San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-06

X HOST people blame the poor scenario
IV writer (called Continuity man.
for all that is foolish and incon-
yruous in moving picture. But without
lin and the dh>ctor, pictures would be
ven worse.
This is proved by Gloria Swanson's re-
cent bitter experience in New York, in
which a judge, lawyer, a detective, a
Iress agent and others tried to feature
this film star in a real life comedy and
made an awful mess of it.
They started off fine. The cast and
the materials for the plot were good
enough for anyone. To begin with, there
was Gloria Swanson, star and heroine, of
course and her new and noble husband,
the Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye,
the hero, naturally. Then there was Nita
Naldi, vamp, as usual; Janet Beecher,
well-known actress, to play the part of a
tried and true woman friend, and Judge
Ford, of the New York Supreme Court,
,o straighten everything out in the end
and sentence the villain. Last, but not
Il asst, there was detective.
Most everyone likes a detective in a
picture or any kind of story. There is
manly, high-hat. amateur detective. Either
of these types is hero, but would not
do for this feature, because the Marquis,
being Gloria's titled husband, would nat
urally be expected to play the hero role.
Then there is a third kind, common,
ordinary sleuth-always heavy, thick
set, unromantic sort of person with some
very common name. He is villain whom
the hero and the heroine always fool IN
the end.
The detective in this cast was built ac-
cording to heavy specifications and bore
the not uncommon name of Cohen. Now
Cohen was cast for the villain-there
wasn't any other villain in the piece, and
it seems strange that there could have
been any mistake about it. villain Is
somebody who plots against the heroine
or the man she loves, and therefore
Cohen's opening scenes we're vlllaInous
enough.
He was seen proving ghoulshly about
the lobby of the Park Chambers Hotel,
Fifty-eighth street and Sixth avenue, New
York City, casting furtive glances at the
elevator which led upward to where the
fair heroine, Gloria, and the hero. De la
Falaise de la Coudrayc, above in the beau
tiful happiness of their newly married life.
Each time the elevator came down COhen's
hand moved stealthily to the bosom of
his coat, as if clutching 2 deadly weapon.
At this point in the story any trained
scenario writer would have sent the hero
down the elevator on his way to Fifth
avenue to buy Gloria diamond butterfly
or cockroach or something that she had
admired. and he would bump into Cohen.
The director would have had him choke
the villain over table. IT there was not
table in the hotel lobby, the director
would have rented one, because picture
heroes always choke picture villains over
tables. He would not have killed him so
carly in the plot, but just made him mad
enough to threaten murder.
Instead of doing it this way, as II ought
to have been done, an extra and unneces-
sary character was NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ID. Leonard, hotel manager and protector
of women and children and guests of his
hotel.
Mr. Leonard observed Cohen's villain
Gus .lying-in-wait and demanded an ac-
count of himself. The villains answers