The New York herald., 1922-12-24
The New Movies
By
ROBERT Z. SHERWOOD.
T. HE utter injustice OF the sys-
\ TEN which controls the big
Il movie theaters is conclusively

demonstrated by the case or
Shadows" an unusually fine picture,
which is unable to find a home in any
OF them.
Shadows" was produced by the
Preferred Pictures Corporation and
directed by Tom Forman. Its cast in
eludes such celluloid celebrities as Lon
Clancy, Harrison Ford, Marguerite de
IA Motto and Walter Long. What is
more. 1t is worthy production In al
most every respect, and exceptionally
well acted.
The films chief asset IS its story,
which is so startingly original and so
richly endowed with dramatic vigor
that it is far above anything we have
seen on the screen in a long, long
time. 1t was originally short story
by Wilbur Daniel Steele, published in
the Pictorial ReVieto as Ching, Ching,
Chinaman" (the title was changed at
the request of the exhibitors). Eve
Unsen and Hope Loring made the
adaptation, and did good job of It.
The dominant figure in the story is
a lowly Chinaman who is cast up on
the shores of little fishing village In
Maine. He opens a laundry and be-
comes the object of solicitous atten-
lion from the local parson, who
strives to save his soul by converting
him to the church of Christ. In the
end, however, 1t is the minister him
self who is saved.
Mr.. Steele's method Of telling this
story is both expert and inspired. He
never employs obvious methods. For
fnS h. -
means of communication between the
laundryman and one of his fellows he
causes him to insert the message In
the Chinese lettering OF the laundry
marks on collars. There is also no
little subtlety in the picture itself, so
that verbose subtitles are not much
in evidence.
Lon Chaney's performance of : the
leading role is q remarkable one. His
makeup is little short of miraculous and
his stimulation of Chinese postures and
expressions Is studiously careful. We
doubt that there has ever been so ef-
fective an impersonation Of an Orien-
tai character by an Occidental actor.
The rest of the cast is good-notably
Harrison Ford and Marguerite de Ia
Motto.
We understand that Shadows" will
be on view at Loew's State Theater
next Sunday, and we commend It en-
Enthusiastically to the attention Of our
readers, gentle and otherwise. Just
why 1t should have been denied access
10 a first run house we are unable TO
say. We know that it Is better than
any picture we have seen at the
pfvn1i Pia1tn Conifal ~. I+ro x,d In he
last month.
Harsh Words From Mr.. stanIaws.
Penrhyn Stanlaws. erstwhile de-
picter of pulchritudinous morons on
magazine covers and more recently a
motion picture director at the Para
mount studio, has written an article
in ScreenIGnd in which he gives his
frank opinion of our leading screen
beauties. His harsh words-and they
are unusually brutal-have caused
tremors in Hollywood which probably
won't subside until Mr.. Stanlaws Is
tarred and feathered and run out of
town by the local post of the Ku Klux
l<lan.
nj Mae Murray, ALA Nazimova, Pola
Negri, Betty Compson, Betty Blythe,
',loria Swanson, Marion Davies, Mary
Pickford. Bebe Daniels, the Gishes and
ne Talmadges-to mention a few of
he more prominent names.
He charges them with such serious
defects as big heads, muscle bound
hips, prominent cartilages, bulbous
noses. protruding jaws and horse nos
trils. He says Of Marion Davies that
her brow is too low, which is certainly
a dirty dig.
We understand that Mr.. Stanlaws
recently severed his connection with
he Famous Players-Lasky, which
might account for his attitude Of hos
tility toward some OF its most orna-
mental stars, but his far from chival-
rous remarks are not limited to any
one company or any one field OF the
silent drama. So we may assume
that his statements are sincere.
Personally we feel that most of the
beauties of the screen are vastly over
rated. Qualities Of face and form
which lend themselves most readily
20 the eAdClluB process Oh nOtlOn pnO-
Biography often prove to be highly un-
attractive when viewed in the flesh.
Many genuinely beautiful women at
tain a surprising LONELINESS when re-
iected in the films, while others who
are really nothing to get excited about
can gain perfection by passing
through the lens of camera
Consequently one cannot judge
movie actresses by the ordinary stand
ards OF beauty. IL Is their business
70 look lovely on the screen--not on
the street.
OF those we have seen who can
come out into the sunlight without
losing any prestige the leading ex-
amples are Florence Vidor "a real
beauty from every point of view),
Mary Picldord, Corinne Griflth
Madge Bellamy. Alice Joyce. Carmel
Myers. Alice Terry, Mildred Davis
and Pola Neg1.