Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-05-06 | Page 7 | "Playing Game" Draws Big at Paramount

"Playing Game" Draws Big at Paramount rpHE verdict of the bumper, audiences present all day at the Paramount-Empress yesterday apparently was that "Playing the Game" is the best story In which Charles Ray has been starred on the screen to date. The many admirers of this popular Ince star, who have been accustomed to seeing him as a bashful country youth, will be surprised at the character he plays in this his new Paramount Para-mount offering. In the story of this picture pic-ture Charles Ray is pictured as a wild young man, whose sole task In life seems to be the squandering of the millions left to him by his father, and which he scatters scat-ters broadcast along the Great White Way. At a dinner given to "Babe," a cabaret dancer, he gives her a diamond ring. The girl is the dancing partner of an entertainer enter-tainer who demands that she turn the ring over to him. This results in a fight in which the fellow is knocked out and apparently killed. Believing himself to be a murderer, Larry (the hero) retuims to his uncle's house, and, with his valet, Hodges, a former prizefighter, goes to Arizona to begin life anew. The fun starts in earnest when the two arrive at a ranch. Comedy and thrills are interspersed in a fashion that keeps everybody keyed up. In addition to the rapid action of the story there is a love element running through it which makes the whole decidedlv acceptable to all sorts of likes and dislikes. Among the many thrilling scenes that make this a notable picture is a fight in which Billy Elmer, a fighter in real life, ae well as in pictures, takes a prominent part. Billy is a scrapper and has plenty of chances to scrap in this picture. As the valet of Larry Prentiss, the role assumed as-sumed by Charles Raj-, he provides excellent excel-lent support to the star. Mr. Ray's char-' char-' acterization in this picture stamps him as the inimitable portrayer of American youth, strong, brave and sturdy. His performances per-formances on the bucking ponies alone is an eyeopener. The balance of the new bill which goes again today and for the following two days is well up to the high-class standard stand-ard set The Pathe Weekly carries the best collection of news pictures assembled assem-bled for some time, while the Burton Holmes travels take one among the beauties beau-ties of Hawaii in entertaining fashion.