Life — September 2, 1926 — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

we SILENT DRAMA Oe Io “The Scarlet Letter” M' LILLIAN GISH—that lovely lady—adds several cubits to her artistic stature in “The Scarlet Letter.” This, it seems to me, is her finest perform- ance, She gencrates a mature power, a sense of genuine, grown-up strength which increases enormously the force of her appeal. She has always displayed the fragile charm of a tender blucbell; here she shows that she possesses some of the qual- itics of the sturdy oak. It would be inexcusab to suggest that Lillian G —but she demonstrates in “The Scarlet Letter” that she has. As Hester Prynne, the Iris March of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, she stands up to the best of them and takes punishment with all the heroic endurance of a Battling Nelson. (The foregoing paragraphs prove that it is dangerous to involve your- self too deeply in metaphors.) sh has guts ITH the great work of Miss Gish—and cqually great work by Lars Hanson, the leading man, and Victor Seastrom, the director— “The Scarlet Letter” establishes itself as the first fine production of the new scason. It has beauty and vitality, in great quantities; it is a true and searching picture of the Puritan period (which is still going on, they tell me). Furthermore, it has been constructed, as to story, with remarkable intelli- gence and appreciation of dramatic values. The credit for this is due to Frances Marion, who has never done a better job in all her profitable career as a continuity writer. L*8s HANSON, a recent arrival from Sweden, is splendid as that sad lover, the Rev. Dimmesdale, and there is some effective dramatic re- lief, contributed by Karl Dane, late of “The Big Parade. I recommend “The Scarlet Letter’ without qualification. It is harrow- ing but it is great. “One Minute to Play” OU may not believe me when I tel} you this, but Harold (“Red”) Grange has made his début on the sereen, and both he and his initial picture are knockout successes. For the first time in history, an overpraised, overpaid athlete has made good in extra-curriculum ac- tivities. The galloping phantom of the gridiron is a gay, likable and utterly unsclf-conscious figure in the movies; even if he were to be de- prived of the vast benefits of « col- lege education, he would still deserve to be hailed as a competent film actor. “One Minute to Play” tells of Red's visit to Parmalee College, which, a sub-title explains, “hasn't won a football game since the Dead Sea took sick.” (The sub-titles, which were prepared by Neal O'Hara, are all excellent.) I leave it to the reader to answer the following questions: Docs Red get into the game be- tween Parmalce and its traditional rival? Does Parmalce win the game? At what point in the game is the winning touchdown scored? (Hint: See the title of this picture.) Who scores the touchdown? “CYNE Minute to Play” is actually far better than “Brown of Harvard,” or any other college pic- ture that I have seen. It is expertly written and directed by Byron Morgan and Sam Wood—who, in- cidental were responsible for . inating Youth.” They are hereby forgiven for that atrocity. R. E. Sherwood. The Duchess of Buffalo. Constance Talmadge in a frothy farce about an American dancer who gets mixed up in Russian politics. Amusing, some of the time. Into Her Kingdom. Another one about Russia, describing the love affair of a Grand Duchess and a Sovict leader. Corinne Griffith is as ornamental as usual. Don Juan. John Barrymore proves that the world’s foremost lover didn’t even know his strength. A sloppy pic- ture, but an entertaining one. The Son of the Sheik. Back to the burning sands where gentlemen forget themselves, The Wise Guy. A gang of crooks running a series of revival mectings— Recent Developments high-powered drama most of the way, but feeble at the finish. Nell Gwynne. Dorothy Gish as the girl who upset the home life of Charles Mantrap. Sinclair Lewis's satirical slant on the great North woods, with good work by Clara Bow and Ernest Torrence. The Road to Mandalay. Run for your lives, everybody; Lon Chancy is out again, It’s the Old Army Game. W. C. Fields wastes his unlimited talents on a very tepid comedy. The Devil Horse. Rex, the hero of this melodrama, is marvelous! Up in Mabel’s Room. Strange go- ings-on under the bed, and not so very funny, cither. Men of Steel. Milton Sills breaks a few girders with his tecth. Ella Cinders. Comic-strip drama, with Colleen Moore. Aloma of the South Seas. Gray dances and acts delightfully. Mare Nostrum. U-boat villainy in the Mediterranean, directed by Rex In- gram. Ben-Hur. The carly struggles of Christianity in million-dollar surround- ings. : Variety, The Black Pirate, Moana, The Merry Widow, Sparrows and The Big Parade—these titles are on the re- quired list. Gilda comicbooks.com