New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-13
Hector Turnbull's Latest Is
a Careless Piece of
Writing.
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS
EVER ENTERTAINING
The Habit of Happiness" How.
ever. Fails TO Take Advan-
tage of His Talents.

nom tlf MINIS Wol4H destroy ia'F
first tempt. Hector Turnbull. lured by
the promise Of copyless and ever
sunny existence. walked out 81 The
Tribune Office one day and never
has come back. In brightest California
Mr. Turnbull wrote a number OF ex-
cellent photoplsys, and then he wrote
For the Defence The blame for
this last falls less upon Mr.. Turnbull
than It does upon the film industry.
For why should Mr.. Turnbull continue
20 write good photoplays when medi-
ocre ones are all that the trade de-
sires7 II Edmund Burke were alive
to-day he would probably designate
motion pictures as the second Of great
Jewellers.
For tho Defence IN which Fannie
Ward appears at the Strand Theatre
this week, is an example OF that loose
and careless construction that the film
world looks upon as quite satisfactory.
Apparently the films must be granted
a certain melodramatic latitude, as
well as a certain license in their meth
cd Of linking incidents. Why they
should be staked 70 this handicap is
hard TO say, but popular opinion has
decreed Il. "For the Defence" how
ever. passes all bounds OF careless
ness, absurdity, impossibility. and even
incomprehensibility. One did not even
know whether the action was passing
in France or the United States.
Miss Ward, fortunately, IS one Of The
best OF screen actresses, so II is not
altogether a waste Of time 70 see For
the Defence" She combines the abil-
ity 10 look pretty and youthful with
the experience and acting power that
come with-well, let IL be called sec
ond youth. Miss Ward stands the re
lentless camera eye so well that 1t
would be ungallant to 20 into details.
Only in the matter OF dress could she
have improved her performance. Il IS
no longer quite the thing 20 wear danS-
ing slippers while doing the spring
ploughing. ,.-.
OF course. IL is becoming BIT monot-
onous to see Miss Ward and Jack Dean
making love 20 each other in picture
after picture-particularly as they are
married. Perhaps it would be bearaole
IL Mr.. Dean would vary his makeup
He is apparently hopelessly addicted
N sophomore mustache and "a Aau-
rice gloss. and the combination, IKE
Miss Wards slippers. IS not conVlhc-
ing on q Canadian farm.
Douglas Fairbanks. with bullet
through his head, is Douglas Fairbanks
mono the less. Even thus handicapped
he finds h not a difficult matter 20
tbroy three or four gangsters down
stairs in The Habit OF Happiness az
the Knickerbocker. Then help arrived
and the final fash showed Douglas
stretched AZ his ease upon coucn,
while the girl bathed his brow with
cold water. Consequently, one knew
that he would recover. Cold water
is q certain cure for all motion picture
head wounds
Prior 10 the incident Of the bullet,
however. there had been little IN the
picture 20 indicate that Douglas was
star Per Sc, Mr. Fairbanks Is always
interesting and entertaining, but IN a
Fairbanks picture one expects The
stunts that made him famous. THE
Habit Of Happiness" IS a good picture.
but il does not take full advantage Of
the talents Of the star. At times, IN
fact. it seems TO be preaching Q bit
Of a sermon, and that will never,
never do.
A young woman named Dorothy West
was featured with Mr.. Fairbanks, so y
was rather a surprise 20 find that
George Fawcett and Macy Harlan
we're in the picture-and unfeatured
The producers cared so little about Nj.
Harlan, in fact, that they called him
MACY Harlan"
"The Village Vampire" Mack SEN
nett farce, goes 20 the customary
lengths Of knockaboutness. The more
one sees OF Mr.. Sennett's brand Of arr
the more difficult it becomes 20 UNDER
stand his vogue.