because he has started re
hearsals for his next picture
!Saw the celluloid play based on Scott
Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and
Damned" in which Marie Provost
couldn't decide to act like flapper or
like silly matron. An untrue picture
. of flapper life . . . Saw Richard
Barthelmcss, Dorothy Gish and Tyrone
Power in ' Fury," a colorful tale of the
I sea and Llmehouse. Methought It a
better film than "Tol'able David "
W
Each art leaves Its impress on the
other arts, a development In one be
ing marked by n corresponding de
velopment In another.
The truth of this was brought to
mind as 1 read "Suzanna." a new
novel by Harry Sinclair Drago ( Mac -aulay).
Drago wrote this novel after
the film of the same title had been
completed. basing the story on the
film.
Thus he found plot and characters
made to order. The author merely
had to repeat in words what he saw
ion the screen. The result Is a story
that constantly moves forward and
at a good pace. There Is no stop
ping to unravel knots as is so often
the case when an author is setting
down a story' out of his own Imagina
tion. The originality of the story Is lim
ited by the originality of th photo
play1. Llko those books which have
(been based upon stage plays, tins
ono is a bit of hack writing, but it
holds the attention because it unfolds I
its action in movie fashion.
"Suzanna." both as ;i book and as
a photoplay, merits attention be-
1 cause It deals with a romance of
1 1 Harou)B'
I . Lloyd 31 1
I Dr; Jacket, j)
Five Reels of Laughter
il FNpLs-jrMA Laughing Hours Every Day,
I y,rP Shows Stert 4:45, 6:30, 8 j
Also WILL ROGERS in
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H Start the New Year Off Right! See This Big Double Feature Bill!
H Admission Prices m SPECIAL MORNING
Adults 30c J MATINEE
j "Kiddies" 10c IB IB 0 O IB NEVV YEARS DAY
I Note Evening prices II U K Monday at 10:30 a. m.
prevail all day New Xljf CL U U II "Free favors for the
H Year's day. G? children."
f '" vt 7
MYRTLE BTEDMAN AND HER SON. LINCOLN STEDMAN, WHO
APPEAR TOGETHER IN "THL: DANGEROUS AGE."
i '
...- 4
t
f mm, i r
MABEL NORM AND IN "Sl'ZANNE."
early California. It presents Amer
ican hlbtory in popular form. It Is
to California what "Down to tlx B B
in Ships" la to MassacbUSStta The
latter film ought to be Actionized.
A book charrvcter is e.islly vlsuallf-'l
if the reader ran pit ture i real i" r
son in the role. The readers of "Su
sanna" know that Maps Normand Is
olavlnc that role in tho photopl i
Consequently Mabel Normand stall . V
through the paces nf the hook as th I
heroine. The character Is more ren fl
than one for which th reader must i
find his cwn counterpart
Poor actio In a photoplay Is bound
to be reflected In a print, d version t
the story, since tho writer Is tellinfr
what he has seen rather than what he
haa created. The writer doesn't ds
scrlbo things as he would have them,
but as the players would hav ttasm.
Thus in the written story nf "Su
Mna" wo find a ji-on. ' his body
quivering' nsrvOUSly, his h.inds f lench
ing and unclenching, as he stood bo- I
fore the attorney." I don't know who I
plays this character In the picture,
but undoubtedly he bclongj to the ll
school of players who act with their
hands, rattier than with thlr faces.
Literature would not gain by belnrr
impressed too deply by th. photoplay
as it exist today. Literature would
be more tainted with hokum than it
Is. In "Suzanne." a game cock mis-
takes a stuffed eagle Cor another cock
that he has pursued Into the house.
Evidently the movie shows a combat
between the cock and the stuffed
bird as a bit of comic relief, but one i
has a notion that the cock was
thrown upon the bird by someone i
just beyond the range of the camera.
By no stretch of the Imagination can
"Suzanna" bo compared to original
novels that now hold forth as best
sellers, but It remains that the story
originated as a photoplay, and it pos- ,
3 cn.se 3 as much merit a-s many orlg- i
mal books that go to press It Indi
cates, however, just how valuable an
adjunct to llteraturo the photoplay
may become as It develops, especially
as it develops Its own original sorles.
nxKM.M.iaMs
Anita Loos and John Emerson
have gone to Hollywood to wr.t- s
comedy for Constance Talmadge.
Cecil DeMiUt has sent Clare v.
to I'aris and Mrs. Florence Keshan,
io the orkut, I'Sjesfcine aud India to j
do research work tor the filming ui
ine Ten Commandments. '
Manilla Dean lias consent, d b do
"Drifting" for the screen She bad
objected because he said the role
aligned her wan "immoral."
.
Almost every screen star ut
tliTio or another makes a phopla-l
that must foreVer stand as h.s or
her one big film. Thdr lubssnuent
films always are compared to it. judg
ment of their work thus becoming a
matter of mere comparison.
Thus it Is inevitable that "Fury.
Richard Barthelmejs' latest. mut
bo compared to "Tol'able David." I
thought "To'able David" a picture
much abovo tho average, but not the
aiSSterpieoe H Is now generally ac
claimed to be. When other commen
tators hailed the film as one ot tho
greatest ver made. I went to see It
1 the second time. My Impression was
unchanged.
