The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-21
THE MOVIES
BY PROTECTOR.
The Woman Of Paris.

The Woman of Paris.
THIS first venture of Charley
A Chaplin into the admittedly seri-
Gus is worth all the praise bestowed
upon it by the critics-and then
some. In taking the most tawdry
and trite Of dramatic material-the
threadbare French cabinet drama"
and thru sheer directorial skill
making it the vehicle for supreme
expression of almost every emotion
known to man, Chaplin again proves
himself the foremost genius of the
film world. There have been other
great actors who could move their
audiences alternately to thought, to
tears and to laughter, altho no one
on the silver screen does it so well
as this supremely human, lovable
clown. Chaplin here proves that he
can do the vastly more difficult job
of making other actors, and by no
means the best known Of thEAn
either, do all the subtle thrilling little
tricks that makes the screen illu-
sions of life so real as to seem life
itself.
This picture is an emotional field
day. One sees the private property
pride of the French father whose
services in marriage agreement have
been spurned by impetuous, callow
young lovers, pride that sends one
cid man to death and the other to
lifetime Of loneliness. One sees
mother love in its true colors, glo-
riously selfish, meddling in the boys
love affairs "for his own good" even
tho it brings him to wretched death.
In 1.-THE Woman" one sees love,
pique, jealousy, vanity, and above
all traders dissatisfaction with the
deal no matter how profitable the
commerce. One. sees little old SEQ
nomic Determinism" make the fine
dame ludierous and the tramp a
philosopher.
Judge not that We be not judged"
is the underlying theme Of the
picture. A splendid antidote for
an overdeveloped morality. A rap
on the door at the wrong time by
doctor called to attend a corpse.
busts up a village elopement and
makes the country girl into the
woman" A studio door left open
by an indecisive boy breaks up the
wedding a second time and resultA
in the most artistic suicide ever
screened. And the old mother is
cheated of violent revenge by her
lack Of limousine.
This is truly an ail-story picture,
each player lives in his role and the
result is perfect Characterization.
Edna Purviance is technically the
star, she is regally beautiful most
of the time, but the honors really
90 to the CIVILIAN" His acting is
fiawless but then the part is the
most sympathetic in the play. On
the other hand the poor "Hero" Is
given a very rough deal by Charley.
He is made a callow, narrow-minded,
indecisive weakling whose one re-
deeming feature is that he made a
beautiful corpse, especially with his
face. This is just like Chaplin. The
villain has been the under-dog in
American movies too long, it is about
time he came into his own.
Direction is perfect, one might al
most say, inspired. 1t shows what
we can hope for when changed social
conditions permit production for art
rather than for the box Office. The
aforementioned suicide, the arrival
of the train portrayed by moving
window lights, the mother cooking
frugal supper while her boys body
is being. borne home on a police
stretcher, the reporter breaking the
news with the question, How old
was your son" the wooden-faced
message expert, all these are pure
genius. The kitchen scene with the
over-ripe wood-cocks approaches very,
very close to the pie-slinging slap
stick for which Charley is famous.
wonder tho il a man who shoots
with his left hand really loads with
his right, and if even the suavest
villain would not have been just a
little mussed up after a two-minute
tussle with an Infatuated lover fifty
pounds and six inches the better
man?
The end is bosh. A dozen pretty
orphans and rotund village priest
are the woman's consolation for the
loss Of both love and luxury. And
in company with her near-mother-in-
law! AS sticky-sweet and messy as
the jam on the cherub's face. Typi-
cal American hokum. He'll, Charley,
couldn't even you rise above that?
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