Moving Picture World (Dec 1917) - Learn About Movie Posters

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1800 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 22, 1917
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Reviews of Current Productions
EXCLUSIVELY BY OUR OWN STAFF
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"Z,es Mise rabies"
William Fox Ten-Part Picturization of Victor Hugo's Powerful
Story, with William Farnum as Jean Valjean,
a Notable Production.
Reviewed by Edward Weitzel.
FRANK LLOYD, the adaptor and director of the William
Fox ten-part picturization of Victor Hugo's famous story,
"Les Miserables," has accomplished both tasks in a highly
praiseworthy manner. Aided by William Farnum, in a forceful
and sympathetic embodiment of Jean Valjean, and by
the excellent acting of the rest of the cast, Director Lloyd
has taken advantage of the many opportunities for dramatic
situations of great power and has placed them in realistic
Scene from "Les Miserables" (Fox).
settings that lack nothing which liberality and artistic perception
could supply. "Les Miserables," with its wealth of
strongly contrasted characterization and its human and humane
theme, is the great heart-interest story of fiction. The
purpose of its creator, to show that the spark of good is
never extinguished in the heart of man, and to plead for
the downtrodden, is set forth so convincingly that the story
Is for all time. In both novel and stage form Hugo's masterpiece
has enjoyed a long and ardent popularity; its scenes are
now made to live on the screen with a reality that adds new
interest to the lives of Jean, Fantine and Cosette.
At this late day It Is hardly necessary to recall the story of
"Les Miserables." The history of the degraded galley-slave
who is transformed into a man whose soul is touched with
almost divine compassion and who lives only to do good is
familiar to most people. The Fox screen version has been
admirably planned. Opening with commendable simplicity and
directness, it shows the figure of Jean Valjean returning to
the cottage of his sister with the news that he has failed
to obtain work and is unable to help buy her bread for her
starving children. It then traces Jean's theft of the loaf of
bread, his arrest, his prison term, his release, and his meeting
with the good bishop. The Fantine incident Is told at length;
then follows the history of Cosette and its close connection
with the life of Valjean, the parts played by Javert, Marius,
Eponine, Gavroche and Thenardier and his wife in the working
out of the fates of the two leading characters being given
the requisite amount of attention. All the moments of unforgettable
dramatic tension are retained, but It is doubtful if
any of them make a stronger impression than the scene of the
rescue of little Cosette from the Thenardiers. The picture of
Jean Valjean leaving the inn with the ill-treated child in one
arm and her new doll in the other will moisten many an eye. In
the last episode the battle at the barricade, with the death
of the heroic little Gavroche and the flight of Valjean through
the sewers of Paris with the insensible Marius on his shoulder,
are two of the best reproduced Incidents of the story. To
have condensed into ten parts so comprehensive a version of
o'a work, with its numerous well-rounded characters and
opulence of incident, is an achievement of uncommon worth.
William Farnum's performance of Valjean has the honesty
of Hugo's hero. Meeting every physical requirement of the
.•haracter, the actor exhibits a firmness of purpose, clearness
of conception and general aptitude for the part that renders
his work wholly satisfying. Hardee Kirkland, as the sinister
Javert, might have stepped out from the covers of the book,
and George Moss, as the bishop, is equally true to prototype.
The Fantine of Sonia Markova is a figure of compelling pathos
that never oversteps the bounds of artistic restraint. Jewel
Carmen is a lovable Cosette, and high-grade impersonations
are given by Edward Elkus as Thenardier, Dorothy Bernard
as Eponine, Kittens Reichert as Cosette at eight years of
age, and Mina Ross as Mme. Thenardier.
"Who Shall Take My Lifer
Selig's Seven-Reel Propaganda Special Has Thrilling Interest
—Ably Directed by Colin Campbell, with Thomas Santschi,
Fritzi Brunette, Bessie Eyton and Other Wellknown
Players in the Cast.
Reviewed by James S. McQuade.
IT
is already widely known that the script of "Who Shall
Take My Life?" was written by Maibelle Heikes Justice,
the well known author of numerous short stories, special
articles and photoplays. The father of Miss Heikes Justice was
a prominent jurist, and, doubtless, through her close intimacy
with his life work, the author had knowledge of several, if
not many, cases where justice had miscarried and where the
innocent were made to suffer for crimes of which they were
innocent. Whether this be so or not is immaterial, as Miss
Heikes Justice is an ardent opponent of capital punishment,
and the story of this thrilling photoplay shows that she had
her whole heart in the work, and that she has furnished a
most convincing argument in favor of her belief.
The case of the state against "Big Bill" O'Shaughnessy becomes
in the hands of the author clear and convincing, with
not a single loophole for escape; and yet, when the condemned
man, convicted by circumstantial evidence, has been electrocuted,
there flashes over the wires to the warden of the prison
in which O'Shaughnessy had just suffered the death penalty
word that the supposedly murdered woman had been discovered
in a Western city—alive, and following the course of an unrepentant
Magdalen! This certainly, whether one believes in
capital punishment or not, is a terrific argument against circumstantial
evidence in certain cases.
Director Colin Campbell has furnished many realistic settings
for this big, enthralling photoplay. The courtroom scene is
especially dignified and lifelike, as is also the interior showing
the meeting of a state legislature. The prison interiors,
including the gruesome death chambers for prisoners who have
left all hope, behind, make one shiver to look at them. A view
of the electrocution chamber has been wisely spared the spectator,
but he is sobered to the point of solemnity as he watches
the prisoner conducted toward it accompanied by his spiritual
Scene from "Who Shall Take My Life?" (Selig).
comforters and preceded by the warden and his staff and those
invited to be present.
Thomas Santschi has given us a most intelligent impersonation
of the brawny bridgetender, Bill O'Shaughnessy. He
brings out very forcefully the bravery of this uncultured giant,
confident to the last that his innocence of crime will prevent
him from going to the chair. Even the pious confessor, who
seeks a clear view of the condemned man's heart in order that
he may administer the last rites of the church, is thrown aside