Page:The New Yorker 0003, 1925-03-07.pdf/29

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just now presents two Odd story from Hollywood: interesting contrasts in motion pic- A young college graduate, through in- ture making. One film is "The Miracle Auence at headquarters, had been shipped of the Wolves," produced in France, and out to Hollywood to learn the art of the other is "The Thundering Herd," : title writing. In due time he was re- Zane Grey opus screened in the great ceived in the sanctum of the cinema over- open places of the West. lord. Curiously, the big scenes of both films "A college graduate, yes?” asked the are identical. In the Gallic effort, the mogul. beautiful heroine, carrying a paper which "Yes," answered the collegian respecte will save the life of King Louis XI, is fully, pursued by bloodthirsty scoundrels, Just The magnate paused and then de- as they are about to overtake her, a dozen manded, "You can spell, yes!” wolves dash upon the scurvy knaves and "Of course," said the astonished new. kill them while the maiden escapes. Thus comer. the happy ending. "Well, spell me a big word," com- Zane Grey tells the story a bit differ- manded the producer. catly. The beautiful heroine is fleeing from a tribe of bloodthirsty Indians. Just is they are about to overtake her, a herd We doubt that the Western movie col- of stampeding buffalo gallop in front of the scurvy savages and the maiden es. ony nced worry over "Quo Vadis," the Italian film recently unreeled at the capes. Similar situations, but observe the dif- Apollo Theatre. This is typically Italian ference in treatment. The French calmly –full of profuse Latin extras, who ges- call the incident a miracle. The Ameri- ture and gesture. The announcements can film men ask audiences to swallow say there are 30,000 of them extras, not the event without explanation. gestures—and, after you have watched the tribulations of Sickiewicz's Christian mar- tyrs under the bloody rule of Nero, you will well believe it. "Quo Vadis" has Actually, "The Miracle of the Wolves" one iter besides boredom. That able has intelligence and a certain interest. actor, Emil Jannings, recently the hotel Basically, it is the story of Louis XI who porter of "The Last Laugh," plays the Laid the foundations of a centralized royal fiddler. Jannings gives an able French monarchy. The German film ad- performance but we still prefer him in venturers who recently did “The Last Germanic studio surroundings. Langh" would have dared to make it a genuine character study. Raymond Ber- Mard, the director of "The Miracle of the Wolves," has adulterated the whole clement of humor. Only the other day, The art of the motion picture has its

hing with conventional movie glucose. a certain film producer harried to New

The film offers nothing new in technique York. anywhere, but it has a genuine feeling of time and place. He had been low in spirits for a long time. He felt ill and was worried. Someone had suggested a pyscho-analyist and the producer mustered up courage for "The Thundering Herd," on the other a consultation. band, is obviously theatric stuff. All the An hour of intimate questioning fol- old ingredients are here, the fine clean- lowed. The disciple of Freud then gave limbed hero, the unscrupulous villain and his verdict: "Your whole trouble lies in the innocent heroine. So, too, is the in- the fact that you lack a sense of humor- evitable attack upon the wagon train of develop it." hardy pioneers. It is produced by Jesse The manager hurried downtown and Lasky, who found the covered wagon so purchased a set of Mark Twain. He successful in "The Covered Wagon" that read zealously all the way back to Holly- he tried it again North of 36." Lasky wood, alternating with the current hu- is trying to turn the prairie schooner into morous inagazines. - Elsie series. Why not "The Covered But the manager hasn't laughed. I'wo Wagon at Home," "The Covered Wagon weeks have passed and he has grown des- at School," "The Covered Wagon in perate. He has been asking his friends Basiness, and so on? The idea seems what he should do and so the story came limitless. out.-Will Hays, Jr. Telephone: BRYANT 8527 THE NEW YORKER wants to get in touch with a few young women who would be inter- ested in representing it in subscrip- tion work on either a spare time or a full time basis. Liberal renum- eration is offered.

Information will be given at Room 803, 25 West 45th Street, New York City.