Judge — February 9, 1924 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

FRE SHEET WH THE SILVER LINING E WERE lunching with a moving pic’ ture director on the topmost peak of one of last week’s high noons. He ordered oysters with cocktail sauce. We wanted ours undressed. We sat back and wagered on the result, knowing a waiter’s paternal attitude toward cocktail sauce. We both lost. The waiter brought on ktail sauce and gave it to our guest. Did we say gue: suse it, please! Host brought it to our host and was signed up at once by the director. “A man whose super-intelligence can over- ride a culinary tradition as collosal as that, has the makin’s.” His theory is that any simple story ge book sale, if ph ved by a cast of prominent screen be successful. “Such as ‘Black Oxen,’” he concluded, ‘Flaming Youth,’’’ we recommended. Well, everybody is either right or wrong. Maybe he’s right—but we left him (and the bill) and sallied out on our job “Heritage the Desert,” Zane Grey story. With a large book sale, and a cast including Bebe Daniels, Noah Beery, Lloyd Hughes, Ernest Torrence and James Mason; all well known to film fans—all good actors. But be- fore we had sat through half the film we were con- vinced that there’s a fly in the oint- ment of his theory. “Heritage of the Desert” is only a little bit better than its title im- plies; a dreary waste. The pic- ture barely rises above the banal intrigue of a band of bad men at variance with a band of good men for control of a cattle town and the hand-to-hand struggle between two men for the pos- session of the heart of a girl—Formula No. 1, including the hero, the heroine, and the villain with their acolytes. Even though you miss this picture you’ve seen it before so often it doesn’t matter. UT PERHAPs it will cheer you to know that your favorite Gloria Swanson has found in “The Humming Bird” a picture in which she has surrounded herself with the kind of material that fits her perfectly. Gloria does everything in this story but swallow a stove. Her first appearance as a Parisian gamin is picturesque. Subsequently, she runs one gamut after another. We are inclined to believe that this is the most satis- fying picture she has made. With the background of the The next step CRINOLINE Parisian underworld draped behind her, there is color and romance enough to make you forget the price of admission and the hours of toil you drudged earning it. If you like Gloria, you'll enjoy this picture. If you don’t, go and get the habit. Byreex TIME we get all het up about pictures getting better we stub our toe by running into something like “Let Not Man Put Asunder.” We thought we had outgrown all this mawkish tomfoolery about the commandment that prohibits inhibitions that have to do with other men’s wives or other husband here is practically nothing unsaid—at ast on the screen—about this subject. For years we saw nothing on the silver sheet but this tawdry tinsel. If this type of picture has nothing to boast of save that it is offered as a lesson to those who are obsessed with a desire for variety, let us take the bull by the horns and institute a “Husband's Exchange Week,” and have the thing over with. Then we may return to our various vocations and get some knit- ting done. If you feel too optimistic about life go and re “Let Not Man Put Asunder” and get the pess reaction that will drag you down to what you may think is life’s level, or you may spend the money on Charlotte Russes and get just as much substance for your purchase. I" SEEMS a pity that Mabel Normand — should waste all the time she does with fire- arms. Mabel is too good a come- dienne to neglect the screen for the shooting gallery. Besides—and we offer this only as a warning—some day she’s going to learn that she may be as attra: eto bullets as she’s to men. Having thus relieved our- self of this altruis- tic advice to young ladies, we will pro- “The Extra Girl” is a film which you may see and There isn’t anybody else in the movies in Miss Mabel’s She’s as original and as welcome as a new whims We would classify her as the Charlie Chaplin of the screen and like Chaplin she is aging in Hollywood. Her humor is be- coming less slap-sticky. A deeper and subtler sense of fun is mellowing the old time rough-and-tumble stuff. She’s broad- ening with the years. There are touches of tenderness in “The Extra Girl” that promise bigger things. The story is interesting enough though you will find all your old familiar themes in it. At times it suggests or promises to run to “Merton of the Movies” but doesn’t. And again it takes on the color of “Hollywood.” But all in all it is original enough and thoroughly well done. (Continued on page 28) comicbooks.com