New-York tribune., 1921-12-25
MIR. Barnes" Puts
I'm Claim to the
Original Vendetta
December 20. 1921,

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December 20. 1921.
Myss harrietee CsaarAiu, Tss Tribune,
New York City.
My dear Miss Underhill: have read
with considerable interest your cri,i-
cism Of the current Pola Negri film
"vendetta' at the Strand.
May l congratulate you on being the
lone critic in New York whose unbiased
Judgment and sense of picture values
have outweighed your contemporaries
to the extent that it is refrcshingly ap-
parent all foreign films have not
hypnotized you into the belief that they
must be good for the reason that they
are foreign films?
Discerning and experienced pro-
ducers and picture people are aweary
of the slushy ecstasies indulged in
over the large majority of the foreign
made films. This writer comedies that
we have seen some fine productions
from the other side, notably Passion"
Deception" Calgary" and "Theo-
DORA" but the list does not so far
beyond that. When our friends across
the water attempt making modern pic
lures sad are the results indeed, as
any one possessing an atom of picture
judgment who sees "Vendetta" will ad-
NIT.
And now let me whisper few facts
which have escaped all the critics on
the dailies-does no ono of them re-
call the famous old Archibald Claver-
ing Gunter novel, "Mr. Barnes of New
York" and the play of the same name
dramatized for Robert Hilliard and
played by that estimable actor for
some time with marked success? The
picture at the Strand this week is "Mr.
Barnes of New York" with Marie
Corelli main title.
In the summer Of 1913 the Vitagraph
Company of America bought from
Samuel French several novels for
perturbation. Among the list were
"Mr. Barnes of New York." "Mr Potter
of Texas" "a Florida Enchantment,"
THAT Frenchman," "The Web of the
Russian Secret Police" and "My Official
Wife," and all subjects were given to
me for scenariozation. I completed
"Mr. Barnes" first and still have the
original scenario. Singulariy enough,
the continuity thread OF my version is
practically the same as that employed
by the producers of "Vendetta." In
1913 the Vitagraph Company produced
the picture from my scenario version,
the cast including Maurice Costello, as
Barnes, Charles Kent as Tommaso, the
late S. Rankin Drew as Antonio Paoli,
Mary Charleson as Marina, Darwin
Carr as the English officer, William
Humphrey as the Count da Nella and
Naomi Childers as Enid Anstruther.
The Vitagraph production Of Barnes"
played at the vitagraph Theater, now
the Criterion, for FIVE weeks. 1t was a
highly lauded film in the days
(l91314, when big features were just
coming into popularity.
The picture "Vcndetta" even goes
so far as to retain the names of the
Paolis, brother and sister Of Mr.. Barnes
of New York, save that Marina is
called Mariana and Count da Nella, the
villain, is now Da Nelli. Mr.. Barnes
himself has been converted into an
English officer called Gladwir Irving,
while Tommaso Of the original remains
entirely unchanged in both name and
characterization. The last reel of my
scenario of MIR Barnes Of New York"
is scene for acene the same as the
last reel unfolded on the Strand screen
this week. The producers have seen fl
to modernize the present version,
whereas my scenario played the plot
as the original Gunter novel in the
early 80s. My version had few
short scenes showing the lombard
ment of Alexandria at that time. The
producers of "Vendetta" have omitted
the bombardment and have substituted
plague in the city, causing Lieutenant
Anstruther, or Alcott, to be removed to
the hospital, where Marina, as in
the original, nurses and falls in love
with him.
You have unerringly picked out all
the weakness of "Vendetta.' Pola
Negri, an incompatible artist in cos
tune pictures, is out of her element as
Marina, in modern clothes, and Jan
nings, another fine artist in historical
subjects, is most unhappily cast as
Tommaso. The story is not one which
lends itself readily to modern
conditions, as vendettas of the kind
employed in this subject have long
since gone out of date even in Corsica,
and are convincing only when they are
placed in background and in period
such as was used in the original "Mr.
Barnes"
In view of all the above, should not
some of our wiseacres in their gushy
laudations OF foreign films stop, look
and listen occasionally and realize that
our friends on the other side are Just
as capable of offending artistically and