Evening star., 1927-05-15
T-AULT- FINDING with the NOV
- ies--thcir production and cxhl-
hifion--r71ipht be ciassed among

- feS--tHclT pTOOutliOl ditd NNiH-
bition-night be classed among
n the fayoritc outdoor and in
door sports. In many instances
these complaints take the form Of
.picayune criticism. the personal dis
like OF some particular work or a
phase OF production, and in other in
stances the criticism is we'll deserved,
the producers should be royalty
''panned" and cooked 10 q term upon
tho grill Of public opinion. One of
the principal criticisms comes from
The fact that uneducated men and
women have gone into the photOplay
field and have used the industry as
a means OF amaSsing great wealth
by foistng inferior products upon an
intelligent public Another serious
criticism has to do with carelesSness.
lack OF brain power OF actual litter
acy among the producers, directors
and featured players.
During the past week Washington
was treated = a picture called The
Fourth commandment 1t was d
story-and a good onc-on the old
theme Of houoring the parents But,
if the picture was titled correctly. it
should have been based upon the
commandment Remember the Sab
bath day and keep it holy" The pic
ture, as it stands, should be titled
The Fifth commandment" for it is
the fifth which reads, Honor thy
father and thy mother
It is quite possible, from ali one
has heard OF Hollywood and its en-
rirons. that the producer and direc-
tor OF this particular picture were
unable to find a Bible or New Testa-
mcnt when the time arrived to title
the picture. The aforementioned
producer and director knew that
their story should have some sort
OF a biblical title, SO they grabbed
at random. selected the fourth COM
iuandment, not aware that they had
selected a name which might have
reference TO keeping the first day of
the week holy.
1t is these things that injure the
entire photoplay industry, which is
large enough, influential enough,
wealthy enough, to employ brains,
more brains, and bigger and better
brains.
And the Gideon Band might do
well to ship Bible or a New Testa-
ment to Hollywood for reference
purposes.
Comes word from the film men
that their error IS not serious one.
however we may consider ii. They
say their picture bears the fourth
commandments title on account of
the fact that Honor thy father and
thy mother" is from the old Hebrew
fourth commandment However. we
have been making use OF the Bible
and the New Testament for some
years past. and the title should be
Tho Fifth Commandment.
* * "
THERE is no getting away from
\ the TACT that the foreign pro-
ducers are paying more attention to
detail in their work. They do not
seem to be rushed with their pro-
ductions. spending weeks and months
in obtaining the exact lighting ef-
fects or the quality of acting they
desire. The producers of Germany,
France, England and Italy are not
going in for the mass production, as
are some of the American studios.
and this is one Of the reasons why
their work stands out from the usual
run.
President Coolidge recently ex-
pressed the hope that more European
pictures be exhibited in the United
States in order that the public may
learn more of the. outside world, as
those OF the other countries are
learning about America from the
American pictures.
Among the recent foreign pictures
TO be exhibited in this country is
Metropolis" made by Ufa and re-
leased on the Famous Players pro-
gram. Antonio Moreno has just re-
turned from Spain with a Spanish
picture, which will be exhibited here.
The Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Corpor-
alton announces that it will dis
tribute the +. w. Murnau picture.
Faust" and the British National
Pictures, Ltd, will release a new
product. London in this country
soon. The Last Days of Ponlpeii."
made in Italy, has reached New York
and will be ready for distribution
soon. Paramount announces that it
will handle an Austrian master
piece" The Moon of Israel"
* ~ X
TT is said that Babe Ruth, premier
slugger OF the American League,
is no mere prop in his new picture,
Babe Comes Home" According to
first showings Of the photoplay, the
betty Babe is the whole picture and
not merely a part of parade. The
six-reel affair, OF course, is a base
bali story, and Babe is the hero, who
pays off the mortgage and all that