Judge — May 3, 1924 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

E HAVE always been strong for Richard Barthelmess. We be- lieve him to be one of the young men who have raised the poor old tat- tered banner of the movies to its present place in the sun. We were pleased to see, despite the last two or three motion- less pictures in which he appeared, that he has held the affectionate regard of his followers. We reluctantly thougbt that “The Fighting Blade” and *’Twenty- One” were pictures far below the mark set by him in his earlier achievements. We are now particularly happy to state that he has come back into his own and is again resting his glostorated head snugly upon the cinematic bosom of Abraham. Richard is himself again. Thank the gods of the cinema for in- spiring John Robertson and his young star to produce so worthy and. thor- oughly artistic a film as ‘*The Enchanted Cottage.” We thank them also for the choice of May MeAvoy to play the heroine and we thank Miss McAvoy for her beautiful performance and we ap- plaud the whole works for what we think has been one of the finest films it has been our pleasure to sec. The story of *The Enchanted Cotta is one that would at first glance appear to be too slight and elusive for camera reproduction, lacking as it does the physical action that lends itself to theatric treatment. There are no dash- ing, adventurous heroies such as thrill you in “America.” There are no high temperature blood scenes that run your mercury up to summer heat as in “Three Weeks” and “Thy Name is Woman.” ‘There are no man to man struggles that cause you to grit the enamel from your front teeth as in “The Covered Wagon.” There great dramatic suspense nor mystery, nor leaps for life, nor other such hokum that give you an excuse to clutch the arm of the fair neighbor on your left that leads to domestic complications with the lady on your right if she happens to be your wife. There isn’t a gun pulled from dawn to midnight. Nothing but the simple philosophy that no matter how plain your front elevation is, if your interior decoration is beautiful so are you externally beautiful to him or to her who loves you. Love is the great beauty specialist, the magic bow- boy, the touch of whose enchanted arrow makes “the crooked straight and the rough places plain.” **The Enchanted Cottage” teaches a moral that if followed would utterly destroy the whole insidious clan of face-lifters in these over- credulous United States. Mr. Barthel- mess and Miss McAvoy, under the in- telligent direction of Mr. John Robert- son, have made a film that has, to our HOLLYWOODEN IDOLS by George Mitchell TOLD IN THE MOVIES “Flaming Youth.” “Happiness.” 20 notion, set a higher standard than ha Yel been reached. ae Rl Breakinc Potxt” is medium good entertainment. ‘The stor That's the kind of a picture it frankly is There is no thought put to the develop. ment of character nor the exercise of subtle philosophy. A. spade is called dd murder is murde The plot thickens all over the place. Speak ing of the thickening of the plot reminds us of Nita Naldi, the principal figure in this melodrama, which le: abounds in plenteous action. Is us to ) sas a gentlem of a lady, that Miss N much more than the p doeswl soon announce a gi may say i thickens t, and if she at reduction . the present size of the Paramount sereen will have to be enlarged to take in her over-set. ‘To our mind) Miss Naldi is developing her stature rather than her art, Matt Moore loses himself but finds anoth personality. and love affair to keep his heart busy while his mind wanders. ‘This is ¢ 1 aphasia Tt suggests an interestin man who can’t stay put in one romance: but who must off with the old and on with the new if he only has the alibi offered him by a battered mind. To xcuse to the some it will seem a pleasant way: to id those moments which are not lo home duties. If you've Jost some of the pieces of your mal sel put your gambling habits in camphor for the night and run around the corner to see “The Breaking Point.” Aner and a dog. A real boy and a 2% veal dog. You can’t beat them without cheating and this is the of "A Boy of Flanders.” Jackie and a big soulfi know we should story ich” but thi dog is human “wh Jackie's best pi sre critic, who serves him with the devotion we se often seek but never find except in the heart of a dog. These two trample all over the soft spots of your heart and make of you a better if a more senti- mental member of soc The “Boy of Flanders” is no “OL Twist” nor yet “Long Live the King” but there is a homely a peal to your sympathy in it that brings a response. We still think that Jackie Coogan, with a few sptions only, is the best 1 in the films. If you ha star ay children send or take them to see this picture. They will like it. Whether you do or not depends on what you think of dackie. As we feel about it we'd walk a mile to see him play “Hamlet.” We believe that this little filmster has comicbooks.com taut whee ou feat the chil mis rea