New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-09

we found ourselves looking at the
story as at a living face. and the prob
lem began to work itself out in the i'm
pulses Of breathing and unpredictable
persons.
There is something pathetic in the
startled gratitude with which we re-
ceive such an inclination of a plot; it
shows to what stuff we are generally
treated that we are ready to cry with
incredulous rapture simply at not hav-
ing our intelligence knocked in the
nose every step of the way. There
arrives a scene in which the girl alone
with the two men in Hardn's house
at night has to show how much good
faith she is ready to keep with her
friend against her betrayer. When
that scene goes straight, when Wetona
does not tie 1t all up by allowing
Mells to involve her in some appear
ance Of treachery and then refusing
to clear herself--for no reason what
ever except to keep the play going
little longer-but with the promptest
candor and clearness tells the truth;
when Hardin, totally forgetful that he
ought to be cooking up some kind of
mess for big scene, neither re-
proachcs nor insults EVetona, but
realizes at once the integrity Of her
explanation, so that he and she reach
an equality OF respectful understand
ing, which then and there begins auto
matically to leave Mells out in the
cold, why then we simply sit there
gasping, unable to believe that when
characters in play have a chance to
create a trite and tortuous turmoil by
refusing to speak they should actually
open their mouths and say exa city
what they would have said We hope
we are not conveying that "The Heart
of Wetona" is deficient in excitement;
it is rather an exceptionally exciting
picture, only this time the excitement
is about something.
And in the scenes that follow
doubtless glimpsed from afar by the
experienced eye as centrng on the In
dams punishment of the white traitor
we think it is about something pretty
fine. This is simply the impossibility,
growing on the screen before US like a
Hateful presence, Of allowing this mis-
cradle cheap skate of a Wells to be
overtaken by savage torture. We are
ourselves an extremely unregenerate
person, and there is no slough that our
friends can wander in which wearies
us SO much as q slough of virtue, but
here we are made to acquiesce that all
these so much more valuable lives
Wetona's, Hardin's, the loyal Indian
servant's-mu be offered and, if need
be, lost in the cheap skates defence
We trust, however, and with some con-
fidence, that we have not narrowed the
most innocent Of movie fans with the
belief that the picture proceeds to such
extremes. Peace arrives, painting, but
on time. What tragedy there is is that
of the Indian father resigning his child
into the life Of the alien race.
SO much human reciprocity is not at
talnable without acting of very fine
sort. Wetona is part so we'll within
Miss Talmadges means that it seems
futile to compliment her on it, and we
suppose the Comanche father was not
specially difficult for the right person,
as Mr.. Fred Huntley so evidently is.
But MIR. Thomas Meighan accomplishes
an effect frequently announced by
authors through definite statement
such as "You, and you alone, are worthy
to mount the throne of Velogravia!"
but which is so rarely put over before
our eyes that we have certainly not
seen it in any kind of drama dozen
times in our life-the real hero's effect
Of great-heartedness. His Hardin is
i, emphatically person dealing with
forces and prescriptions quite out
side the special matinee preoccupation
OF who gets the girl; his attitude
toward the Indians is as much a part
OF the pictures atmosphere as the hills
that surround it. and is created with
out any building stones Of incident, but
lies implicit in his manner, in the
large receptiveness with which Hardin's
warm and sensitive responsibility meets
every contact.
We should like especially to call the
attention Of those who ask whatever
IN the world we mean by moving pict
ure acting to the performance Of Mr..
GLADDEN. James. Excellent. remark
ably excellent as Mr.. James Is, it is
not his mere excellence that we should
like to have observed 1t is rather
the fact that we can see what he is
doing and how he is doing it a little
better than in performances Of less
rapidly and sharply varied moods.
each mood moves in his physical con-
seriousness as very slight breeze
moves along the surface Of water and
every muscle stirs with those infini-
tesimal, innumerable reactions from
which, as he has not Of course word
to help him and does have number
Of prolonged close-ups in which the
animating thought has to be both sus-
tanned and diversified, he continues
TO wireless as much communication as
tho spectators are capable Of rcceiv-
ing.
For those, however, preferably su-