The New York herald., 1921-11-28
Lotus EATER With
John Barrymore,
Tragedy and Farce
Romance Also Runs Through
Film From Story by Albert
PaysOn Terhune.

Not even John Barrymore can escape
ne South Sea Island movie This form
os photoplay, so virulent on the screen
OF late, has finally laid the country's
eading young actor low. It has in very
truth laid him low, for he drops into
u Pacific isle romance out OF a balloon.
1t is difficult to say just what Mr..
Barrymore is meant to be. for his extra
long cut hair and some OF his actions
proclaim him to be a poet. and yet he
goes up in uirlgible, while poets are
supposed to fly orly on Pegasus Mar
shall Neilan himself hardly seemed to
know what to mako the picture. Tor IL
Is by turns tragedy, farce, adventure,
comedy, satire ana pure romance, and
both emotionally and in its swing from
the Mediterranean TO tho far Pacific 1t
certainly covers lot or ground But
under, Mr.. Neilan's skilful weaving IL
develops into pleasurab.e entertainment,
80 that with this producer as pilot one
Is quite willing to face love under the
eocoanut trees once moro without q
shudder.
Caught by Siren.
The wealthy father of Jacques Lenoi,
wing found his own wife unfaithful on
me shores of the Mediterranean, de-
cress that the son snail be brought
up aboard his yacht, safe from all
sirens. for niermaids are no longer be-
ieved to exist. But siren catches
Jacques Just the same, for in his twenty
nth year an extravagant young
American woman bumps into him aboard
mis- yacht and knocks his heart askew.
Following the customary elopement.
which causes JGcqpes's allowance to be
cut down two-thirds, the girls mercenary
nature crops out, ard the young man
taxes trip In a new dirigible aimed to
cross the Pacific in two days, just to
clear the domestic air.
Instead of reaching China Jucques
finally parachutes down into an island
paradise that Upton Sinclair might very
truly claim infringes on his copyright
The tinge OF satire in this Utopia OF
strayed seafarers is highly amusing, for
Buffers "Erewhon" seems to have butted
into the usual studio hothouse amour
of the Southern Seas Apparently no
one works but an Italian count who
always has yearned to run a restaurant,
and his assistant, former Wall Street
broker. whose true gift lay in mixing
sa'eds. Everything Is free, and loving
friends carry a roysterer home from the
communal saloon after he has clung an
appropriate time to the standard lamp
post provided for that purpose.
s Finds Himself an Enoch Arden.
Desite love affair with one Of the
island maidens. Jacqxes is beset by
thoughts Of his wife, and returns home
to hnd himself an Enoch Arden, with
fnish to the story that suggests TOO
Many Husbands'' plus Swiss Family
Robinson" plus practically any popular
magazine story The picture reminds
one OF Neilan's recent "B.ts Of Life"
and Is, the kind of concoction over which
the spectator murmurs. "What corking
good nonsense !" and takes the subway.
1t has drown Mr.. Barrymore away
from the field OF straight acting and
back to his earlier type Of vehicle, in
which practically anything might hap
pen to him without warning. Occasion
ally he has moments when he appears
to recall suddenly that he ought TO act
bit end look like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr..
HYDE" but on the whole ne seems to be
enjoying a vacation from "Clair de
Lune." At times, darkened to suggest
his Latin character and clad in evening
clothes with a remarkable collar and
tie. he calls to mind a minstrel show.
Always he resembles the handsome
young men in the collar ads. even when
attired In the island garb that is a COM
bination Cl classic Greel, costume and
a Mother Hubbard.
Aside from the fact that It is an
nounced that the subtitles are by him.
one would hHrdiy imagine that George
Ade was around the premises. He must
have dfshed them off just before a golf
game. The capable work of Miss Anna
Q. Nilsson. Miss Colleen Moore and the
others makes this q picture more TO be
seen than criticised.
RIVoLI-"The Bonnie Briar Bush."
Donald Crisp productiC.s Tor Famous
Players-Lasky British Producers,
al pied from the novel by Ian Mac
Laren and the play by James Nc
Arthur and Augustus Thomas. See.
mario by Margaret Turnbull.
Ian MacLaren's gem has been turned
into "Way Down East" with Scotch
accent. When the hard hearted shep-
herd father the elder IN, hi1r Campbell,
drives his daughter out into the cold
for falling in love with the wrong man,
one recognizes u standardized situation.
and perhaps feels all the more assured
thereby. No hard thinking will be re-
quired to follow this. One even looks
around for the usual waterfall as the
scene for rescue. though the slight
trickle OF the Scotch brooks really pre-
cludcS anything SO thrilling.
The thought is carried out further by
the fact that Miss Mary Glynne. the
English star, who portrays the disowned
Flora Campbell. comes close to Miss
Lillian Gish's style of acting. and agi-
tC es her chin In the same fashion when
driven into a corner where chattering
teeth are called for. MacLarens story
has been made into a melodrama,
serving to emphasize how old fashioned
after all are the bare elements of this
story. and that Florus will continue to
fall in love with their Mdicolms In the
usual fashion so long as kilt is un-
furled to the breeze.
In bringing out the story value OF the
original much of the idyllic charm has
been neglected that made this poineer
of "the kailyard school of literature" a
sure guarantee In it's day of delighted
tears. Nonetheless IL remains. under
crisps careful if uninspircd handling.
the most satisfactory movie that has so
for shone forth In the customary fog of
The London studios. The picturesque
scenes at the castle on the night of the
great wedding hold the interest. but the
suspense is not sustained at very high
level. for ono ls pretty certain that
Lord Hdy, DESPITE the archaic device of
misplaced lettter--popular always in
British llternture-ultimateiy will seek
out his Flora and announce his clandes-
tine marriage TO her while any nousihre