The New York herald., 1922-11-12

that is opened the movies will have
progressed so far beyond their present
standing that none of the pictures
which have been prodl ced before now
will deserve place il the archives
OF posterity.
1t seems to US, howey er, that there
already have been pictures with legiti-
innate claims to greatness. Were we
called upon to submit a list of nomi-
nations to the Admissions Committee
at the Hall of Fame we should propose
the following:
THE Birth of a Nation"
Intolerance"
THE Coward"
shoulder Arms"
Broken Blossoms"
''The Miracle Man."
The Mark Of Zorro"
"The Kid"
"The Four Horsemen of the Apoca-
lypse."
1.-THE Three Musketeers."
~Toi' BILE David"
"Nanook of the North
"Grandma's Boy"
"Oliver Twist.
robin Hood"
list four are Griffith productions. three
Douglas Fairbanks, two Chaplin, one
Rex Ingram, one George Loane Tuck
er, one Richard Barthelmess and Henry
King, one Frank Lloyd, one Harold
Lloyd and one Robert j. Flaherty.
1t Is not large representation and
one wonders at the absence Of such
names as Mary Pickford. Norma Tai
lIa,-f 0tN1
others which are accustomed to glare
forthin the electric lights.
1t is our list, however, and we shall
stick to it. Most of the selections,
like "The Birth of a Nation" The
Miracle Man" and "Robin Hood are
obvious, and will not be contested by
any large proportion of our readers.
There are others, however, which
are open to debate. THE Coward" was
produced by the old Triangle COM
pany, of which Griffith, Thomas ii.
Jnce and Mack Sennett formed the
three angles. 1t was a Civil War
drama, with Frank keenan, as an old
Southern gentleman, and Charles Ray
as his lily livered SON. The old man
was greatly disappointed in his off
spring because the lad refused to
fight.
When the Federal troops occupied
the family home, the young coward
suddenly had an access of heroism,
and proceeded to rout them with due
dispatch.
THE Coward" started Charles Ray
off upon his successful career. and he
has never done anything 20 equal it
since.
"Nanook of the North is another
nomination that may be questioned.
SO far as we are concerned ii is one
OF the first choices.
Robert J. F-laherty, who produced IT,,
did something that had never been
done before In the movies-and did
it extraordinarily well. Working with
no material save family Of Eskimos
and an unlimited amount of snow, he
concocted n drama Of intense and
genuine interest. He caught the
spirit Of the great, cold North. as 1t
has not been caught in any Of the
numberless photoplays that Rex
Beach, James Oliver Curwood and
company have written.
Aside from the pictures mentioned
in our list, there are few that ought
TO be cited as "almosts." There Is,
for instance, zone Glorious Day" that
delightful fantasy in which Will Rog-
ers co-stsrred with a wandering spirit
named EEK" There are also "Nic-
tory" from Conrad's novel, when
Knighthood Was in Flower" "Behind
", a.,
King Arthur's Court" "Humoresquc. -
Sentimental Tommy" and any num-
ber of Chaplin, Lloyd. Keaton and
Sennett comedies.
We have studiously avoided mention
OF the German pictures because we
have not seen enough Of them 20
make a comparative list. But Of
those that we have seen there are
certainly four that deserve TO be
placed on the first string-"Pa Passion, -
Deception" The Cabinet Of Or. Cali
gari" and "The Loves of Pharaoh"
OF these. "The Cabinet OF Dr. Cali
gari" is the finest. II failed miser-
ably because It was too far ahead of
it's time. But IL established new di-
mension on the Sc-ccn--it gave the
movies an cmotlonal depth that tney
had never possessed before.
Above all things II must be a mo-
tion picture which possesses an iden-
II must have beauty-Of photogra-
pl1y. composition. background and
lighting.
W must have drama, which means
that It must be able to strike beyond
the optic nerve.
II must not be dull.
II must be intelligent.
Above all things II must be a mo-
tion picture which possesses an iden-
tity of Its own. and is not merely a
Photographic imitation OF a play or a
book
The only difficulty lies In finding a
es&0lcicnt number Of people who can