OCR Text |
Show Three New Films Are Previewed by Critics (Copyright. 1S, la United States and Uraat Britain by tha Norta American Ameri-can Newapapr Allianoe. .By HALLCTT ABEND. IrOS ANGBLKS, Aug. a. This last week haa brought to me the privilege of project I on from preview at tha various va-rious studios of several films of unusual un-usual merit. Xa fact I have, somewhat slowly and skeptically, come to the conclu-aloa conclu-aloa that the film are getting; better, and aa I review mentally the photoplay photo-play a. not yet releaaed. which I, have I seen at the studios of late, I gather ! full confidence to atata Oiat this fail and winter will see rteaaea, oa the i average, much bettor than those of ; any prevloua aeaaon. There are more extraordinary film coming out, more merely got! film a, and fewer trahy ft una, than in any other season w.th-! w.th-! In my recollection. This is partly due to the Inde-I Inde-I pendent companies which are bidding lor favor, but in even larger meaa- arwejje ehe'wer? woetey "jf 'tba "btaj eompanlas to make fewer and better picture, and to divide their eapendl-i eapendl-i turta among fewer product) on a. The I time la almost here when tha merely mere-ly average five-reel "program" picture pic-ture will not get a chance at a first class theatre. One of the surprises met In my vis-Its vis-Its waa "Tha Meanest Man in tha World." I knew that play aa an extremely ex-tremely diverting etage aucceaa by George M. Cohan, and It la also om of tha 'taJkJeet" of the Oohan opera. I went to the projection room at the ol Leaver studios, where the photoplay photo-play vereton waa made for lTincipal i picture releaae. prepared to be bored. ! Inatead I laughed- and laughed, and : enjoyed mvaelf so heartily that when the run waa over I wee amaaed to find I had aeen 4600 feet, of film. Tha time had pawed ao quickly I waa aura I had aeen only 4500 feet. Bert L.yte.1 plays the title role, and handle han-dle It aa deftly ao any f screen portrayal por-trayal of his which I hav ever seen. Aa even greater laugh provoker 1 Harold Iaioyd'a new Him. "Why Worry 7" wtiica is completed, but will not be releaaed until October. In tbta venture I-loyd preaenta something entirely en-tirely different from "eiafety laat-" Ma takea tha part of a rick young egotlat who Imaginea he la an InvaUu. ho goea to a Central American republic re-public for a rest and change of climate, cli-mate, and landa In th midst of a revolution. Hia adventure, and hia romance, even l,eyond description. He makea even the pulling of a tooth Into high comedy, and ill repulee of tn army, which oannot be a-acribed here because of Ita aurpriao featuraa, is a classic. In his support Uoyd baa! Jobyna Kkiston, a surprising pufc.tr.- i tuoinour young woman who la also a : god aorta, oh looka l"k a combination com-bination of Mabel Mormand and Gloria 8 wan son, which is saying quite enough Another of his compaxiy le Johan Aaamn, a giant of a man weighing 410 pound and atandlng feet a inch. Johan la the heavy axUUery in u.e ftgbl with Ute army Then came Marshall Kalian's next releaae. "The Eternal Three,' written writ-ten avid directed by Mr. is Han him-aelf. him-aelf. Tble la a Ooldwya picture, for release late In September, and 1 rank It la Nellan'a beat production and a strong argument In favor of original tori e aa against adapt at fona of novala and 'e play. Urlcfly told. , the atory aeema to lack punch. It i baa to do with a famous surgon. played moat admirably by Hobext Ho worth, who haa adopted a atreet gamin. When, this adopted eon Is grown, the foster father marries a young woman and tha eon tiiea his blandishment on tha stepmother. Then the foster son Is run down by sn automobile, and tha man he haa sought to betray haa to operate upon hia brain. One allp of tha knife, and all will be well for the surgeon. This sounds trite, but tha way Mr. Nellan haa directed the picture im not trite. He haa made a compelling drama with cheap materials, and bia aucceaa, which mrtts all prate. a due to the way that he develop his action scene by scene. Bessie Love 1 the Supffia of the picture. I have never thought highly high-ly of her work, and when, of late, I heard aha was doing apl end Idly In tragic role 1 merely smllM cynically. To my confusion I found my cynicism cyn-icism absurd. She handles the part of the doctor's secretary In a manner that Is a least a good aa Paulina Frederick at her best, and I am convinced, con-vinced, now, that In Miss lxv film-dom film-dom haa a great emotional actress who h ere t of or has been poorly east or directed clumsily. Perhaps both. Raymond Griffith, a young man of whom I have heard much of late but eeri little, has a fine part tn the Nellan opus that of th wayward fnater ao. His work will bear watching. watch-ing. Ha seems to be sn unusually able player, and with a great reservoir of personai magnetlam. |