The Washington times., 1914-09-15
THE BEST
Photopldy Department in
WASHINGTON
What We Mean When
We Ask Producers
to ShO7o Better
Photopldys.

A number of times inquiry has been
directed to this department as to
What we mean when we suggest bet
ter plays; what we mean when we
call for clean plays. plays that tei
a good connected story. or teach
lesson. Photoplays, just as plays on
on the stage, can be amusing, eNclt-
ing and instructive. They may nc
one or the other or all three at the
same time and qualify under our
general idea of good plays. There
are at least five photoplays TO be
produced or being produced in this
CITY this week that come under that
general head. They fulfill all our
requirements for clean plays. excit-
citing plays. instructive plays and
yet they have little or nothing in
common.
We have protested against the pro-
duCtion of plays that are crook
plays or immoral plays. We have
asked why these plays are permitted
TO be shown. And at the same time
We have highly commended Dam
aged Goods" as it is presented at the
Relasco Theater. We have been
asked 10 explain an apparent incon-
sistenCy. There is no Inconsistency.
The Brieux play is one of the
strongest lessons ever written. When
Richard Bennett and his co-work-
ers produced il on the stage they
few in the face of the accepted dra-
matte conventions. They tried to
portray something that many people
thought should never be mentioned.
Thinking men and women who saw
the play applauded the motives that
led to its production and encour-
aged people to go and see it As a
play, however. it appealed to small
class of people When Richard Ben
nett and the same company of play
ers put the play in film, they accom-
plished a bigger. broader purpose
they made il a greater lesson than IL
over had Been. And we commended
il to the followers of the photoplay
Just as we had commended it to the
playgoers. That is one of the five
plays we referred to.
In "Neptune's Daughter" with An
nette Kellerman in the leading part
at the Columbia Theater, we have
an entirely different playa play
that is both entertaining and in
structive. The film was made by
tne 1 1lNeTSdl NOlllP1ly "iNAA -
best of its people. 1t was produced
under the most unique ctrcu,n-
stances. The sea grottoes of Ber-
muda, which are shown in most or
the parts where Neptune ami his
nymphs appear, are among the great
wonders of the world Many people
NAV think these scenes are simply
scenery designed TO give NEPTUNE
an appropriate background. They
are not. They are real grottoes that
have been among the show places OF
bermuda ever since they We're ms
covered The story of Neptuaes
Daughter" is a fanciful fairy story
that is most amusing and entertaI.-
ing. and gives opportunity for the
display Of Miss Kellerman's swim
ming, diving, dancing. and fenclGS
as nothing produced on the spoken
stage has done.
My Friend From India and
Home, Sweet Home, which are
being produced today and tomorrow,
respectively, at Crandan's. are two
more plays of an entirely different
character. The first is famous
stage success filmed by the Edlsoh
Company with Walter f. Perkins IN
the part that he played with lhe
original production. II Is a Iarce
number of years on the stage: II is
clean. wholesome fun. Mr.. Perkins
mas most amusing personality and
IL is around his personality that the
play revolves. Home, sweet Home
Is a romantic drama which DAVID
W. Griffith has made to tell the
story of John Howard PayneS Ia
mons song. He has produced some
thing of Paynes life story with Hen
" Walthall in the title part, ana
then he makes a fanciful, poeuc
drama Of the rest of il by showing
tho effect of the song on wide va
riety of people. In the production
Mr.. Griffith has used practically
every star of the Acknowledgment
companies in Los Angeles.
The Mystery of the Sleeping
Death in which Alice Joyce is
starred by the kalem Company at
the Olympic tomorrow. can probably
he called a play tinged with oriental
mysticism. While II starts out with
modern story, the characters be-
come orientaliZed and trans ported
back a thousand years or so 10 the
Far East The way the play mas
been produced, and the manner IN
which II is acted, all commend IL.
The story Is, Of course, hlShiy I'M
probable and fanciful, but there Is
nothing harmful about it, and II IS
most entertaining.
These five plays are among the
plays that we would call good pro-
auctions There is nothing in them
that will hurt anyone, and there Is
nothing that anyone could take the
slightest exception to. They are
what We mean when We ask pro-
ducers to improve their shoWs-and
neither one Of the plays Is a great
sDectacle and a special production IN
env sense of the word q. NJ