Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-12
EXCELLENT NEW BILL
OF TRIANGLE FILMS
Four of Them, With keenan,
the Star in 1nce's "The Cow
ard''-Other Features
By the Photoplay Editor

The Triangle has developed into
trapezium. Instead Of three corners, the
entertainment at the Opera House TINS
week has four Mack Sennett supplies
the two minor angles with Eddie Foy In
n circus comedy, "A Favorite FOOL and
Raymond Hitchcock IN stolen Magic.
The latter is the smaller. IL gets a good
number OF laughs out OF Mr.. Hitchcock as
a learned ophidologlst fresh from India
and loaded with snakes. II doesn't get
as many out of the magic as Il might
II Il weren't so concerned with the
grosser type OF humor. But Mr.. Hitch
cock, Mack Sennet and Mabel Normand
do make II undeniably amusing.
"A Favorlte Fool" introduces Eddie
Foy as a rival to Charley Chaplin and
throws in the seven little Foys for good
measure. Its tale of a stolen circus and
it's close in a terrific storm that aids the
william In wrecking the circus tent, are a
good deal above the usual Keystone
standard in method and quite on a par
with II for laugh-getting.
This week Griffith Yields place to Ince
and occupies the third of the four cor
ners with n pretty and effective version
Of "Old Heidelberg" with trimmings.
One Of these is a royal tutor who looks
like William Jennings Bryan and induces
his pupil TO put a strain OF peace-at-any-
price into the German nation. The prince
stil finds that duty calls him from his
Kathie at the Heidelberg Inn, but he
finds duty rather desirable when 1t means
saving mis- people from war. Some very
pretty photography and some spirited
grouping shows us the glories OF tap
day" at old Heidelberg, and there Is a
miniature edition Of a Birth of a Ma
tion" battle. Wallace Reid plays the
prince enga gingly and Dorothy Gish isn't
half so Glshy as her sister Lillian up at
the Forrest. The only flaws to pick in
the work OF John Emerson, who staged
"Old Heidelberg" under Griffiths super
vision, are modern American clothes for
German boys of 10 or 20 years ago, Ger
man helmets of that period covered with
the gray cloth that went into Belgium,
and political difficulties that naturally
arise over staging an interstate conflict
in 2Oth-century Germany.
The fourth and largest and most in
teresting angle of this interesting trape-
zium is Thomas Ince's production, THE
Coward" 1t employs for the first time
on the screen that eminent specialist in
Confederate generals, Frank Keenan,.
Mr. Keenan's hard-lined face and dra-
matte poise show to remarkable advan-
tage in the films. Where he suffers al
most not at all by the lack of speech,
this story of a boy who fears to go to
war, deserts and then conquers his cow
ardicc, positively gains. Under the SEN
sitive and appealing acting of Charles
Ray, the inner conflict of the youth
comes out as il never could in spoken
drama. This sort of fear is a matter OF
glances. not words.
The staging is quite as good as the
story. There are admirable chases, q
thrilling fall of rider and horse from a
bridge and a number of battle scenes
quite as animated as anything in THE
Birth of a Nation" Unfortunately, they
are shown in q foolish blue and red print
that is supposed to have something tC
do with the sunrise.
The second bill at the Opera House Is
a big advance of the first 1t is good
well-rounded film entertainment.
This week the Metropolitan Opera
House is presenting THE Blindness OF
Virtue" as its second feature film. 1t is
a perturbation OF Cosmo Hamiltons ef-
fective but sugary play of the girl who
through sheer innocence inVadeS mans