New-York tribune., 1919-09-14
By Virginia Tracy

We told ourselves. doubtfully. after
Fox's beautiful perturbation of "Evan-
gelinc" that perhaps it left US little
too sad. Not having seen "The Right
to Happiness" we had not yet expert
enced the vacant boredom, at once rest
less and oppressed, compared to which,
sadness doth like the young lamb
bound unto the tabor's sound with pure
JOY. 1t is hard to see lovers part and
age and death cvertake them, hut it is
a whirl of rosy bliss compared to being
preached at all The AFTERNOON. especial
ly when the preachment is only q sort
OF composite photograph record Of
canned propaganda.
There must. however, be those who
enjoy being preached at, just as the
great number OF people Who find pleas
u'e in "Deliverance" must enjoy
series Of alecorical scrap-picturea
tackled on, for no reason whatever eX-
cept TO fill cut time, to one OF human
ity's most thrilling documents. If these
clumsy and elaborate chromos vivants
Of knowledge. ignorance, George Wash
ington, the sirens, God is love and the
Labor party do actually make more
people receive deeper into their s5s-
tens the really sacred t.iulAphs OF
Helen Keller story, then b. all means
le. those who want .hem have them
and let t,los. VINO prefer three reels Of
Helen Keller to seven or eight mixed
with charades ii Greek Graper;es sor-
ever after hold their peace.
If to say in praise of propaganda
picture that it can 90 uooody any
harm seems going rather far, yet We
must pay this one tribute 10 "The
Right to Happiness, in which We nay
see the disease =. bo.shevisn and OF
capitalism cuYol over ui.n. h. CO.
operation AND kind words. Personally,
the remedy suits ..s, :hoo Il the ;,~ l..l
ease and sr,ootnness N.lh which i;
acts, nothing aced.as; 10 IL 4....p" be-
Tore the medicine Is tal.a.., i..-y be I.
trifa i:ts ing to tnoso NJ.o haze
spent, tAeil iivcs N ,l. ln,, " co., the
neres; spoonful do'.n anvhody', throat.
Hele sol have oaI, TO So. "Lo, there
be the cooperative Systeln.' ana there
is TIE cooperative s.s.el.. il fail blast.
Labor has oAl. to be snokon to pleas
antiF u chte. AM touch rs cap, ike
the cols,cnte9 N.ii.scis o;.eiAg ;hc roast
bNef % ol,i Dhs.;s.. OF the heirs birth
ds.'. ,ac a.:N~nccs O. Hishc,ism
Crushed crdee its ..et and capital be
i.g rviden.' blar.te4 a. tho highly
obvious c.seoiAs.a"cc 'aat prolit-sha
iry Las 1T e5, r-n,i,.1 (. penny upon
the profits ic ei-1...co capitalists
and. inAee ,r.s ~oula ., proved,
many NIT. r,..-.eG .n thc sysJcia.
NeHe*ste sss the hcart OF the polt-
c&l coAtr.bu.ion OF "Inc RipAt TO
Happiness is il. tne righ; place. and
ii contains, moreover. 10 poisonous
venoiG Of ped ete;.ninrd unfairness q
anyb -dy. Displaying exceptionally little
OF that longing % suck the other
PERSONS b ooa ard blow it out through
tne nose III lingering smoke wroa,ils
which qulVer tlroatiiy in most mor:A
hdignation. Although ;he Bolshevist,
OF course exists for 10 purpose what
eYer except to assault am feminine
tang whica ne sees GoVing, this Is
al in the days work Of ;t,y moving
procure Nillai... and the cores sponuins
capitalist villain is cursed as Justify
as il he were q landlord in oue o. the
ls.sh dran,as Of our youth. He IL
turn Is balanced BY good capitalist.
played by Winter Hall, with all tho
lovely and persuasive nationality which
lightens our heart every time we recog-
nizc him on the screen; and there is a
BolsEevist heroine who, despite her
Bolshevisnl, is so open to reason that
she has only to cast all eye upon
photograph of Pres dent Wilson to see
the light. She dies at the hands Of the
mob in defence OF the capitalist
heroine, who turns out to be her own
long lost twin sister
In the repartce Of argumentative
subttes both sides score off each other
as impartially IA if they were char
acters by Bernard Shaw, ard between
the extremists walks the golden mean.
the perfect policy OF brotnery love,
embodied in mild. earnest youth Who
follows the Hoishevist heroine in order
to reform her by reading aloud to her
eNtracts from Tolstoy, and. if we re-
member rightly. poems about spring.
NO THE Right to Happiness" is vapid.
but not base; there may even be those
for whom it has message. But neither
is it entertainment.
How crude and how an:iquated may
thing be and yet "set BY 9Th,
Right to Happiness" produced in 1919.