Judge — May 26, 1928 — page 25: what you’re looking at

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

routine as movies they would show the same lack of stor: nse and continuity—if every- body from the vice-president of the publishing company to the printer's devil had a crack at changing the story, it would be a miracle if the characters didn’t emerge from the free-for-all slightly cock-eyed. The opening outburst was occasioned today by N’ doubt if novels were produced by the same the picture “The Big Noise,” which had a corking idea that just faded away and died a shadowy death, The story had to do with a subway guard who lived with all ‘the courageous pleasure of a prairie dog— browbeaten by the public in general and his family in particular. He stumbles and falls under the tracks of an oncoming sub having fallen asleep on his feet, and is taken to the infirmary unharmed. A local editor sees this item and uses it to build up a campaign issue for his candidate for mayor, an opponent of the subway company and its political supporters. Thus forced into the public eye by a political exigency, the little subway guard begins to take himself seriously, and poses for the tabloids with all the assurance of a veteran hammer murderer. He is carried along until the campaign is over, and then he finds his friends e forgotten him. There is a conclusion to the story, but the last two reels uninteresting and tiresome. Now there was an unusually good idea for a farce, nd Chester Conklin handled excellently what ma- terial the picture furnished. I have always wanted to see a good study done of the faithful servant who is awarded a bronze harmonica for coming to work at 8:35 every morning for twenty-five years. What happens after the tumult and the shouting dies? Does he continue to come to work on time? Does JUDGE UDGWG T=MOVIE®e be he continue to loyally support his employers? I do remember one case of an old gate-keeper who lost a leg back in the eighties while working in the laboratory of one of our great inventors. After his cident he had been hired as gate-keeper and he had watched the workmen come and go for fifty years, and had seen the dingy laboratory expand into one of the greatest corporations in the world, Some bright young man discovered the old fellow's ser record and, as a publicity stunt, promoted a testi- monial dinner. A great deal of sentiment was evoked by the affair—the story of fifty years of faithful service, on time every morning, never asked for a raise, went the rounds of the office, and the dinner was attended by all the officers of the company who, seeing the old man for the first time, congratulated him with tears in their eyes and presented him with flowers and a gold watch. Well, the old gate-keeper didn’t show up to work for a week after the dinner (it seems he went on his first drunk in fifty years, and beat his wife un- mercifully and so broke up the furniture they had to put him in jail) and when finally he did come to work he was so surly and insulting to the men the superin- tendent fired him, He died several months later in an alcoholic ward, leaving an estate of close to a million dollars in bonds which the founder of the company had deeded to him rk in the eighties. ‘The Big Noi contained an excellent idea, and it is more amusing than the ordinary so- called comedy, due to Conklin’s excellent clowning. asy Come, Easy Go,” has Richard Dix, an obviously stupid story, some feeble wisecracks, a girl with an open face, and nothing else to ree mend it. a (Continued on page ») (Two performance daily shove) ail ot "98" (Astor) — strange things done under the milaizt know about this ove. “Four Sens” (Gaiety)—One of Mr. pica. Alaskaa gold rush Fox's tear terion burns down this one seems likely Glorious Betsy” (Warner’s)—Next 10 £0 00 indefinitely. week. “Street Angef” (Globe)—For tear epic umber 2. Janet Gaynor and that's all. “The Man Whe Laughs” (Central)— A rather long version of the Hugo novel, but extremely well done and highly worth" seeing. Charles Chapli (Continuous shows only) ‘a latest movie. The Movie Guide magnificent pi ‘Abie's Irish Rese” (44tb Street)—You sun.” including this dull epic of the and an unusually good cast. “Wings” (Criterion)—Unlew the Cri- this tere, “The Big Meise"—Reviewed in this larwe. this issue. ‘The Cirews” (Rits, Mt. Vernon) — ‘The Crows” (Loew's Astoria) Crotit again goes ware, done by King Vidor uoueually good m “The Last Command” (77th Street) — Aird Street) — Emil Jannings. Not bis best. but worth 4 picture. seeing to King Vidor for an ve. “The Gauche” (L Douglas Fairbank’s “Easy Come, Easy Ge” —Reviewed in el Barry: nee. with the Marquise doing her beat work “The Smart Set” (Lyric, 18tst Street) —William Haines, in a very amusing movie. “The Escape” —Reviewed in this issue. “Partners in Crime” —Reviewed in “The Patsy” (Loew's Greeley Square) “Skyserapers"—An unamally goot Grand burlesque, with Marion Davies, picture of two steel workers comicbooks.com