New-York tribune., 1922-02-13
On the Screen
Nazimova Does Wonderful Act
ing in -. Dolls House,: Sccna
Owen stars in Back PAY"
By I1arriette Underhill

it is" said the manager. Il think he's
rotten, too
Few people are as frank As this
manager. though we did hear one wom-
an i'll front Of the Strand Theatc, yes
terday. where "A Dolls House" is play
ing. tell the truth. She was only talk
ing TO her husband, however. and what's
the use of keeping up amy pretencc be-
fore ones husband
Lets go in here she sald. hatc
lbsen. but | adore Nazlmova. And
Nazimova justified her faith for her
performance in this lbscn play. which
United Artists have put on the screen,
is the best thing She has done in years.
1t seems as though this very nice
Nora could not possibly be that very
atrocious Camille which we saw y
few weeks ago. But still, we cannot
understand why people pat such stories
As "A Doll's House. on the screen. If
Anita Loos OF Eddie Goulding or Fran
ccs Marion did it what would people
think? A story which takes you over
SIX years Of married life to show you
that a woman'S fears arc finally real
wed and that her husband finds out
that She once borrowed money TO save
70 the story Now. of course, we know
that it is really a story of two people
who live together without ever under
standing one another. but there is no
great novelty IN that either. Neither is
there any gasp of apprehension as Nora
announces that she is going to leave
her husband and that only the miracle
OF miracles can brn. them together
again.
"A Dolls House" contains no screen
material; at least that is our opinion
It IS not an interesting story: it has
no beginning and no end The screen
should amuse. entertain or thrill and
also please the eye. "A Dolls House"
does none Of these things. If il were a
brand new story ii might hold the inter-
est. because one would sit through t cx-
pectlng something 10 happen. One,
however, would be disappointed Moth
lng ever does happen in "A Doll's
House. II might make a good pro
logNe, and now why doesn't some one
get busy and write story about what
happened to Nora after she went out
INTO the snow?
After all. movie audiences arc ar
enthusiastic lot. Yesterday they entire
~ forgot the very bad pictures which
Nazlmova has been giving them. and
OneH aFpiauu'd nPi performance in
thls newest picture. And we regarded
her with iondncSs amounting almost
10 forgiveness. She is strange ner-
son and the illusions she can create,
When she swings on the gate YOU
would swear She WAS not more than
ton years old, and sometimes She is
twenty, and sometimes she is thirty.
But whatever age she wants vou
TO THINK she is that is the age she
seems 10 be. she never seems like an
actress dressed up for the occasion.
Long aso we noticed that Norma Tai
madGc was like Na7imova. and Yestar
day We Noticcd that Nazimova. in her
more tranquil moments. was like Miss
Talmadge
Alan Hale give j good performance
as the husband. Torwal, Hclmar. Nigel
DO Rrulicl 8 Dr. Rank ana Wcdpvood
Novel; Is the money-lcnder Charles
Hryant directed the picture. and he
certainty deserves nothing but praise.
He should share tho honors with
Nazimova
The comedy is Mermaid called
Free and Easy" released by Educa-
tional Films. This we did not sec, but
we did see "a Rex Beach wcek-cnd."
which takes YOU on trip to the wilds
with that popular author We were
sorry that we were no, invited for
month.
The overture is peer Gynt Suite"
hltty Nc laughiin sings "Inlammatus."
from Stabat Mater.' The Strand Male
Quartet sings "Carmena and "The
Sandman.
When Secna Owen told us that she
was making Fannie Nurst's Back Paw
tor tn" screen we wondered how they
were ever going to get picture cut of
1t. and II they did what they were .yoine
to do about .hc consors They have
got picture out Of it. however. and
good one too; and they have propitiated
the censors by throwing to the lions
TOUR or tive or six Of Hestcr's lovers
and leaving only one in evidence. They
nave also eliminated all reference to
the travelling salesman" etc. Hester
II 'ght have jumped straight from be-
1ng Il respectable cloak model into the
arms OF Barney Sherry. so far as any
reference to her past is permitted
Only once are you allowed to glimpse
tho trut
Ihls is when she arises at banquet
and raising her glass says: "Well. if
the wages Of sin is death then I've got
ar awful lot Of back pay coming to
me And Hester collected all that
back pay. too, before She finished. One
'' ''V'H, ~ seems. lOf 1t : strange
how closely life seems to initiate the
stage and the movies Nature hold
, ing up the mirror. perhaps
INC picture possesses sweet.
romantic something which the story
IN the original lacked Probably Miss
Hurst never intended that it should
nave tins. but there IS something about
Secna Owen that makes any part she
plays 4 sympathetic one She has
spiritual quality that has nothing what
ever to do with beauty Miss Owen
'sn beauty, If YOU except her mar
velously slender grace, which makes
YOU fee that you Will immediately cut
out that extra baked potato which Won
nad decided to allow yourself in the
nope that 1t wouldn't add more than
All ounce to Sour weight.
Matt Moore plays Jerry Ncwcomhc
theF village sweetheart, who could
ssymfathize with but never understand
Hester's crepe de chine soul" When
we read the story Jerry seemed ouitc
diherent sort of person to US. bur
now that we have seen Matt Moore's
version we are quite willing to ac
cep' tnat He makes Jerry a very
real person; a a matter of fact. a nic
lure could hardly fail to be interest
ing with Sccna Owen and Matt MOORE
IN IT. Ihey are two of the niccst
people on tho screen. Barney Sherr,.
IS very good. too, as the casvroinc
M, mll, lionalrc VINO should have been thu
Vlualn OF the piece. but who was
really 2nVthiD~ hut O ,.;1l; ~