The New York herald., 1921-05-09
Miss Pola Negri
Seductive Vampire
in "Gypsy Loue"
Film Star in Carmen Adapta-
tion Puts a Meaning in Every
Line Of Her Role.

Passion" the first German picture in
which Miss Pola Negri appeared here.
showed her using her eyes in the French
Revolution. Gypsy Love-" her second
vehicle, on view this week at the Strand.
shows her in spit curls. This First Ma
tional attraction. directed by Ernst Lu-
bitsch, who produced that initial Teu-
tonic success. is the third screen version
of Carmen" O. fact which the press
agent has pretty well hammered home
by now.
1t invites comparison, as though chal-
longing any one to prove that Car
men" made in Germany isn't the best in
the world. Unlike Miss Geraldine Far
rar's cinema emancipation of the role.
1t isn't grand opera Of the movies. After
the fashion OF Miss Theda Bara's ver-
sion, 1t is more of a running story. fol-
lowing Prosper Merrimee's original
closely, and hence the mantilla Of the
movies descends OH 1t more easily, while
there is less of the hectic posing in the
first American picture.
The story of La CdrDI encitd, the cigar
cite girl who enticed q dragoon to for
get his soldierly honor. to slay his supe-
rior and to become one of a band OF
smugglers. and then threw him over for
bull fighter, Is too well known In de-
tail to require rehearsal here for further
narrowing Of the feelings--the Gerry
ilappers have seen to that The titles
used in the present production were the
most lnept part Of 1t. sounding as though
they had been translated from the orig
inal. word for word, solely with the help
of a dictionary. AT one point La Car
n1enctfd, admiring a soldiers cigarette
case. is made to say, "Oi. what a case -
There is constant attempt to make
the story live up TO the title by layine
the blame for everything on Carmen's
gypsy blood. which is nonsense, for she
IS nothing but n Spanish coquette of the
deepest dye, while the young soldier
lover is Spanish onion But Miss
Nagrl makes the role the most genuinely
seductive seen in years on the screen.
Tor film vampires are usually hard to
accept at their face value. Seemingly
more of the fiery Latin in temperament
than the German, she puts meaning
in every line Of her 1.-the figure. and
does couple OF dances that outdo even a
New York musical show for the erotic.
Her fight with the other cigarette girl
is far below the sporting fracas put up
by Miss Farrar, and the grand opera
diva still remains the catch as catch can
champion of the movies. The fighting
and in fact the incidental action of this
production are far tanner than in the
American production. and when Don Jose
NdUcfTd kills his commander it is pe-
cause the stairway on which they are
dueliing gives way and he stabs his SUI
perior because the latter falls on his
sword But Lubitsch has arranged some
splendidly conceived and stirring scenes,
particularly the attack on the gypsy
camp. though he has used some OF the
sets in Passion" and many of tae same
obviously German faces. Harry Liedtke,
again playing opposite the star. gives a
fine portrayal of Ndrdrro, and Miss
Negrf makes this highly vivid and
vari-colored photoplay. in which her
beautiful face and tragic eyes seem a,
targets for tragedy.
The feature is surrounded by color.
ful and appropriate supplementary bill
with Won Suppe's Isabella" overtur,
and a Sevillian prologue In which Garlic
Ferretti appears with a. chorus, and there
Is Larry Semon's latest comedy, "Tht
Rent Collector" which Is messy and
therefore, merry.