The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-10

the theatre or the silver screen. To revert back to religious themes portrayed on the stage, we have but to remember "The Lords Prayer" as a feature of the great "Quo Vadis" production--that marvellous novel by Henri Sienkiewicz which stirred the world with its amazing thrills and broad perspective; the "Nunc Dimittis" is none the less highly colored in the magnificent stage production of Gen. Lew Wal lace's novel Ben Hur."
 Not being satisfied with these fea- lures, the next thing we expect to see is the '.Magnifieat" and the Apostles Creed'' on the histrionic horizon.
 But before either of these have been used in theatrical lore comes the silver screen with the announce ment that Cecil DeMille proposes at the earliest possible moment to pie turize the Ten Commandments.
 MT. DeMille, it seems, so the story goes, offered a prize of one thou sand dollars 1,000) for the most original suggestion for moving picture, and when the suggestion came to his notice regarding the Ten Commandments he saw with the eye of genius which he possesses to such a marked degree, the op- portunity to do most amazing bit of screening and he at once &C., cepted the suggestion with enthisi- asm.
 To quote MT. DeMilles own words in regard to the cinemaed produc- tion of the Ten Commandments, we have this:
 'The contest is great demon stration of the value of appealing directly to public opinion for ideas. The tremendous theme for pie ture has lain neglected and hidden in the minds of people and we have been justified a thousand-fold in taking this means of drawing 1t out"
 I don't know but what the idea is most commendable one for the stage, the cinema and the church are very closely woven together in mutual accord-each helping the other to spread religion even unto the uttermost corners of civiliza- tion-and uncivilization.
 What a splendid opportunity this great screen maghata. has to do a piece of work not olsly ar tistic, but really educational religious education, for to be "bromidic" the screen and the stage, like the Salvation Army, reach class of people that nothing else on earth can ever reach-or does.
 And so---
 With this beautiful idea in view, Mir. DeMille's picturizing of the Ten Commandments shows the screen elevatine itself to tremendous heights, which will go largely toward inc elimination of censorship, and the achievement of the great am hilton of Directors General Will H. Hays of the movies, to make this in- dustry clean, edifying. noble, edu- cational!
 Tiger !sTigerl
 Glenn menceau-France's greatest tatesman-placed a wreath on the tomb of Americas great states man-Roosevelt!
 Tiger! Tiger! =,
 Here are two great citizens of the world who dared to move through the iungles we call civilization, with unsheathed claws. :,
 Theirs was the highest compii- ment that a nation could pay single individual
 Each wore his crown bravely;
 Each fought the pack and stood single-pawed against 1t;
 They were not afraid of the big puns: neither of them;
 The only thing perhaps that either ever feared is the vascillating, fleeting, insincere, tickle, public ruthless And cruel in both cases.
 Personally (and far be it from ma to be a "knocker," for 1 am one of the fraternity) but it does seem to me that the newspapers have been very impolite in 8 way, to the great French Tiger.
 Columns have been filled in the big metropolitan dailies and other wise quoting statements of men ot so much less importance than Gle menceau, criticising the grand old man that it is sickening.
 At least, the newspapers might have waited until M. Clemenceau went home.
 Then he might never nave seen the unkind criticisms.
 Somebody once wrote to soci- ety editor of newspaper asking her when it was permissible to criti- else a hostess after leaving party;
 The society editor. being quite up on etiquette. replied:
 "Two blockssawav from the hos tess house is safe"
 Surely
 We could have waited until the big steamer piled over the great Atlantic with it's distinguished pas senger before we talked about him'' adversely.
 Of course, he isn't representing officially the French government, or any thing of the sort, and maybe that's why our newspapers have written down things that were not complimentary concerning the Tiger
 Yet
 Oh, we'll
 Here is a man whose roars we have heard reverberating adown the jungle paths; who could not be in- tihidated;
 Or bought:
 Or beaten:
 Or dismayed.
 q wear no feather on my head" pleaded Georges Clemenceau in one of his speeches the other day. "No embroidery on my sleeve: am {. just plain citizen"
 There's the point;