Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-01
THE MOVIE FANS
LETTERBOX
By HENRY NJ. NEELY

Peter Whiff1e writes zone ot the
pictures l consider anon: tho best Of
the year have never seen mentioned
IN your columns. AT the Stroke ..
Midnight WAS the title. Sw' dish
production. What was your personal
"onion Of it?
The Loves of Pharaoh found to
to tremendous. but it found me in just
the right mood. On another evening
might have been bored. \ rroduS
ton Of this type faces into the sam"
niche among pictures that bridge does
umong card gnmcs-it draws bit upon
intellectual resources for full apprccU- =
lion. And gods isn't bridge irri,at-
ing sometimes
81 cannot but wonder if tho great
financial success of Passion and De
cnption' was nor due largely To clever
publicity. People went. acclaimed ard
Rrplaudcd because il WAS the prorpr
thing to do. but they secretly made Il
resolution to escape further such eve.
nings. hence the boycott of The Loves
OF Pharaoh.
Il found The Rondboy' as honestly
done as Toll able David but the story
was inferior to Herg"shpimer's tender
tale. Mary Alden. as the weak, vague
thinking Mother. haunts me. Wasn't
hat scene wherein she tried to tell the
hoy she had bonded him out donr with
nice restraint! And that quick. tor
tured look which Dick Barthelmess gave
h"r when h" learned.
Young Joseph Striker Is going to
20 sDmcthing--h" Is made of tho same
stuff as Glenn Hunter. lie has the r"-
CURED good looks. TOO Recently. in
Paul Swans New York stUdio. I SIN
painting Swan had done Of Striker
pS1risite.
so long as there are such public
displays of players in the 'bnnd wagon
rs wns recently seen here in Philly. how
rnn one expect the cultured man and dis
eliminating critic TO accept the motion"
picture industry as associated with til"
art movement? Here was proof posi-
tive TO the man who rarely goes to th"
movies that motion pictures are still
In the class Of the side show with a
barker in front usin: rs bait brief
E'lu.rse Of nne Of the WONDERS within.
There WIS no dignity to the rxhbi-
tion the Other dny-thcrc couldn't be.
with magnificent motion picture
theatres built by famous architects,
symphony orchestras conducted BIZ
leading composers and such players in
pictures as George Arliss. the 'consrrvn-
t.ves' (who. after all. ran things hay"
been impressed with the new art. Then
along comes street parade and the
whole thing blows apt is as n
woman richly dressed wearing furs and
jewels who. when she speaks, uses the
language of the alley
(You force me TO add TO my uhpopu-
larity by admitting that the whole OK
hibition of "stars' struck me In en-
nctly the san" way. All the other let
tors I've received about it were SIM
ply bubbling over with fan enthusiasm.
but. as I looked down from my ofiic.
window that day and watched the pro-
ccssion pass. It reminded me of my boy
hood days with patent medicine show
giving ''bnllyhoo' parade down Main
street in my country town. I hate 70
admit that Merton" is scathing
clinic Of movie anatomy. but. over
drawn rs 1t is. there's tragic lot Of
actuality in it. and the whole atn.os-
phere Of things must be changed before
we movie reviewers can really con-
sider that we have dgnifed jobs.
J. didn't see that Stroke of Md
night picture. have to miss some
Of 'em, you know
Lncille La Vamp wrttes: my first
letter being printed, / am again trying
my luck at your column. lTerrible
groans from II. NJ. ~ First of ALL
send my sympathy to poor 'Kensing,on
Lilliom. After bawling you out for
trying to be funny, he tries to put over
. few rancid ones himself. Too bad
hs used such popular magazine rs
Life to get his joke (D about the radio.
No telling where the rest of them came