Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
The snoring

~ about Lon Chaneys countless,
"A amazing DISCUSSES and his I'M
4 y canny abilities as q contortion-
tst, but not nearly enough has
been said in appreciation of his strange
ly obdurate artistic conscience. 1t was
this conscience, and not his makeup
box of tricks, that enabled him to re-
main in considerable prominence for
10 years-which Is a very long space of
time in Hollywood.
II CLANCY had been nothing more
than Q man of Q thousand faces and
the subject of an oVerworked gag
(''dont step on thatf), he would have
faded into obscurity long ago. His
most phenomenal achievement in make
up was in THE Hunchback of Notre
Dame" which appeared in 1923, and
his inability to equal that masterpieces
OF Self-mutilation would have caused
the public to weary of him had it not
been for the important fact that in the
depths of his weird, unaccountahle
soul he was an artist.
He went at every role in every pic
ture-eVen the obviously inferior pic
tures-as though it were the supreme
effort OF his career, as though he knew
he must stand or fall by this one per-
acters, Inside and out, with an almost
passionate intensity. Sometimes he
carried this to grotesque lengths Of ex-
aggeration and consequently oYerplayed
his parts. But the public had the sat-
isfaction of knowing that when they
went to see q Lon CLANCY film they
would see q star who was literally giv-
ing them his all, even at the cost Of
mental and bodily anguish.
This placed CLANCY in marked con-
trast to most other movie stars who,
l. ytx.@. awxAA (.k 1k.@~ -
make It . point to give just as little as
they think they can possibly get away
with.
Lon Chaney's reputation was found
ed on one closeup in THE Miracle
Man." It was the moment when, as q
fake cripple, he saw the really Grip
pied little boy cast aside his crutches
and walk, cured by the miracle Of faith
which he (Chaney) and his confederates
(Thomas Meighan and Betty Comp
SOM had been exploiting as just an
other racket
Perhaps it is we'll to recall who we're
the big stars at that time. IL years ago.
Among them were Dorothy Dalton,
Wallace Reid, Mary Miles Minter, Ethel
Clayton, Theda Bara, Harold Lockwood,
Pearl White and others whoe names
aren't much more than hayy memories
to the present generation Of fans. Many
more brilliant luminaries have waxed
and waned since then, but Lon CLANCY
holding 1t to the day Of his death.
One of his greatest performances was
given without benefit of makeup. 1t
was In "Tell 1t to the Marines" when
he appeared rs Q tep-sergeant incar-
nate. ! have known many top-serge-
ants In my time, and to nay cost and
1t seemed to me that CLANCY managed
to reflect the mast admirable and the
most offensive aspects Of ell of them.
There are o few other pcssessoFs OF
artistic eerscisnees anlong the stars Of
Hollywood. One may mention Charlie
Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Greta
Carlo, Harold Lloyd, Mary Piskferd as
Clancy, are IKE attest Who survive.
THREE new pictures came into New
York last week and all of them, IN
their different ways, impressed this
gullible observer as being excerpts nally
creditahle specimens of cinemat Biography.
They are D. w. Grifath's Abraham
Lincoln" Greta Carlo In Romance"
and Ernst Lubitscn's Monte Carlo"
Abraham Lincoln" Is Mr.. Grihath's
first all-talking picture. In his last
AGGy VA UAAC 17&tE4sAOAAeo,
he included two or three dialogue
sequences which were good enough to
inspire the belief that the new medium
held no terrors for this distinguished
veteran of the old order
That belief Is now confirmed for, Ia
Abraham Lincoln" Mr.. Grif1th has
made superlatively effective usage Of
sound. The leve scenes with Anne Rut-
ledge, and Lincoln's agonized protest
after her death, provide some of the
most poignant moments that the screen
has ever known. A perfect blending Is
achieved between appropriate words and
exquisite photography.
In this, Mr. Griffith Is aided mate
rally BY the fine dialogue, which was
prepared by Stephen Vincent Benet
land, of course, by Abraham Lincoln
himself) and the splendid voice and
true infections of Walter Huston, who
impersonates Honest Abe. Mr.. HuSten's
performance Is . fine and stirring one.
He doesn't lock much like the Lincoln
Of tradition, but he seems mere like
Lincoln than anyone whom have seen
previously in the great part-which
n