New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-02
On the Screen
Mother o Nine" at Strand,
Orthodox; ''Whcn Lights Are
Low," at Capitol, Dim
BY Harriette Underhill

Not single surprise have we had
this week at the theaters. All of the
pictures have been exactly like what
people who do not care for pictures
beiieve that all pictures are like--just
plain movies.
Mother O. Mine" at the Strand,
has used formula No. 3: A bow con,
victed of murder will not speak be-
cause he is shielding a woman-his
mother; the mother goes to beg for a
pardon or stay of the so-called JUS
tice. At the eleventh hour she finds
new evidence and rushes in motor
car to stop the execution at Sing Sing.
The only difference is. that when they
are at the outskirts of the town they
md that they cannot make the prison
IN time to stop the execution, SO they
drive to the power house and have
the man there turn off the current
just as the man in s.e death house
pulls the switch the lights all go out
and the boy is saved.
The picture does not diverge from
the beaten path at any moment. 1t
even shows the hero and heroine with
their first baby to prove that the mar
rage was complete success.
The scene in the picture that we
liked best was where the villainess,
Fan Baxter. says, "Why should / save
your son! What do you take me for?"
and the meek little mother. instead Of
being abashed and Sinking away, saws,
What do l take you for? I take you
for a liar. and if you do not speak I'll
choke you to DEATH and then pro-
ceeds to put her threat into execution
That is the first time in a scene of
that sort that the mother ever be-
hayed as we wanted her to behave.
The cast is exceptionally good, and
we especially liked Lloyd Hughes as
the honest young hero and Betty
Blythe as the wicked woman. Betty
Ross Clark hasn't much to do as the
heroine. but she looks beautiful while
she does it. Joseph Kilgour is simply
up to his old tricks again as the villain,
and Claire Mcdowell is the mother.
Here is director who doesn't think
1T necessary to make a mother in a
picture have gray hair and face care
fully lined. They all insist on having
their mothers" at least twenty years
too old, no matter what the age of
the offspring may be.
The scenario was made by C. Gardner
Sullivan from ''The Octopus" bv
Charles Belmont Davies. 1t was d.
rected by Fred Niblo
Grantland Rice and Jack Eaton pre-
called when Good Fellows Get To-
gethers Mr.yRice wrote the titles and
we now move that he be confined with
Rupert Hughes and made to title 100,
pictures before he is released. We
had elected Mr.. Hughes as the best
title writer in the world, but our allie
glance is tottering.
The overture is "Pcer Gynt Suite"
The male quartet sings a prologue to
the feature picture and Madelaine Mac
Guigan plays Wieniawski's Russian
airs" AS violin solo. The comedy is
"Toonerville's Fire Brigade" pic
turization of the Fontane Fox car
toons.
At the Capitol Theater Sessue Haya-
kawa is appearing in a picture called
"When the Lights Are low" Never
was picture more appropriately
named. The lights ere so low that yon
can hardly see the action. and the fig
ures Outlines appear only black sill
houettes, so that you don't know
whether you are looking at Chang
Bong Lo, at Tuang Fang, ct Quan Lin,
at Ching Wo Ho Kee or at Wung. Only
in the center of the screen can you sec
anything at ALL The edges are in COM
plete blackness. Is this art? If So we
a. IOeolly uAdDie W appreciate III, dHu
if they do it again we shall walk out
just TO show them that we sre not to
be trifled with.
Mr.. Hayakawa is Chinese Prince
named T'su Wong Shih. He loves
Chinese peasant girl named Guam Yin,
but his uncle, Lang See Bow, wants
him to marry Princess Tan 81. SO to
America he goes to learn things. He
graduates from college and becomes ex-
pert in all of the national games, like
baseball and craps. He goes to a ball
in Washington, but somehow in his
next scene he manages to be in San
Francisco, just as his Chinese sweet
heart is about to be sold at auction by
a marriage broker. He outbids the
other aspiring bridegroom, but cannot
raise the necessary $4,000, SO he goes
to work as q dish washer. Now, why
couldn't he have informed the police
and had them take Guam Yin away
from Tuang Fang?
Sometimes the plot is as murky as