Judge — December 4, 1920 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| | os MOVES IN THE MOVIES 1 | t Homer and the Happy Ending By Myrox M. Srearxs (“LENS HEN Mr. Achilles slaughtered Mr. Hector in the — of film production in America, the main story-tellers of the well-known war on Troy, and then fra 1 the screen. The original authors are, for the most part, merely remains all up, coasting ‘em around the city, it © men who furnish raw material from which the screen storics worked both ways. It was almost as good as are constructed. And our me directors still average, being elected president for Achilles, but it w intellectually, philosophically, artisti ’, about on the plane pretty tough on poor old Hector. Achilles could go on and live — of third-rate magazine writers. Bel it or not—resent it happily ever after, getting a hearty hand from the entire Greek or not—it’s the truth. audience. But it was plain tragedy for Priam and the rest of Homer wouldn't bother us about a happy ending, or the lack Hector’s folks. All Troy felt cut up about it. of it; he had it either way. Of course, it’s a rather painful subject—murder, and so But the poorer your story-teller, the more essential is the final | much indignity to the corpse, and all that. But it fits in beau- — kiss. For with him, Evil is Black, and Virtue alw hi tifully with the Fall movies, where the miracle epidemic has and in the end Virtue must inherit the fortune. Other- been followed by a back-wash of murders enough to make your —_ wise—chaos. hair curl. To Homer, winner and loser alike were men—not the one Talk about melodrama! Why, the Trojan war, with men a hero and the other a villain. falling over like pine trees and getting dragged around dead To Barrie, to Stevenson, to all writers who touch a deep | now and then, like logs, is tame! Absolutely a back number! philosophy in their work, life is life, with good and bad i See Lionel Barrymore choke men to death! Watch the legless inextricably intermingled. Beauty and tragedy are closely ] cripple pul! poor girls’ hair in The Penalty! Sce the Branding akin, the hero is part bad, the villain part’ good, pain and Tron sear the helpless w And Bandits! And Brutality! Oh pleasure alternate, and death is merely an end, instead of me,oh my! only a disaster. The other day, out on Long Island, a whole flock, herd, drove, See how the greater photoplays of our almost. childish school or covey of movie reviewers and the like were seeing — beginnings illustrate this. ‘Hearts of the World” showed Sentimental Tommy shot in a great Scotch village built for happiness and humor as well as death and devastation. that one picture by Mr. Zukor, Mr. Lasky, and their associates “‘ Humoresque” pleases as it proceeds; it could have been of Famous Players—etc partly tragic, at the close, without losing. It scems the story of mmy and Grizel is “Broken Blossoms” gave us something, at to be improved somewhat over the original least, of happiness, and a great deal. of Barrie version, and given a happy ending. Pictures Worth Seeing: beauty, before turning wholly to brutality y The question arises: docs this change, all | AN OLD-FASHIONED BOY and death. The utter preponderance of the f things (including chiefly dollars) considered, THE'DEVIL'S GARDEN latt t the end of the story, was the really have to be made? Lionel Barrymore commits mur- greatest defect of the film. “The Copper- Some say it do, and some say it don’t. = ROWHiEAShe head” would have won greater recognition, i Which brings up Homer, and Achilles and Ae ilar of the year: and more money, had there been a truer Hector, and all those other dead issues. The THE PENALTY balance of happiness, not necessarily at the problem in a nutshell being: why the happy Penny-dreadful de luxe. end, but in the middle, “Over the Hill,” soitin And ‘if nt why the wnhappy | 745 LINE OF THE PARTY | a ath the jhappy coding, is ati oppressive ending? And if so, how? OVER THE HILL* because during the course of the play the Homer is the answer. Near-tragedy of a neglected story follows too closely the childish formula Hi ttle . mother, rs its most oh eur messy Hue merchant THE OREAT REDEEMER of All Black for Black, and shows too long j able movies, the happy ending 1s essential. Robber — jail— miracle — reform. a_ succession of un appy incidents, with We—half a hundred million of us, the G. A MADAME PEACOCK disproportionate misery for the characters. -ublic—demand it. We aren’t hapy ill ere i The | Public—demand it. We aren’t happy till |), anmeve, The same is true of Griffith's “The Mother we get it, and we won't pay our way in if we ‘Ol Bill Hart, the Bandit He-ro. and the Law.” don't. But why? 39 EAST* Were Barrie himself a movie director, Because our movie story-tellers, for the Booting pores Ronin with filming Sentimental Tommy, he could trust d most part, aren't yet good enough to be | gopy anp SOUL his picture to great audiences without worry- ‘ trusted with tragedy. t Dual personality melodrama con- ing about whether or not the ending was a To me, that’s an exceedingly interesting | ¢,, ,wrinely serecned “happy” one. ‘The box-office receipts would matter. ‘Short child comedy, too good to not be materially affected; but as it is—even j Let's take up the subject of directors, for miss. with a director well above the present aver- a moment. *Exceptionally good. age in charge—the change toa happy ending The directors are, under existing methods is (financially at least) decidedly advisable. 22