Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-15

! opinion in your reviews, by what are
we to be guided? You are letting a
bird fly away from your hand to catch
two in the bush, because the time to
discuss a picture Is when we have Il
chance to prove to the theatre managers
that n good picture can call a crowd
and bad picture empty seats.
"What will they care for our opin-
ions after the picture is gone, when
what we would term bad picture has
proved success to them, which they
can prove by showing US the box Office
receipts?
'"rhe educated part of the public
should have q means Of prOpagating
side the majority, which is now held
! by the uneducated, that is. those that
/ can't tell the difference between good
and bad.
"You are to blame, Mr.. Neely. You
are double crossing us by not telling
up just how you saw the picture, since
we rely on you for an unbiased opinion.
Instead we have to pick good photo
! play from out OF the mass. and waste
money on pictures that are not worth 1t.
''The sooner we can prove to the pro-
| duccrs that good pictures are appre-
ciated and make \ paying for them.
the sooner we get better pictures. Do
you agree with me?"
Gosh. How d'ya expect me to agree
with you when you lambaste me that
way? So I'm to blame for bad pic
lures n everything, am !?
Now lets get down to cases and
see how much basis there is for your
complaint. quote verbatim from my
review of Mae Murray's Peacock
Alley" published February IA:
Few photOplays have shown more
careful production, more elaborate or
richer settings, more impressive pho
Biography or more skillful directing than
this ONE
| That was all true, wasn't it? To con.
tinue:
THE story is slight enough thing
and very much along the usual Mae
/ Murray line and with the de-
pendablc Monte Blue as leading man,
leaves the feminine portion of the audi
ence. ut least, with very satisfied, even
enthusiastic, after impression
That was nice thing to say about
Monte Blue. wasn't it! And he de-
served it. To continue:
Miss Murray. of course. pays Il
dancer and it is equally important that
she should be French dancer. Other
wise her irrepressiblc mannerisms, her
shrugs and grimaces, her pucker and
her pout, would have no excuse what
ever. They have little enough as it Is. y
Now. l leave it to your sense of fair
ness: did that give you the impression
that / liked the production?
The way to suppress bad pictures is
not to discuss them in this column be-
t"re ,,.oSt '"ns "nve n, Sc" In .nrn' o.. oo i
ohaS thS WY 81 i"i ,o'" VI FJr,. ti ~ I, rIo
t.'..' .a'' ,"t .N'rs vi, h,,t y, '.S ., ] ]o",.o
] ~ In"o;nu !" ,ho ~ s,, NV Wa, v
Inv, "mT 'i'I ''s ~" II .a, m oiI III ~, .
''',,,. ''rn .". .,nrI m' ;na
,L;n Nr,.in Nnno,,n, La 'r", .,ortnJ 7 hn,.o
i,oroG ,n m"i ~ e., ton t mat ,ntn ~. hnh;.
r'pIn'ru 90 onr,tontly ,n within tho o" ,hnatre
managers, expressing both good and bad
opinions of photoplNys. Hes the bird
to whom the producers look for reports
on their stuff, and IL re doesn't hear
from his clients. he has only his own
Judgment TO offer. If he says he re-
ceived hundreds Of protests against
such and such n film and tells WHY the
peonlc objected to il, the producers are
likely to think twice before they put
out similar onc.
NOu are entirely wrong in thinking
that nv opinion influences the fans to
90 to II picture or TO STAY away. I
4 manned ''Oyrr tLr Hill'' uumrr,ifuiiv
as the cheapest, most bunal. silly and
stupid thing ever lilmed-and it did II
land Office business here. 7 can name
a dozen shows roasted to the limit BY
every critic in philadelphia-and the
dollars continued to clink merrily into
the box office cash drawer.
No. +b. solution ~ tho nrob,o, ,;o,
ertireiv hotween the FANS and tba ,hc'
utre managers And # l had had INV NV wny
III ,nre tIousords into thr thrntre ~
see hopei"ssly bad thing. if ! felt sure