New-York tribune., 1916-01-31
"Pudd'nhead Wilson" Re.
veals Futility of Screen
ing S. L. Clemens.
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS
A ROLLICKING HERO
His Picture in the Papers" at
knickerbOcker, Is ChOck
Full of Fun.

There Ia the strictly Republican
story Of the man who was asked II he
had ever heard OF "Puddnhcad Will
SON"
Sure" he is reputed in high tariff
circles to have answered 81 voted for
Linn in 1927"
The least that can be said Cor the
perturbation OF Mark Twain's story,
seen this week at the Strand. is that
II will do its share TO prevent a re-
currenee OF the foregoing incident.
The most that can be said for it is that
it tells fairly interesting story and
that it Is well acted. In other words,
ii is a good enough film but it is not
Mark Twain
Desiring nothing but r story, 1t
seems shame that the picture folk
have meddled with the works OF Sam
uel l.. Clemens. California Ia all clut-
tered up with Broadway plsywrights
signed to exclusive and glt-edged cen
tracts. and any one Of them could have
turned out better plot better for
picture purposes, that is than the
stories used by the immortal Mark.
The glory Of Twain does not rest upon
his facility for plot invention. and 1t
is no more possible TO translate his
tales successfully into pictures than 1t
would be to lin o. Henry's stories.
The Mark Twain lover will not have
seen more than five minutes OF the
filmed "Pudd' 'nhead" before he will be
dropping scslding tears into his UNI
brella. The incident Of the yelping
dog. which earned for Wilson the So
briquet of "Pudd'nhead," simply cannot
be shown on the screen. IL is at
tempted. however, and the result is one
mild giggle of something less than half
horsepower.
Those who do not know Twsin's story
will probably find plenty to interest
them in the photoplay, but those who
have read il. and who would avoid dis
:llusionment, are advised 10 stay home
and read II over again. Picture pro-
ducers have been quick 20 point out
the enormous facilities OF the photo
play as compared with the scope OF
the novel or the spoken drama, but IN
tackling Twain they have merely en-
phasized the screens limitations. ~
they must have books 20 make into pict-
ures. let them use the novels OF
Charles Neville Buck, Louis Joseph
Vance ct al, who will not lose BY the
transition. Mark Twain has earned
the right to be spared.
Theodore Roberts acts the title role
in the Lasky picture. but never seems
quite at ease in the character. The
inability TO register drollness on a
screen is another reason why Twain
should be left in the library. The re-
naming parts are we'll taken. how
ever. and Frank Reicher has staged the
picture with intelligence.
The material used in "IIs Picture in
the Papers" at the Knickerbocker The
atre. is as cmphstically designed for
film use a. the stories of Mark Twain
are not. 1t is lively, entertaining and
humorous picture from start to finish,
and Douglas Fairbanks, furthermore, is
in il up to his neck. If Fairbanks
doesn't look out he will soon be the
best comedian in the films.
For reasons that don't really matter
II becomes incumbent upon the dashing
Fairbanks TO get his picture into the
newspapers. In pursuit OF this end ne
falls out of automobiles, jumps out OF
windows, throws people from boxcars,
defeats a champion boxer and other
wise behaves in exactly the manner IN
which people always want to see Doug
las Fairbanks behave. II was for this
picture that the prizefght scenes were,
publicly filmed few months ago, and
prominent Broadwayites jostle one an
other at the ringside.
When finally his picture farcd iCrth
on the front pages Of the New YORK
dailies. however. it shocked that por-
tion Of the audience that had come up
from Park Row A fash of the front
page Of "The New York Sun showed
that the hero had saved one thousand
lives in an upstate wreck, whereas The
Tribune was seen to claim that two
thousand had been spared. This was
taken 70 mean one of two things
either "The Sun" had been scooped or
The Tribune had had the story COW
cred by the Winsted, Conn, corre-
spondent. ,.,
Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand
are also on the Triangle programme IN
a Keystone offering.