Having Been "Tol'able David" twice
and In an analytical attitude I stn
retain a very definite impression of
lit, I think "Fury" is a much better
! film than tho one that is regarded
as Bathetmcaa' hallmark. 1
"Fury" la a tale of the sea. of Lon
Jon Llmehouse district, of brawny
men and dowdy women.
Barthelmcss U the fcon of an old
sea dog and second mutu of his
quare-rlgged schooner. The father
hates the son because of the effeml-'l
nate. tender traits In him. Hr hates 1 1
all wonwn .md something ! tin I
boy's mother n rfifcted in him. I
The boy loves a scullery maid In a
' Llmehouse retreat for sailors. Tho
first mate also loves her.
The boy gives the girl money to
'go to Glasgow, telling her he trill
leave the ship there to m.irry her.
The captain of the ship dies, bui
before be got-s he swears the boy to
H tjuwm.,1 HHM i 1 'S Styvy.x
vengeance upon the man who hal
ruined his home.
Then In the end the boy find his
mother, a habitue of a Glasgow i -room.
H loarri that the first mate
Is the villain. In the brawl that!
follows the first mate whips the bov. '
The fight la resumed at sea and the!
iflrst mate Is thrown overboard.
Barthelmess seems to have a new
I face In "Fury." It at least showa
moods and attitudes that It hereto
fore has kept unrcwalod before the i
, camera. It Is such a face as could tail
a story In InflnlTe pathos, of all the
varying emotions without tho aid of
a body or the compliment of sub
titles. I
It would prove an Interesting x-
I perlment for tho screen If some dl-
r were to gather in one cast
' only Men players as are capable of
"mental acting" to tell a story with
1 out title r subtitle. 1 believe with
I El Ic Ferguson, Jackie Coogan,
Charlie Chaplin. Richard Bathelmess
and Lillian QiSh such a story could b;
told without scenery or costume, tho
entire thing being done in close-ups
of faces.
. . .
I Dorothy r.ish Is the heroine of
"Kury " With her funny leathers ani
Inimitable manners she presents a
most ludicrous figure. Thero Is In
j her an ebullient spirit that makes her
, every gesture provocative of imllsa
1 The only woman of the screen who M
a more accomplished comedian Is
i Mabel Normand.
OINEMAGRAM&
The first picture to be made by
ICorlnne Griffith under her new con
tract with Solznlck is "The Common
La's " Conway Tearlo and Elliott
Dexter an- In It.
Henry Hull and Mary Thurman
are co-starred in "Through the Skv- jV
light" Hull m-vde his film debut In
"One Budtlng NMght." W
m
Marguerite Clayton plays oppoit Ht
Harrj Cai In "Canyon of th
y
Jack London's "The Call of ih I
reenod by Hai Mp
Roach. Fred Jackman Is directing
ik." a dog actor. Is being H
f
Love Piker." by Frank R
Adams, Is to bo turned bv Cosnin. Jwi
polltan. K
,
The Call It Dinging" is th Kl
title Ot Bn!l Montana's next comedy. II'
r, i now seems to be entirely I
d velop
Otopla Hardly HL
1 t.irnlng In Herman;,. IP
Work in Italian studios Is at its low
obb In l' jrsara France has made
lion of studio work aftur the war.
md Ls the only country other fl
U in ITnlb 1 Stat5s which has nut Ml
become a negligible fuctor in the flj
I cinrrna world. '
ThCSB assertions are based on re-B
f..i ' ... I'.-ir.-.p. .in orr - 1
spond. nts A survey of tho pictures IJ
' .reign J
i rein ers lend th.-lr t.fHt uct.ires in
.i i " a and the foreign films that I
have bon general! exhibited In .m. r- I
! . .. U . i.ist ..ir .J... not number more fl
j than six. B
Pamous Players has abandoned Its
I producing actlvlti- s In Germany, flj
h hns rone to Amerl.-a nnll
contracts with th.' n'ti.-r German di-flflj
pat Dlmltrl 1 :u howet-flr
and Lothar "!. P
dl have been settled. Plans for ln0
( i B tinned on Following Pare)
JLM ' "''IM I flHj
'Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him."
r J J '
H 'III
g New Year's Morn 10:30 I
9 a
I iiiiiiiiJiralf fi.Ol.4z. a III
ii I
Tickets procurable at Culley Drug, Mclntyre Drug,
Economy Butter Shop, Williams' Music Co.
Glen Bros. -Robert Piano Co.
I u
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I FINEST A LHAMBR A FINEST i
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W P RO D UC T I ON
EBB TIDE!
ADDED ATTRACTIONS
I FULL STAGE PROLOGUE I
showing Hawaiian Islands, volcano in action, hula r:r!s, special music, etc. Pio- I
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ALSO
Greater Features 2-ReeI Comedy ews I ?
'' - - 0 r Shows Today
PripM. 10c - 20c - 20c - 3UC
(ft I I illUU Children Children Matins, Evtningi j . QQ 3;00, 5:00
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