Life, 1921-07-14 · page 31 of 34
Life — July 14, 1921 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines film criticism with an automobile advertisement, typical of 1920s Life magazine content. **The Film Reviews:** The left column critiques two silent films. "Sowing the Wind" is dismissed as a tedious melodrama about a girl discovering her mother's gambling addiction—a tired plot device. The reviewer mocks how such "gambling hell" films had become formulaic and tiresome. The second review attacks William A. Brady, head of the Motion Picture Industry Association and vocal anti-censorship advocate. The critic notes Brady's hypocrisy: while eloquently defending cinema's artistic freedom in lectures, his own film "Life" is so poorly made it provokes unintended laughter rather than drama. The pun—noting this film has no connection to Life magazine itself—adds satirical bite. **The Advertisement:** The Templar Motors Company ad occupies the right side, promoting price cuts ($500-600 reductions) to position the car as affordable and practical. The satire's point: Industry leaders like Brady preach artistic merit while producing dreck, while simultaneously the era's commercial products tout their own superior value.
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fOoml 3 Py # v as in nan’s inter- : hall 1 the con- : life eturn What s, to es to 1 the nruly ed in says 9 to t the trees x has s de fp over s). me?” peal- ithful didn’t "yer ecret, an. " per- nown have poor back ck to w. oking Lister The Silent Drama Sowing the Wind E, for one, will not be inclined to break down and weep if the movie moguls ever announce that, henceforth, there will be no more films depicting scenes in high-toned gambling hells. We are a bit fed up with inside dope on how the more élite Temples of Chance are conducted. “Sowing the Wind” is just another one of the dramas of young girls brought up in innocence by wicked, crap-shooting parents. This time, the young heroine (played by Anita Stewart) discovers her mother in her true colors (rouge et noir), and leaves the family roulette wheel flat for the cloistered seclusion of the spoken stage. By this noble act she wins the immaculate regard of a youth bred in New gland asceticism. Stormy scenes follow with the youth’s foster-father; but, thanks to the efforts of an accom- modating scenario writer, the girl turns out to be one of the family—the foster- father’s daughter, in fact. that. there is nothing left to it but pick- ing out the proper platinum setting. Anita Stewart contributes her well- known beauty to the ensemble, and Myrtle Stedman, as the mother, de- serves mention for her efficient assump- tion of a none too pleasant part. Other- wise, “Sowing the Wind” is a total washout. Life R. WILLIAM A. BRADY, presi- dent of the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry, is un- doubtedly the most vociferous of the propagandists against censorship, blue Sundays, and other Philistine attempts to curtail the progress of the cinema “art.” Moreover, he is eminently suc- cessful on the lecture platform, being consistently entertaining if not always in- structive. More’s the pity, then, that he should | attempt to dabble in actual picture pro- duction, and thereby spoil the effect created by his oratory. “Life,” produced under Mr. Brady's personal direction, is so absurd a melo- drama that it actually elicits roars of mirth from its audiences, at the very moments when they should be trembling on the edges of their respective chairs. From start to finish, it is genuine Vir- ginia sugar-cured ham, only spiced up in spots by flashes of good acting by Lee- ward Meeker, Rod La Rocque and a generally competent cast. (Note—The film production, “Life,” has no connection with a publication of that name, printed in New York, and said to be semi-humorous in intent.) R. E. S. FOR REVIEW NEXT WEEK: “Wealth,” “Salvation Nell,” “Carnival,” “The Bronze Bell” and “The Twice-Born Woman.” In view of | Semple dhe Superfine Car Now $500 and $600 Lower Templar's New Low Prices $2385 Touring, five-passenger Sportette, four-passenger Touring Roadster, two-passenger $3185 Sedan, five-passenger Coupe, three nger Prices f. ob. C jand, effective July, 1, rozt A sweeping cut in Templar prices gives you at an amazingly low first cost a car rich in merit, easy to drive, inexpensive to run and delightful to own. Becoming acquainted with Templar is a pleasant ex- perience — and_ profitable, too. It will prove to you that in power, endurance, comfort—in all those qual- ities that make expensive cars famous—here is a car after your own heart. There's a Templar dealer near you. The Templar Motors Company 2200 Halstead Street, Lakewood, Cleveland, Ohio ‘The motor car has become an indispensable instrument in our political, social and industrial life —President Harding. comicbooks.com