New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-09
Norma Ialmadge in
1.-The Heart of Wetona .
By Virginia Tracy

We avoided seeing Norma Talmadge
in THE Heart of Wetona" as long as
possible because we knew that the
first question Of our acquaintance
would be "Was she really like an
Indian ?" And our answer would have
caused an embarrassment.
Some years ago, when we had been
praising William Courtenay's "Arsene
Lupin," we were similarly embarrassed
by the challenge of an eminent critic.
DO you really think he has the man.
ncrs of a French duke?' Naught was
left us but the reply of the schoolboy
in Miss Alcott's story, "The startled
innocent replied, Dunno. An adj
mired friend recently disposed OF
Arnold Bennett's ability to depict
London life in one phrase, "Why, he
doesn't know a single cabinet min
;ster." Hopeless to pretend that we
are in any better social case than
Arnold Bennett, And is a person no
better acquainted with French dukes
than cabinet ministers or with Indian
princesses than French dukes-is such
a person competent to write about the
movies, where society so largely con-
sists of these great creatures?
But Miss Talmadge is one of the
most interesting of actresses, and since
20 be left entirely to Indian experts
was not perhaps her full intention in
"Wetona" we took heart to go and
enjoy ourselves. We enjoyed our
selves most of all because THE Heart
of Wetona" is, at last, a picture;
READ, true. balanced, proportional, in
tegrated picture, instead of q series
Of scenes, budding and spreading UNI
certainly along, such as this young
lady's dauntless ambition to grasp at
fine situations, wherever she sees
them, no matter what length OF UNI
picturizable novel she grasps with
them. has too frequently burdened
her with. ODE Luxe Annie" seemed
TO us the first freedom Of her cleo
tricity from these non conductors; the
sumptuous forbidden City" rich in
heavily charged passions, was at
least nine-tenths triumph, but
finally even that jounced us over
bumps of time and Jumps Of space
like ride in q springless wagon.
Now "The Heart of Wetona" all takes
place in one long breath of unified,
however various, feeling and is fired
10 q firm mould of excited concentra-
ton, Of that sustained and impas-
stoned readiness for danger which
beats in the heart of every crisis.
This emotional fulness is the more
grateful because the story is of the
type from which we never expect evil
. dence of any emotions but the stand
ardized, long anticipated, ready-made
motives that draw on and off at a cue,
. like old -fashioned scenery. We re-
81 allied, of course, as soon as we saw
. that good white man ard bad white
man abode under the same roof that
the bad white man would seduce the
Indian maid and the good white man
get the blame for it. And as this came
true the only thing we felt uncertain
about was the final tablcau. If the
star had been man it would have been
at least six to the half dozen that the
picture would have gone in for being
"artistic" and ended badly-that is to
say. Hardin, the heroic government
agent to the Indians, would have re-
formed the bad white man, Mells, his
assistant, ard sent him and the girl
with their arms about each other, walk
ing into the sunset and the new life
while he himself, in beautiful bronze
light, sat lone and brooding beside his
desolate hearth. But it seemed impos.
sible that woman star, even a woman
star Of Miss Talmadge's really phenom.
email generosity, would have chosen q
picture for no better reason than being
made such fool of as that. The al
formative was for her to catch the vii.
lain in sufficient villany and the here
in such heroism as to give her change