The Washington herald., 1922-02-06
METROPOLITAN.
,wesieyt ''FreckIes, Barry in .schoeI
Days.S

- Days.S
Great as was his work in Go and
Get It," Daddy Longiegs" and
E.Dinty." Wesley .rFreckles" Barry,
the spangle-faced juvenile. offers
his finest portrayal In the stellar
role of the Warner Brothers' reduc-
| |tion of Gus Edwards' School
Days" the current offering at Gran
daiPs Metropolitan Theater where
overflow audiences assembled yes
terday Matching the major fea-
ture in artistry and interest are an
unusual number of distinguished
subsidiary attractions led by q q
iaughable travesty in which Harry
Pollard and Marie Mosquini have
been filned-a buriesque of the d.
vorce courts entitled: 'tCall the Wit
ness 'The Land Of iBeginnfng." 9
Sunset Polychromo scenic
mastefpiece,. presents ,aas sue
cession Of beautiful : natural-cofoi
views and Is enhanced by the or
chestral accompaniment of which
Rubinstein's "Reverie" Is the domi-
nant number. other short-reel SUBJ
jects that ELECTED enthusiastic CON-
ment were the new issues Of the
Pathe News and the Literary Di-
gest's Topics of the Day" to which
was added symphonic concsr,
number consisting of a fantasia OF
meiodious gems from The Fortune
Teller" by Victor Herbert, nawless-
ly rendered by the metropolitan
symphony under the conductorship
Of Alexander Podnos.
In School Days" Barry finds him.
self confronted with the task Of sup
plying a sustained Characterization
Of sufiicient substance to serve as
the pivotal portrayal in q drama that
enlists the earnest efforts Of q no
table cast Of adult players. He meas
ures- up. to the assignment in every
way. lending his impersonation OF
the orphan youngster farmed out to
q fiint-hearted deacon" a spontane-
Gus humor, a depth OF heart appeal
and quality OF naturalness that
are remarkable. Those who lend
splendid support are many. Of whom
the foremost are Frank Lessey. Je-
rome Patrick. John Gaisworthy. Mar
garet Seddon, Airline Blackburn and
Frank X. Conlan.
The story presents a picturesque
sequence Of beautiful rural scenes
aiternated with giimpses Of New York
City. where. the youthful object OF
a rich uncle's secret benefaction en-
counters experiences that convince
him the schoolroom should be con-
sidered In q more serious light than
merely as a prolific source bf mis-
chievous adventure. After having
been mulcted Of all his money and
made to appear to have done a grave
injustice to his hosts in the city.
SI-eck Brown hastens back to his
simple country life via side door
Pullman"
In the earlier scenes he has been
the harum-scarum kid, bent on hav-
ing q lot of fun and as little edu-
cation as possible. HIS schoolr0om
pranks are irresistibly funny-both
in the barren littlee country school
and at the fashionable establish
ment Of learning In which he 10 en-
rolled in the metropolis. There is
not in the natcre of this bespeclxled
shaver the gift of harmonizing his
penchant for simplicity with the
stilted conventions observed by
gold-plated children of the city with
whom he is thrown in contact by
his uncle. The result Of this anti =
pathy to any form Of social artif-
ciality manifests itself in ways that
are laughable.
The photography and direction
are Of high order. The outdoor
scenes are recorded with extraordi-
nary effects of distance and tone
values, suggesting a glorihed COM
posite of "Peck's Bad Boy" THE
Old Swimmin' Hole" and The Silent
Call" The charm of the picture Is
multiplied by the tuneful score ar
ranged and conducted by Mr.
Podnos ~+- .. 49,