New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-07
1.-THE Fall of a Nation"
Rarely Rises Above
the Trivial.
INDIVIDUAL SCENES
HAVE SOME MERIT
A Big Theme Handled in Petty
Fashion-Musical Score by
Victor Herbert.

II dramatist invents a little story
about a million men springing to arms
in the United States and cooperating
with foreign foe in the conquest Of
America. and II he further arranges
matters so that a number Of pretty
girls In white win back the country by
making love 10 the enemy-why, Of
course, there is nothing TO prevent him.
Mr. Thomas A. Dixon. whose newest
motion picture opened last night at the
Liberty Theatre, must be given credit
for connecting delectable romantic
fantasy.
When, however, Mr.. Dixon names his
picture "The Fall of q Nation" and
pretends 10 believe that he is telling a
big story or solving q national prob
lem. then it is time to do something
about il. "The Fall Of Nation is not
big. In fact. it is so trivial that seven
dozen pictures like II would not send
single patriotic thrill down the spine
nor accelerate ones pulse beats by so
much as a semi-quayer. A film, like a
play, needs something more than an
American flag to make it thrilling.
Mr.. Dixon puts forward "The Fall OF
Nation" as the companion piece to
"The Birth OF a Nation" but he must be
laughing aloud as he does so. II ever
the Importance of a good director was
emphasized, the emphasis fell on the
audience at the Liberty last night. The
suggestion OF bigness which Griffith
managed to impart 10 "The Birth of a
Nation" and with which Ince has en-
dowed Civilization" is nowhere pres
ent in Mr.. Dixon's new one. Aside from
the fact that il runs three hours, IL is
merely an ordinary feature film" and
is considerably less entertaining than
the average weekly release by one OF
the big companies
Here and there, II is true, Mr.. Dixon
has managed to enliven his picture with
little spectacle. There are battles,
for instance. Good battles, but in no
way remarkable. After viewing Civil
ization," in fact, they seem rather tame.
But there must have been some ripping
ones off stage, for somebody or other
was constantly opening a telegram, an
nouncing that 100000 men had landed
on Long Island, or that the Panama
Canal had been dynamited. or that Chi
cago had fallen and Philadelphia was
leaning, or something. Wonderful
thing, the telegraph. But it has no
place in the films, the proud boast of
which has always been that ii could
show everything.
Some of the bad stagecraft in "The
Fall of Nation" would not be tolerat-
ed in a one-reel knockabout comedy.
On at least three occasions a badly
painted curtain is used to represent a
street. and in each instance it looks ex-
actly like badly painted curtain. Does
Mr.. Dixon not know that we have pro-
crossed beyond such crudities, or
doesn't he care?
With the whole United States as his
field, Mr.. Dixon has caused a large part
OF the action of his story TO pass In a
house on Long Island. 1t is on Long
Island that the battles take place. and,
strangely enough, it is 10 Long Island
that the men send their families when
the enemy comes. Presumably the in
terror of the country would not have
been safe because Of the danger in get
ting into a railroad wreck. As for the
rest, Mr.. Dixon tells silly narrative
about a Congressman who favored pre-
paredness and girl who did not
in some manner or other Victor Her
bert was persuaded to write the must
cal accompaniment for this balderdash.
Much Of his score Is of grand opera
proportions, and much Of it Is rather
aimless. The fact that it does but
little for the picture is probably Mr..
Dixon's fault, rather than Mr. Her
berts.
"The Fall Of Nation" is announced
as "a bugle call to arms for national
defence" but IL is really lust about the
best pacfst argument in the world.