New-York tribune., 1919-05-11

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Whoever did the continuity has
grappled with preposterous task
and foored it. Out of an odd lot of
unmatched buttons picture has been
contrived with enough emotional
Wilderness to seize our interests the
action has been provided with an in
credibly smooth current which some
how receives nothing but impetus
from all the little separate whirlpools
separately whirling in its midst; to-
gether with the most genuine and ac-
complished direction, it has achieved
for us an effect of girls life, being
lived along from one day to another
In the fullest occupation and lvel-
ness till it suddenly encounters and
embraces destiny.
What we are lamentably unable to
tell is how far all this depends upon
Florence Reed, or how far Florence
Reed must rely upon all this to
achieve her heroine; the girl who has
only to appear to become the very
heart of the picture, the rich light in
the lamp which really does glow with
such a fresh young warmth and radi-
ance that we simply follow her for
tunes as unquestioningly as we might
in life, feeling what she feels
without feeling much of anything
else and quite oblivious that we
are steering toward bunco
IL, Al
producers in clamoring for a love
interest, but far is the remove from
the harmless necessary love interest
to the lovo which comes to this mere
nice, spoiled, vivacious happy girl and
turns her into a royal creature from
whom it is as impossible to take ones
eyes e. if we saw burning above our
little vegetable patch, rose of fire
And surely rose of fire is enough for
any one picture.
No such opportunity for vivid bloom
presents itself to poor Miss Ferguson
in the slick tameness of "The Marriage
Price" The story is imitation Cham
bers, with all tho ginger soaked out
and only the slam-down brckloads of
luxury left in. A young lady Of our
highest circles, reared so tenderly as
to amuse herself with dinners attended
by her racehorses, falls to penury. She
has q tepid liking for cad, whom she
finally rejects because he is late to
lunch. AS he is near starvation at the
time, certain resentment is but nat
ural, and when she accepts the man
who arrives on time we can only sup
pose the luncheon is the marriage price
referred to in the title. The tepid pref
erence for the cad returns during a
tepid struggle in Wall Street, in which
he at last manages to get completely
shown up by the TRANQUILITY self-suf-
ficient husband; to the husband the
wife's tepid gratitude returns, and
their lives remain, presumably, calm.
The only thing that bites like vine
gar through this oily preparation is
Lionel Atwill's performance Of the cad.
He plays with a kind of brisk physical
wit in which every Quirk of his lip sug-
gests something unedifying and refresh
ing, and which makes US long to ask
him how he dare do so much with his
face and do it SO quickly without blurr-
ing himself In the photography; with,
on the contrary, an edged effect of
having stamped himself In with acid.
We should think Elsie Ferguson
would be perishing for some acid.
When we remember what she brought
to the screen in "Barbary Sheep" and
Jenny Gushing" We are ready to rise
against "The Marriage Price," crying
out' For heavens sake, let her do
somethingl No matter, really, if you
surround her with settings like a.
Palace Hotel, and don't let her stop
to make suitable inquiries as to
whether her husband is her brother.
but let her do something, struggle for
something ng-above all, feel something"
and then In the midst Of our elo-
quence we catch sight of a programme
synopsis. After the luncheon and
marriage we read: "She thought her
wealthy husband would neglect her,
but she didn't know what the real
price would be. When the time came
this girl paid the price. 1t is one
OF the most astounding pictures you
have ever been privileged to see, and
you will have one Of the greatest sur
prises of your life" Now, this, unless
we are quite mad, is another story
altogether. What became of it7
Sometimes we wonder did the revel-
ries Of the rich take up so much space
that the story had be cut out. Some
times we cnn't help wondering, now
in our second thoughts. whether 1t
isn't possible that puzzle pictures like
these might be explaincd hv that