Empty Existences.
Date: 05 November 1923
Sam Wood has taken Arthur Train's novel "His Children's Children" and with clever manipulations and ideas, revealing his usual resourcefulness and thorough knowledge of film work, has ground out a production which, if it does lack a startling dénouement, is nevertheless entertaining during the whole time it is on the screen. This picture is being presented this week at the Rivoli.The players in this photoplay are much more careful in their acting than in the average film, especially the men in the principal rôles. The settings are quite good, and the furnishings compel attention. Mr. Wood seems to have set out to show what a picture can do to hold the interest of the spectators, and also to demonstrate here and there where the film production holds its own against the stage. One of the interesting sequences in this connection is that in which duck shooting is shown in scenes with two of the characters.Mr. Wood has not been content with giving an illustration of a studio conception of this sport. He has taken his players to a marsh, and he not only shows a duck being shot down, but also the dogs going out after the dead bird and bringing to the land. We think that such ideas ought to be carried out with greater frequency by directors. This is something the camera reveals which cannot be presented on any stage.George Fawcett, the veteran screen actor, gives a remarkably fine performance in the character of Peter B. Kayne. He is shown crossing Broadway in the vicinity of Wall Street, and in these scenes Mr. Wood has admirably brought out the character of the individual who, according to the story, was once known as "The Pirate" among the financial element of this metropolis. Mr. Fawcett is in no mood to be stopped by fast automobiles or taxicabs, and with his cane lifted he scowlingly dodders through the fleeting vehicles.This generous, philosophical old man, who gives his son a check for $100,000, has obviously reached an age where money to him is only something to give to others and spread happiness. Contrasted with this is the hollow existence of the other characters. There are those who are fascinated by dancing; Rufus Kayne is the victim of blackmailers, following his flirtation with a bewitching blonde; Mrs. Rufus Kayne thinks of nothing but bridge; and then one has the lounge-lizard type of man ever ready to ensnare susceptible girls.A well-known house in Fifth Avenue is pictured as the home of the Kaynes, and to give an impetus to the story Mr. Wood has a stone model of Satan, which is supposed to be on the roof. It is this devil which is used as a symbol for causing all the trouble, and which, in the end, Rufus Kayne smashes to bits. By double exposure this stone figure is made to move, and in the titles, the devil's arguments are told.The story, as revealed in this picture, is very human, and the only fault Mr. Wood makes is the introduction of too many close-ups. It did not seem necessary to us, when the younger Kayne was being lured on by the calculating woman, to have a close-up of her hand on Kayne's knee. There are several other close-ups which could be eliminated to the betterment of the picture.For once a flash-back, as it is made in this photoplay, is interesting. It was put on to show how the older Kayne came to say his prayers, and Mr. Wood has clothed his players meticulously in the fashions of past days.Hale Hamilton is pleasing and sympathetic as Rufus Kayne, in spite of the fact that he seems young, which fact even the doctoring of his hair can't conceal. He is certainly not old enough facially to have two daughters like Bebe Daniels and Dorothy Mackaill. Lawrence D'Orsay, whose broad English drawl is silenced by the screen, is well suited to the part of the scheming lawyer. Miss Daniels is pretty and dark, but every now and again she is conscious of the winding of the camera. Miss Mackaill was sympathetic in the rôle of the wayward sister, who is the victim of Dr. Dhal.In this picture the progress of the cinematographic art of picturing a novel is evident. It is a photoplay well worth two hours of one's time, and those who see it will undoubtedly appreciate its entertainment value.Other Photoplays."Rosita," with Mary Pickford, is on its second week at the Capitol.Charles Chaplin's production, "A Woman of Paris," is the feature this week at the Strand."Woman Proof," with Thomas Meighan, has been transferred from the Rivoli and is at the Rialto.