The New York herald., 1921-04-03
Screen Shadows
Nv FRANK vREELAND.

beth said: And the cry Is still they
comet" After Famous Players-Lasky
have sprung anne Boleyn" on an
unresisting public in the guise OF De
ception" at the Rivoli, where 1t VIII
start on April IL and continue there
and at the Rialto for four weeks be-
fore il Is headed-this company VIII
again cast their bread on the waters
in the form of another German i'm
portstion. Der Golem," which will cir
culate through Or. Hugo Riesenfeld's
system. The title is a Yiddish word
which becomes "rhe Devil when fill
tered into English. which, If Cecil b.
De Mile has anything to do with II.
may be changed 10 something like
"Whaddya S'pose He MeaHt?'
The photoplay gets It's kickoff from
the prosecutions OF the Jews in the
Middle Ages, DER Golem" being
hideous wooden figure, more than life
size, supposed to have been made by
the prosecuted ones with the object of
soaring into paralysis any medieval
Gentiles who contemplated passing the
time with a little pogrom. Savants
when asked about this totem have
scratched their heads IN learned
manner. cleared their throats and an
swered that it had disappeared, but in
this picture the legendary figure Is
made to come to life, which shows how
the movies can triumph over science.
|. is reincarnated like Frankenstein
monster in 1s48, the period Of the Ger
man revolution, and proceeds to raise
pure and unadulterated Cain.
Though it is not 20 bizarre in charac-
terization and setting as THE Cabinet of
DR.. Caligari," which gets in the rhythm
of the Capitol to-day this picture indi-
Gates the current trend OF the Teutonic
mind toward morbidity, especially since
II learned IL coudn's squrm out of pay
ing that indemnity. Tho film was pro-
duced by the UFA, which is the Ger
( man film trust. even though 1t does
sound more like fat man who's caught
a baseball in the wrong place. For this
organization, which is subsidized by the
i state in another attempt by Germany
to conquer something-tilis time without
\ fighting-Paul Wegener directed the
\ picture and also shoehoined himself
into the leading role Lydia Salmonova
4 beams at him from the face across the
way.
4 Another German film that has just
| been made safe ior America is Hamlet.
though this does not bear very close
resemblance to Shakespeare's work, with
! the possible exception of the ham In It..
It was made during the last year by the
Art-F'lm Gesellschaft amid appropriate
Danish settings. so that it can be truly
I said Of this picture that its scenery IS
4 copyrighted In every language, includ-
T atyfa n
announcement the Geselschaft. with nu-
merous gutturals coughs up the infor-
nation that the picture rs based not on
shakespeares play, but on the original
| Morse saga incorporated In Hollinshed's
Chronicles. unrolled upon the stage
from that source By Shakespeare and
now unearthed in its early form by an
American, Prof. Vinirg, with all Its
original murders bright and untarnished.
In this latest version 1t has n sur
prise ending. almost snappy enough TO
make hit in vaudeville. In fact, sam
Shipman might have written 1t. That
is made possible by the fact that the
role of Hamlet is played by n woman,
Asia Nielsen. a German actress whose
name has been quoted with fair
amount of awe in the film trade here.
She is the first feminine player to por-
tray the character on the screen, though
on the speaking stage several actresses
have grown melancholy playing the
part, not to mention their audiences. Adj
vance pictures received here have shown
that II was mounted in spacious style
under the direction of Svend Gade and
Heinz Schall, with vast castle halls re-
! vealing the icy gloom of those times
so yividly one wants TO turn up ones
collar.
These stills when shown here aroused
the interest of Famous Players-LaslSy
First National and Joseph Godsol. vice
president of Goldwyn. Landy and
Turnbul are negotiating to place a
side bet and obtain an option that would
insure TO this country six reels of high
class Hamlet u. Won Winterstein. who
played Du BdTrg III Passion" has a
chance again to steep himself 81 viii
lainy as Cfdndilts, the usurping royal
brother. Lilly Jacobson, q noted Ger
man beauty, does ODhelid, and, Judging
by her photographs, seems much more
decorative than most stage Ophelids,
who seemed to whip Themselves up 10
the frenzy OF madness by looking at
themselves in q mirror.
Meanwhile, such newcomers as Philip
Rartholomae and Penrhyn Stanlaws are
rushing to the defence OF the screen
1 here. Bartholomae, after his first taste
OF film blood in The Black Panther's
Cub" for which he did the scenario for
William X. Ziegfeld. has decided TO make
himself more solid with the films, and
this reformed musical comedy llbrettist
Is now working with Stanlaws on The
Outside Woman" in which Wanda Taw-
ley will have the inside track. With
Stanlaws directing. Bartholomae writ
ing and Miss Hawley starring, everyone
around the Los Angeles studio is smack
Ing his lips over the prospects.
Not so hopeful Is the outlook for May
| McAvoy, who has just torn a big hole
In the firmament with her winsome per-
formance In Sentimental Tommy"
which Just now IS turning the Criterion
into hotbed OF Scotch charm. Miss
McAyoy ~ to be starred by Realart.
and judging by some of the samples OF
stories fabricated by this company in
the past the youthful player. who has
shown as great promise as any one
now on the screen, win have 10 travel
at a fast pace 10 emerge
/ The Price" IN which Helen Ware
| struggled through a. successful run on
\ the stage. is being prepared by Whit