Life, 1927-06-16 · page 26 of 34
Life — June 16, 1927 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page reviews Frank Borzage's film "Seventh Heaven" and includes a humorous cartoon about movie production. **The "Seventh Heaven" Review:** The critic praises Borzage's direction of this sentimental romantic film, noting he's been unfairly overlooked because he specializes in "heart-interest" stories rather than prestigious epics like "The Big Parade" or "Beau Geste." The review particularly praises actress Janet Gaynor for her "delicate charm"—a quality the critic suggests is rare among Hollywood actresses, who typically rely on sex appeal or flapper affectations. **The Cartoon:** Titled "Everyday Deeds That Pass Unsung," it depicts a janitor cleaning up the chaotic wreckage after a movie comedy chase scene—overturned furniture, broken props, scattered debris. The satire celebrates unrecognized workers whose labor makes Hollywood productions possible, much like the review's theme of overlooked talent. **"All Bets Are Off":** A brief humorous note about film distribution: the same movie shown in Canada was retitled with a British ship winning instead of an American one, invalidating the critic's wager with a theater patron.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Seventh Heaven” RANK BORZAGE is one of the best directors in the movie busi- ness. As such, he has had insuffi- cient recognition, and for a very good reason: since “Humoresque,” he has been identified almost ex- clusively with “heart - interest” hokum pictures—with sweet but phony sentiment—which is the most forgettable form of dramatic art. ‘Thus, the fine work that Mr. Bor- zage has done, while applauded, perhaps, at the moment, has slipped out of mind; he is scarcely ever men- tioned in the same breath with the Vidors, the Ingrams, the Brenons or the Cruzes, simply because he has never been given an opportunity to apply his considerable talents to stories as potent as “The Big Pa- rade,” “The Four Horsemen,” “Beau Geste” or “The Covered Wagon.” Certainly, “Seventh Heaven’ is not such a story: it is a sugary fairy tale with a deceptive ting of bit- ter realism; nevertheless, it seems to me that Mr. Borzage’s dircction of this is as thoroughly admirable as anything that has come along since “Variety.” He has displayed real originality, imagination, sympathy and restraint, and has converted “Seventh Heaven” into an extremely effective picture. OR is Mrv Borzage the only one who emerges from “Seventh Heaven” with honor. There is, in the leading and singularly difficult role, a young<actress named Janet Gaynor, who possesses the one qual- ity that is utterly lacking in most of her sisters of Hollywood: delicate charm. There is nothing of the magnetic vampire or of the stren- uously cute flapper in Miss Gaynor —but there’is.a fragile tenderness that is considerably more powerful than all the obvious sex-appeal of entire cast of “Seventh ’ is a good one, the best per- formances, aside from Miss Gay- nor’s, being rendered by Charles Farrell and David Butler. Everyday Deeds That Pass Unsung All Bets Are Off N reviewing “The Yankee Clip- per,” I called attention to the twenty-two-thousand-mile race in which the American ship nosed out the Britisher in the last-split second. While watching this thrilling con- test (it went on for several reels), I made a sporting bet with a stranger who sat next me at the Roxy Theatre; I gave him odds of one hundred to nothing that the Yankee clipper would win, and he took me up promptly. After the show he generously conceded that I had called the turn. Now it seems that there was some mistake. A Mr. W. A. Rowe, of Brantford, Ontario, writes to tell me that he saw the film in Canada, where it is called “The British -Clipper”—and that the English ship won the race! If my unknown neighbor in the Roxy Theatre will call at this office between nine and eleven next Thurs- day, I'll gladly match him for the dollar. R. E. Sherwood. THE MAN WHO CLEANS UP AFTER THE MOVIE COMEDY CHASE. comicbooks.com