Life — May 6, 1926 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

~LALEE. - i SILENT DRAMA . ” “That's My Baby OUGLAS Mu&cLEAN’S new picture—which bears D ithe melodious title, “That’s My Baby”—is extremely uneven in quality. That is as much as to say that parts of it are funny, and other parts are not. Mr. MacLean has used, as the basis of his story, the familiar situation of a shy comedian who, to his intense embarrassment, has the care and feeding of an infant thrust upon him. This same gag has been employed by Francis Wilson, in “A Bachelor’s Baby”; by Charlie Chaplin, in “The Kid"; by Harold Lloyd, in “I Do,” and by Syd Chaplin, in that grim Norse folk-drama, “Oh, What a Nurse!” Tt is an ancient idea, but it is still good for a great many laughs, and Douglas MacLean misses none of them. He" pushes over into the realms of burlesque by using as the baby that ridiculous dwarf, Harry Earles, who will be remembered by every one who saw “The Unholy Three.” “That's My Baby” is sufficiently comical to pass the enter- tainment test—but the fact remains that Douglas MacLean is capable of much better things than this. + : ” “ The Devil's Circus 'HROUGHOUT the course of “The Devil’s Circus,” glowing promises are made, and then are not fulfilled. To begin with, “The Devil’s Circus” promises to be another “He Who Gets Slapped.” It isn't, not by a long shot (technical joke). Benjamin Christianson, the director, has great imagination and a fine mastery of the camera, but he seems to lack sufficient artistic courage to finish what he starts. He is forever on the brink of some great, startling dramatic moment—which is allowed to peter out in a burst of maudlin sentimentality. Norma Shearer, in “The Devil's Circus,” is as good as usual, and so is Charles Emmett Mack. For all their efforts, however, and for all the striking pictorial effects, it is no more than an average movie. (An average movie—to apply Mr. Shaw’s well-known formula—is one that is distinctly. below the average.) The Sublime Faith of Gloria Swanson N the columns of the New York Herald Tribune I have observed the following reflective observations, attributed to Gloria Swanson: “I, want to feel religious without having it induced by my settings. In fact I never feel as sure of God and His watchful care over us atoms, as I do when I stand out under the blue dome at night and long for the stars. ‘There must be Someone up there,’ I say. ‘There is Someone who made all this.’” Why, bless your heart, Gloria—you must know who that certain someone is. Who else but Cecil De Mille? R. E. Sherwood. Recent Developments For Heaven’s Sake. Harold Lloyd in a Bowery mission—and terribly thrills. The Bat. A few laughs and a few Dancing Mothers. I didn’t like this much, funny, too. The Flaming Frontier. Fair-to- middling epic of the old West, with Hoot Gibson in the saddle. Kiki. Norma Talmadge tries hard, but she is not so effective in this partic- ular act as Lenore Ulric. The Blind Goddess. Good melo- drama of the law courts, exceptionally well played. The Barrier. Fine work by Lionel Barrymore and Henry B. Walthall, but a ham story. The Untamed Lady. Gloria Swan- son as the fastest member of the fast set. The New Klondike. Very nice, with Thomas Meighan to make it nicer. Fascinating Youth. This can be passed up. The First Year. A Rood production, by Frank Borzage, of Craven's play. Miss Brewster's Millions. Bebe Daniels in a wild farce, some of which is funny. The Cave Man. Matt Moore and Marie Prevost as a coal heaver and a Society girl (respectively, of course). The Torrent. Revealing the magnet- ism of Greta Garbo. La Bohéme. Lillian Gish and John Gilbert flounder around in uncongenial surroundings. Irene. Colleen Moore, about as usual. Mare Nostrum. It seems that I'm the only one who did like this one. The Grand Duchess and_ the Waiter. An adroit comedy, with Adolphe Menjou and Florence Vidor. The Vanishing American. Par- tially impressive. Oh, What a Nurse! Syd Chaplin and some fast gags. Ben-Hur. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men. The Black Pirate, Moana, The Me: Widow, Stella Dallas, Lady indermere's Fan and The Big pence The vote on all of these is “Yes.” comicbooks.com