The New York herald., 1921-04-17
Screen ShadOuS
By FRANK VREELAND.


which is striving 70 change the face
or nature as it is commonly preserved
in gelatine
Not for them the movie of the little
ingenue shaking her golden curls in
the sunshine while beams of light
glance off her retrousse nose. The cli-
mate would be too cold for anything
so Pollyannish, for one thing. Instead.
they plan to show subtle psychological
reactions--one Idea having a terrible
battle with another. or something
thrilling like that. Gloom chasing
away joy and similar neurotic tri-
umphs.
Rather than simplihed settings and
plottings, everything is very complex,
Just like life In Greenwich Village-as II
is exposed in the magazines. Following
the grand model OF the Russian novels
of DostolevslSy and the other bright lit
tie rays OF hope in their literature the
mental workings are laid bare, and
every spectator has chance to enjoy
himself as much as AT a clinic. Unless
the photography were exceptionally
OF the mental workings OF the average
movie actor would be blurred Especially
IL he were Russian.
Yet Il Is reported that this extreme
innovation in cinematography Is quite
successful, and onlookers appear to
relish having their inmost thoughts
shown up on the screen. One would like
TO see the cerebral processes Of Trotzky
delineated
Why is it that pictures of trials and
any incident relating to court procedure,
even when produced by big companies
that ordinarily are careful to see that
the leading man isn't wearing his hat
backwards are so wrong as to seem al
most inspired in their errors? In actu-
ality the jury box is almost always on
the Judges left, but in the films the
consensus of opinion seems to be gen
orally that somehow the twelve good
men and true look more dramatic on the
judges right. And the judge often has
large and formidable glass pitcher OF
ice water in front OF him, apparently for
subduing refractory lawyers. So many
directors and movie stars appear to be
brought UP in court for speeding nown-
days that you'd think they would know
better.
In one picture made by the LaslSy
studio the court stenographer was
blandly taking down all the proceedings
before the bench on a typewriter--a
method that in real practice would be
apt to bring the judges gayel down on
his head. MISUNDERSTANDING,
recently produced by Allen Holubar had
an insert OF newspaper which reported
that "District-Attorney has issued a
bench warrant for the man accused of
bribery IL any reporter on a
real newspaper was caught letting any
one but Judge issue a bench warrant
he would be fired. At a coroner's i'm
quest In David w. Griffiths latest opus.
| Dream Street." the inspector of detec-
tives who arrests the defendant acts as
both witness and prosecuting attorney.
blithely pouring out his testimony in the
form of charges and deciding for rne
coroner that this settles the case-at
which the presiding official doesn't even
raise his eyebrows. And II isn't until
the trial seems about over that the cor
oner suddenly reads over the complaint,
which states that the defendants brother
was near the scene of the crime. where
upon he concludes that there's something
queer about the case, because no one has
yet seen fit to summon the brother to
court.
a note on the programme says that
officials OF Scotland Yard aided in re-
producing the details OF the court scene.
but II so they must have been excited
by thinking OF some cricket match at
the time.
In the picture at the Central Thea
tire Griffith. who has originated most OF
the technical novelties on the screen, in
troduees another innovation. that OF the
subtitle which seeps out on the screen
In patches-first one little splatter OF
dialogue. with a black void below It, and
then another sentence In which the con-
versation catches up with itself. Such n
system has heretofore been little seen
except In the Topics OF the Day flashes,
when the snapper in a joke has been
held back until the last moment with the
object OF stunning resistance to the
hurnor with a sudden blow. Griffith's
picture Is the first instance OF a dra-
matte film in which the full meaning OF
a bit Of repartee Is let so with bang
at the end.
Griffith is also TO be accredited with
being the pioneer In the screen use OF
Benda masks, wherein musical producers
on the speaking stage now appear con-
vlnced a good deal OF their salvation lies
Though the producer uses the mask with
telling effect on the violinist, called the
Euil Influence, IL cannot be said that
this same musician is as convincing as
his facial panoply. He Is represented as
having such diabolical power in his play
ing that he inspires youth to kill his
brother, though I'm the close-ups he ap-
pears TO incite most of the hard charac-
tcrs around him merely to do a sort OF
shimmy. But In actuality, while music
may arouse tender sentiments or gay, IL
appears to be powerless TO urge any one
to slay--unless It is to slay the player.
II Is to be hoped that In Deception"
the Anne Boleyn picture which starts
another assault on history at the Rivoli
to-day. Emil Jannings as Henry VIII.
does not display quite the same haste
IN moving across the throne room which
made his entry In Passion look like
the finishing sprint Of an Edward Pay
son Weston tour. AS Louis XIV. he
hustled across the room with tho man
ner OF man who hadn't 10 reach his
throne before some cutup pulled It out
from under him.
Tho same failure to grasp the royal
tempo Of marching Is shown in THE
Queen OF Sheba" at the Lyric. when the
little boy who plays Prince David az
ties forward 20 meet King Solomon as
though he feared they'd catch him and
put him back to school. His walk
should have been more tho lordly. leis-
urely gait OF an A. d. T. messenger boy
An advertisement had 70 be inserted
IN the newspapers last week to keep
Jackie Coogan from yelling the Hotel
Biltmore to rags. The younHster who
made such hit with Chaplin In "Tha