Evening star., 1926-12-26

THE calendar year 1925 on the
screen has been somewhat OF a
disappointment.
Great progress was registered in
1925 with such films as THE Big Pa
rade.' ''The Merry Widow" "The
Gold Rush." Don O." "The Unholy
Three" and many others. This year,
however, the movie business seems to
have been marking time.
There have been several memorable
pictures, "Variety,'N What Price
Glory" "Moana." THE Strong Man."
Beau Geste." "Old Ironsides." THE
Grand Duchess and the Waiter" and
THE Scarlet Letter. There have been
others of merit, including "The Black
Pirate" Memory Lane For Heav-
ems Sake" Silence" Battling But
ler," THE Volga Boatman," THE
Sorrows of Satan" kid Boots" "The
Show-off," Mare Nostrum" and 1.-THE
Better Ole
Aside from these exceptional pro-
ductions, the general average has
been extraordinarily low. Speaking
as one who sits in regularly at the
soirees in the leading film parlors, l
frequently and more effectually in 1925
than in any previous IL months that
l can remember.
y \ X X
A glance at the individual records
reveals the fact that three stars have
definitely come forward in 1925.
The first and foremost of these Is
Harry Langdon, the ex-Sennettor,
| who in Tramp, Tramp. Tramp" and
''The Strong Man" has received the
public recognition that. he so rightly
deserves. Langdon's arrival is un-
| doubtedly the, most important event
of the year.
Greta Garbo is another recent SEN
sation. Her performances in "'The
Torrent" and The Temptress," two
obvious, ham vampire dramas. were
dignified. graceful. restrained and,
above all things. amazingly original.
The third arrival is Clara Bow, a
supremely alluring young lady, who
| first attracted attention In Down to
the Sea in Ships" four years ago.
This year she has attained to a stars
estate as a result of "Mantrap" and
kid Boots"
other advances have been recorded
by Olive Borden lin Fig Leaves')
Gardner James lin Hell Bent for
Heaven), Wallace Beery (who has
suddenly become a stellar comedian) +,
McLIaglen lin Beau Geste" and
What Price Glory"). Lya de Putt
| lin Variety" and "The Sorrows of
Satan'), Florence Vidor lin 1.-The
Grand Duchess and the Waiter'O, w.
| G Fields lin SOS Your Old MANI
Lars Hanson Un The Scarlet Let
ter"), William Haines dn Memory
Lane" and Brown of Harvard'D
Ricardo Cortez Gin *The Sorrows of
! Satan"). Ford Sterling lin "The
! Show orr. Red Grange Tin One
Minute to Play), Giida Gray lin
! "AIoma of the South Seas'D, Eddie
Cantor lin kid Boots'o, and William
| Boyd lin "The Volga Boatman).
! Among the directors, Edward Suth-
| erland has made the most marked
| progress. Two of his pictures, BE
! hind the Front" and We're in the
! NAVY Now" have been enormously
successful, and he now rates as one
! of the prime Paramount favorites.
AL Santell and Gregory La Cava
also have come forward as competent
directors of polite gag-comedies, and
George Hill has established himself
| largely because of his fine sense of
| pictorial values.
Another figure appears on the hori-
| zon in the person of Maurice Stiller.
II reports from Hollywood may be
credited Stiller will be classed among
the elite when Hotel Imperial" is
| released.
n n
Nothing has been heard from Erich
Won Stroheirn or Charles Chaplin dur.
ing the past year, but THE Wedding