Life — March 12, 1925 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

“Charley's Aunt” YD CHAPLIN, who has partici- pated in some of the most. glori- ously comic scenes that have ever been made, must have felt pretty thoroughly ashamed of himself during the produc- tion of “Charley's Aunt.” “Charley's Aunt” is a relic—a mu- seum piece—and as such it is worthy éalén RICHARD BARTHELMESS IN y TOYS” of attention. It proves the validity of that dismal statement: There is nothing so old as an old joke. Pat and Mike, crossword puzzle wheezes and “Char- ley’s Aunt"—they are classified chron- ologically with the brontosauri and pterodactyls that scamper through “The Lost World Not that “Charley's Aunt” doesn’t draw many loud laughs from a mod- ern audience; it does, as my frayed ear- drums are here to testify. But that is due to Syd Chaplin’s greatness which will not be downed, even in the face of old stuff. The picture itself is pretty shabby, having been produced, I gather, on one of those proverbial shoestrings. “The Top of the World” ONCE upon a time there was a story, entitled “Ponjola,” which was written by an English lady, and which described the decay of an English gentleman in South Africa (on acct. drink) and the efforts of his brave sweetheart to promote his regeneration. “Ponjola,” as a movie, made a great deal of money, and it was therefore ob- vious that some daring producer would plan another story by an English lady which described the decay of an Eng- lish gentleman in South Africa (on acct. drink) and the efforts of his brave sweetheart to promote his re- generation. This has been done in “The Top of the World” and, to make the carbon copy of “Ponjola” even clearer, James Kirkwood and Anna Q. Nilsson appear in the leading réles. Being experienced at this sort of work, they both do ex- ceedingly well. “The Top of the World,” whatever may be said of its plot, is an exception- ally expert production; the scenes are all effective, and the cast is uniformly good. I must also add a word for the intelligence of the sub-titles by Jack MOTI A PROMINENT CINEMA FAVORITE GETS A “PERMANENT” FOR HIS WHISKERS Cunningham, who seems to m* to be just about the best of the current con. tinuity writers. The Great American Movie T has been some time now since I issued any bulletins on ‘the produc- tion of my own which is destined to be the perfect picture. Having seen ANNA Q. NILSSON IN “THE TOP OF THE WworLD” “The Last Laugh,” I have been dering whether, after all, it will solutely necessary for me to attempt this revolutionary masterpiece. Pos- sibly, by the time I get around to “shooting” (to be professionally tech- nical), I shall find that the Great American Movie is as out-of-date a3 “Charley's Aunt.” Nevertheless, I am going ahead with my plans. According to schedule, the picture will end with a rousing hand- to-hand fight between the hero and the villain. I don’t much care which one wins—they can settle that between them—but I do stipulate that they shall not prolong their argument through twelve hundred feet, knocking over tables, crashing through balcony railings or tottering at the brinks of precipices. One or the other must be knocked cold with the first punch. R. E. Sherwood. (Recent Developments will be found on page 32.) comicbooks.com