Judge — December 29, 1923 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

“Hold it!” DO YOUR CHRISTMAS SCREENING r I NHE OTHER MORNING as we were step- ping into our Rolls—about to dash to our office, Lullabelle, our colored maid—we have a different colored maid each) month—ran down the — graveled roadway and hailed us. We laid a re- straining hand on Swansdown’s shoulder, Swansdown’s our chauffeur. ust a moment, my man,” said we. His hand in obedience, froze on the clutch. Lullabelle reached the car and thrust along strip of paper into our gloved hand: “The missus gave me this ter give ter yuh,” said she in imperfec ish. “It's ihe Christmas shopping lis can’t get ter town ter-da: bridge this aftanoon.” We t the list. We are careful to be as obedient to “the missus” as Swansdown is to us. We bade him drive on. We gave the list to our office boy. “Mike,” said we, “get these things during your lunch hour.” Thus relieved, we Uropped into the Rialto to see Jackie Coogan playing in “Long Live the King.” Sometimes, when we grow skeptical of the screen’s future; when all our aristo- ¢ ally intellectual friends tell us that the moving picture houses are Moronic temples, our faith in films grows flimsy. Perhaps they are right. This, when we have seen something like Barthelmess, in “Twenty-one.” wasting his — splendid talents on piffle. In such a moment, however, we goid up our learns—we gird up our loins, so to speak, and think of Jackie Coogan, for here is our young Lochinvar that is ys sure to come out of the West vic- , or we think of Jackie as the giant killer, doing in the ogre Unintelligent Pictures— So, in our darkest moment we sat in the Rialto wondering if we are merely a sentimental blubberer. We wonder if Jackie is all we believe him to be. Per- haps we are wrong and yet to us he rings all the bells—all the time. Coogan at EARLY by George Mitchell eight or nine is capable of throwing us all over the emotional carpet. Few grown- ups can pantomime pathos as this young: ter. He's got more “stops” than the organ in the movie house, and he pulls them out one by one with the ease and confidence of a master player. He's a little grown up since “The Kid.” but he offers just as much plus the added mentality of an older boy, and it’s just that that we see in Jackie that holds out hope for the future of the screen. We figure growing up with him, though he has a few years the advantage of us, and we hope for his sake, mind you, not ours, that he may live to play old men’s parts and that we will live to see him play them. We are sure you'll like “Long Live the King.” It’s a clean-cut picture and gives Jackie lots to do—and whisper see certain Chaplinesque movements that, if we were Chaplin, would cause us to get out our halo and burnish it up a bit. Ww the thought of the missus’ shop- ping list loyally in mind, we strolled up Broadway, shunning the shop win- dows lest we pit our judgment against hers as to what she and I ought to give Uncle Bartholomew, and dropped. into the Rivoli where Lenore Ulric is cavort- ing among the Canadian Rockies in “Tiger Rose.” Miss Ulric is a tried thespienne. She's been one of Belasco’s stars and has a radiance all her own, but as far as we could judge her on the screen—the first picture we've seen her make—she’s got to choose her films with a little more care for originality. Northwestern mounted police stories have been done—we wish we had a dollar for each one we've we wouldn't worry so much about the missus’ shopping list—and “Tiger Rose” offers nothing which we haven't seen once before and done as well. Lincoln’s terse remark about fooling we 25 all of the people and all the rest of it rings true of the screen as well as of the saner walks of life—and by this time the moving picture people ought to know that there isn’t a tree or boulder in Canada that isn’t known to us by its first name, and the changing of the sergeant’s or the girl's name is not enough to make us think we're seeing a new picture. Let Miss Ulric try again in something more original and.realistic. We are dis- posed to like her but not in Northwesterns —we're a bit fed up with Canadian police —and you can’t blame us. Srane of mediocre pictures reminds J us of “Anna Christie,” it’s so different and the surprise comes on you all of a heap, because Blanche Sweet, with whom we have till now associated pretty pic- tures of a pretty girl, has cut loose, thrown her beauty to the four winds and. the seven Sutherland sisters and plays Anna Christie with sincere dramatic abandon. When we say that her performance com- pares with Pauline Lord’s we stick tight to the truth, and her work lines up with any performance we've seen on the sereen this ye The picture itself—in direction and the . realistic quality of the settings, with the sole exception of the shipwreck achievement, and ¢ ge Marion as old Chris does a fine piece of work. If you like your pictures straight—without faney work, million dollars “Anna Christie.” is a fine mobs. or vO see uster Keaton has always been good for two or three hs to each foot of film from us—but not even he can dis- prove Mr. Shakespeare's statement as to the play’s being the thing. In most of Mr. Keaton’s plays he steps out boldly as soon as the projecting buzz- buzz begins to unwind itself and right then the laugh is yours for the exercise. (Continued on page 3:2) comicbooks.com