The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-19
METROPOLITAN.
Pola NeGri In ~vsndstta.,

Christmas Eve week at Crandalps
Metropolitan Theater Is distinguished
by one of the most varied and thor
oughly interesting photoplay bills of
the season. Vendetta" the engross-
ing love-drama Of Corsica and the
Riviera, in which Pola Negri Is seen
for the first time before American
audiences in the role of a beauti-
full young woman of the present day.
adds another to the growing list Of tr1-
umphs of the most brilliant actress
in silent drama.
AL St Johns two-reel Fox com
edy, Fast and Furious" affords more
| than one unique means Of achieving
genuinely laughable effects. and Priz-
mas natural color study Of 'Gar-
dens OF Normandy" including the pri-
vate estate of Baron Henri Rothschild
and the gorgeous play places OF
Deauville. unfolds q series Of mag
nificent vistas that strike the last
note in camera artistry. Augment
ing this generous appeal are the new
issues of the Pathe News, the Lit
erary Digest's sprightly Topics of
the Day" and the I'll Guarany" over
ture by Gomez. which was received
by yesterdays capacity crowds as the
finest offering the Metropolitan Sym
phony has made under the scholarly
conductorship Of N. Mlrskey.
In Vendetta" Pola Negri Is not
| called upon to interpret the charac-
ter of a famous figure in history. as
| in Passion" or familiar fictional per-
sonalities, as in Gypsy Blood" and
One Arabian Night" but is given
free rein to be herself modern
young woman plunged suddenly into
a battle Of emotions vivid in its prog
ross and replete with tragic posi-
bflities. To the enactment Of this
exacting part she brings the same
glorious endowments that have made
her one Of the most popular stars
the silver sheet has known, both in
this country and in Europe. Some
thing of the climacter1c power of
the drama may be gathered from the
| circumstance that Mariana Paoli.
VINO has vowed to avenge the death
, OF her brother at the hand of an
unknown officer Of the British navy,
subsequently, falls desperately in love
with the object Of her enmity when
he Is stricken with the fever during
an epidemic in Alexandria, Egypt, and
she is serving in the emergency as
Red Cross nurse. His identity, care
fully guarded from her by Baron
Danelli. her guardian, whose Jealousy
also prompts vengeance, she returns
to Corsica and weds the man against
whose life she has sworn the blood
oath OF her country. 1t il then that
the fact Of her husbands RESPONSE
ollity Tor the death of her brother
is made known to her, and the pic
ture reaches its surprising climax.
The story is Of sufficient sub
stance and breadth to enlist the serv-
ices OF distinguished cast of prin-
cipals In Negri's support. Foremost
among these gifted players are Harry
L.iedtke and Emil Jannings, the Ar
mand and Louis XIV Of Passion. :"
and Margaret Kupfer, the hae in
One Arabian Night" who in this
subject is cast as fashionable Bnp-
lish dowager. The direction and pho
Biography, as in previous vehicles for
Pola Negri, embrace scenes of vast
extent, and the Judicious utilization
of ensembles of impressive pronor-
tions.
Fast and Furious" begins in n
freight train, where some keen trav-
esty is provided, and ends on the
floor Of the ocean. where AL. st. John
becames the enthusiastic admirer of
mermaid whose inclinations are
strangely suggestive Of Broadway. A
man-eating shark plays more than
q casual part in the furtherancs Of