Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-24

am an ardent reader Of the Movie Fans
Letter Box. I agree with you on al
most everything you say. say al
most because am young girl OF
seventeen, so you will know what things
I disagree with you on.
II think you are absolutely right in
saying Lillian Gish does nothing but
make faces at the camera. I think she
was positively ludicrous in Way Down
East when they showed that picture
Of her with her eyelids frozen. !
haven't seen Orphans Of the Storm
and don't intend to go. for, while I
love Grifith's pictures. I can't stand
those two Gish girls. Why doesn' t
Griffith star Carol Dempster and
Richard Barthelmess together as he did
in The Love Flower?
Il agree with you also about Mary
P1ckford. She is-or rather her pic
lures are-beastly bores.
Gould you tell me when "Tol'ble
David Is coming to Philadelphia? Who
is playing opposite Barthelmess in that
Also, when will Beyond the Rocks be
released? l hope this letter hasn't been
too long. May I come again?"
(You bet you may come again. Grif-
fifth cant star Barthelmess now be-
cause he Is being starred by his
own company formed for that very
purpose. "Tol bic David" has been
finished for some time and prints
are in this city, but no release date has
been set for it yet. Gladys Hulette
plays opposite Barthclmess. Beyond
the Rocks" hasn't been received here
yet. In fact. doubt II 1t has had its
final cutting and editing. Do you know
have a suspicion you are fo0ling me
about your name and age? The COM
Devon" sounds familiar. Am right?
If not. / apologize.)
X Y X: You're right; she
is a "perfect dear" Thank you very
much for the extremely friendly tone Of
your letter. Unfortunately, II busy the
atrical and movie reviewer doesn't get
any time for such pleasures. Why not
send the card anyway?
Claude w. Ash: Thanks; we'll
print the picture of Shirley Mason soon.
Neil Martin writes: Indeed,
did see your comment on my perform.
ance in Only So and I'm grateful to
you. I shall hope to keep on doing
work in the theatre which will justify
your good opinion Of me. With reR-
sonable luck, I'm sure will. For I'm
eager to- achieve and I'm in it because
I'm anxious to learn what Mrs. Fiske
called the science of acting'-the ex-
preston of character with certain and
demonstrable technical means, not
merely to act ones self in given set
of circumstances.
May l disagree with you just n lit
tie and without meaning to be pre-
sumptuOuS in one of your remarks in
answer to my note to you? Don't you
think audiences ought to be trained to
the critical viewpoint? Wouldn't il in
crease their pleasure TO know good from
bad and art from charlatanism and to
know the reason why? l don't think
we'll have finer pictures or finer act
ing in them until audiences do know"
Il do believe in training audiences to
better judgment Of both stage and
screen art. That is. ] believe in the
theory, but ! m afraid it's rather hope
less in practice. My objection to ex-
pressing unfavorabe views of the film
we were discussing was merely that
wanted the fans to see it first. If we
expressed those views and the fans then
went to see 1t with our criticisms IN
their minds, they would unconsciously
look on the film with our eyes without
knowing why. II, On the other hand,
we let them see the film first, form
their own views and then, in a general
discussion, show them how and why
those views are wrong, believe the
effect is more educational and that they
will begin in time to see the methOds
by which a trained critic analyses a
production and forms his estimates of
an actors performance. And yet, be-
tween ourselves, I'm not altogether
convinced that 1t pays to have the Crt-
cal viewpoint. I'm afraid the general
public doesn't want the best and never
will. And, as things stand today, I'm
sure the unframed observer has a lot
more fun and gets lot more entertain
ment at the theatre or movie than |
do. And yet l wouldn't change places
with him.)
Betty Donaghue Elliot Dexter
played the lead in The Squaw Man.