The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-04-11
THE MOVIES--THEY DON'T SATISFY
PART 2.-THREE OUT OF THOUSANDS.

dad" am not going to dwell much upon that picture.
win only saw that very little has remained in the film
from the wonderful story of Shahrazad and it's chimer
ical fantasy. In vain do we look for the mysterious
character of the oriental tale and for the work of the
producer.
"The Lost World" is kind of scientific utopia on the
basis of story by Conan Doyle. Professor Challenger
maintains that prehstorcal beings have still been pre-
served in the nges of South America Notwithstand-
ing the skeptcsm of his fellow scientists he succeeds
in equpping small expedition which reaches the heart
of Brazil and finds there cavemen and prehistoric mon
sters such the brontosaurus, the perodactyi ana
He brings one of these animals evidence to Lon
DON but the animal fees from its walks upon the
Of the city destroying everything IN Its pah
and finally, reaches the sea by way of the Thames.
Everything given in this picture except the utopia
The junges the sayages the monsters, all this was SO
real that one could help admirng the mastery art
Of the property man. But there is trace of the work
of the producer artist Slavishy, to the smallest
details he carrying out everything that was de-
manded by the letter of the scenario. And the result
was an interesting "genre" play with unrequted love
and kisses.
Finally "The Gold Rush Produced by Charlie Chap
lin who plays in it the chief part The idea of the film
is more less silly good-for-nothing gold-seeker
goes Alaska where after many comic and tragic ad-
ventures, he becomes mutmillonaire and wins his
beloved girl
acting occasionally shows much sincere and tragic
pathos that it is impossible to look at the with
trembling for the fate of the hero The other artists
also executing their parts splenddly The him was
photographed in decorative pavions but in Alaska
itself Everything is real and appears lifeke on the
screen
But it is exactly this that spoils the picture There
is no indication of the creative imagination Of the pro
ducer nothing is left to the imagination and to the
emotions Of the spectator. For when of the
heroes crazed by hunger suffers Authorizations and
place of his partner turkey whom he wants to kill
and to eat, the shows dressed like a real
turkey that it possible to count all the feathers of
his tail Wel-and the effect of quite ordinary
live turkey, but by no means suggestive of the haucina
ton of a half-crazed human being.
Too Exact for Art
Thus the American film is only performing the task
of a living photography, rather of moving photog-
raphy. There is craftsmanship in America,
there are artistic achievements which would compel
the imagination of the spectator to ponder over the
screen performance.
erty men, there are magnificent technical facilities, but
there master producers, there is screen art
Beginnings of Art.
meant to say: there is practically For have
already the American the first inceptons
Of artistic productions of real artistic productions
True, there only two of them or at any rate |
know of only two Of such films. The first art film,
1.-THE Unknown Purple" passed almost unnoticed and
The press did not write much about it. don't know
the of the producer. Here is the plot: young
scholar gets into prison due to the crime of his wife
who had stolen church money that was in his trust.
From fellow prisoner he learns who the of
his plight not having known before that his wife
had committed the theft together with her lover He
swears to avenge himself Some time passes His wife
had married the other
In the meantime a great scholar wins world fame
abroad through number of inventions. He goes to
America. After his arrival there starts a series of
robberes committed by elusive and invisible criminal
who signs himself "The Unknown Purple" 1t goes
without saying that the Unknown Purple" the famous
scholar and the recently imprisoned chemist the
person
He had discovered rays that make a man invisible
only spot of purple light be instead To take
revenge he klls-with the help of his former prison
her with terrible phantoms, and finally, having taken
away his children, goes abroad forever.
Restraint
In this film is impressed first of all by the dec
oratve effects In addition to real houses, gardens etc.
there is wealth of hints and illusions which leave the
rest to the imagination of the spectator When the
prison is to be presented, only dark and heavy out
line Of the building is shown, well two shining
grated spotshe doors of the cells-behnd which the
figures of the two prisoners are dimy visible.
When phantoms appear, the spectator does not
real human beings in the air. but hazy outlines of
shadows in which sometimes few details discerni-
be suc for instance the eyes and features of
the face, compelling the wife land the spectator) ask
anxiousy; is it or is it not he?
However, the value of that film should not be exag
gerated After all, it is only mystery story better
executed than other pictures of its kind.
The Artist Revolts.
Better than most of these films, but still bourgeois in
point of view is the Beggar Horseback produced by
the gifted James Kruse This production calls to mind
the best films of the Soviet theatres. True the
maybe because the scenario written by two authors
and the producer had to reckon with their contradictory
wishes.
The film presents both reality and dream The former
is presented in reast colors with occasional exaggera-
tions. The dream obviously the work of another
artist; it is real dream, nghtmire and the skill of