Judge, 1928-02-04 · page 23 of 36
Judge — February 4, 1928 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a film review column by Pare Lorentz critiquing two movies. The main review concerns "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," adapted from a popular 1920s book and stage play. Lorentz acknowledges the film is competently made by director Malcolm St. Clair with good casting (Ford Sterling as a wealthy philanthropist), but finds it tedious—the story has been adapted so many times that the novelty is exhausted. The secondary review attacks "The Noose," starring Richard Barthelmess. Lorentz's complaint is absurdly specific: the film contains 170 title cards (text interruptions common in silent films), totaling roughly 1,700 words—more text than a typical magazine confession story. He considers this excessive verbosity a fundamental flaw, making the melodrama about a rum-runner unbearable. The satire mocks both the film's poor construction and silent cinema's heavy reliance on intertitles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE JOUVGING THe ME BW PARE LORENZ Q 4) : read the book, seen the y and witnessed the movie and I'd rather not hear any more about “Gentlemen” Prefer Blondes.” However, it is only air to report that Malcolm St. Clair has made a smooth job of direction and that the author and her husband hi expertly adapted the stage script to the screen. The movie follows the career of the wide-eyed Lorelei without a E tion from the three or four hundred other adaptations of the story with the exception of a prologue showing how the flaxen-curled belle of the Ozarks shot her employer or she explains, when her “seemed to, become a blank “it seemed the revolver had shot him.” There is a very good cast, Ford Sterling being particula excellent Gus Eisman, philanthropic button king. frequency of titles and a lack of plot make mind “Gentlemen Prefer The Movie Guide Performance Daily Shows) invous Shows Only) Rad beet Blondes” tiresome before it) has ground out its full length, but Director St. Clair angles his amera so adroitly it gives the weak fabric an entertaining enough gloss to make it an enjoy- able picture. ne latest’ picture — starring Richard Bartheliness is even worse than “The Patent Leather Kid,” if you can imagine such a thing. It is adapted from Wil lard) Mack's st play “The Noose,” one of those impossible melodramas, and it is just about the poorest thing in every way that I have seen in weeks. In the first place, there are 170 titles, by actual count, and as a title averages about ten words, that gives 1,700 words needed to hang “The her. This is more verbis than an ordi nary Liberty ten second confes sion story contains, so I. shall > the picture for its merits tabloid short I know nothing at all about short stories, too, critici as oa story, as Nickie, acted by square-jawed Mr. Barthelmess, is a rum-runner who wants a home, Mother, and wall mottoes. He (Continued on page 26) young