PLAYS, PICTURED, PEOPLE.

Northern Advocate, 20 February 1926, Page 9

PLAYS, PICTURED, PEOPLE.

(By Alplionse.)

Mary Piekford hiding in drain pipes, head of a young gang that is the terror of a slum neighbourhood, lighting boys and girls alike, throwing anything that comes handy to intimid-

ate her enemies—this is the old Mary Piekford we all loved, and who lives again in "Little Annie Rooney." hdie is the same little hoyden that mad« for her the title of "The World's Sweetheart." However clever little Mary proved as an actress in some of her "grown up" pictures, she never proved the same attraction, but she is more delightful than ever in "Little Annie Rooney." One of the funniest scenes is a satire on a Wild West Show staged by Mary as the Sheriff, who rides into the scene on a saw-horse with a broom for a tail. The shouts of derision from the "hard boiled" tenement kids lead to more humorous situations, until the '' circus'' culminates in a howl of laughter. Tears and laughter follow one another quickly in this picture for there is a strong plot running through it, although Mary is always on the spot to do or say something funny, and turn a tense situation into a cause for hilarious merriment.

Handsome Tom Mix, hard rider an fearless lover, in velvet and lace and plumed hats —carrying off beautifu ladies gorgeously gowned and be wigged in the best manner of the English bandit —this is not the Tom Mix of his well known Westerns, but a Tom Mix that will surprise and delight his many ardent admirers. In "Dick Turpin," he has fine oppor tunities to show his prowess as a swordsman and hard drinking, hart; riding" bandit and lover of ladies The story of Dick Turpin is ' bes i known tale in English literature, anc ! this gaily-clad, superbly-mounted laughing dandy was the most dashinf and romantic figure on the Yor. Road. He was the terror of the stage: coaches, though he quickly gained ■■ reputation for gallantry where "womea: were concerned. His escape from hanging when the gibbett was ready and he in its shadow, his famous ride to York and his rescue of his lady love are all too well known to need recapitulation, but Tom Mix will make many new admirers as "Dick Tur pin,'' and his old friends will be keen to see this popular screen star in many more such finely produced classics. Eugene O'Brien has limitless opportunities in "Frivolous Sal" which is a thrilling story of Western goldfields. First ne'er do well actor,,weak and. lovable, he leaves his-motherless son in a cheap New York boardinghouse, but his theatrical company gets stranded in the western goldfields. Here he meets Frivolous Sal keeper and owner of a western saloon, and the two fall in love and marry. How-' ever, the new prosperity leads to a renewal of drunken habits, and the boy makes his way West to find his father! going. down the hill again, and getting, mixed up with professional gamblers I and gold thieves. Ben Alexander is the boy, and Mae Busch, who by the way was born in Australia, plays Sal. The climax of the picture is a real big thrill, and the fight of two men in a bucket crossing a chasm on a wire rope, ends in one man hurtling to the rocks below. The photography of this: scene is particularly well done, and the background of whole picture is Mount Rainier, Washington's Nationa Park, whose tall forests seem to grow; on top of the world. Sal" seems to have the fighting spirit of great wide spaces behind it, and is altogether a very satisfying photoplay. Selfishness is the keynote of modern family conditions, and children nowadays accept as their right all the sacrifices their parents may make for them. And yet many fathers devote the best years of their lives saving money to give their sons the. best chances in life, only to find ingratitude is their only reward. Money easily obtained is the more easily dissipated, and the ■ younger generation is becoming weak and inept, because there is too much "spoon feeding." If a lad has to battle his way up the ladder of success, he is a better and stronger man when he reaches his goal. This is the theme of Wm. L. Robbert's production '' For you my boy,'' for in this story, a man gives up his motherless babe, to be adopted by a rich man. He then has to stand back and see his j son grow up spoiled and selfish, finally a criminal who had to pay the penalty. The story of the lad's re-1 generation and the uniting of fatherj and son is almost another story, but it is full of a wonderful appeal, even though it teaches a great lesson. Ben Lewin is the father in "For you my boy" and Schuyler White plays the part of the son very finely indeed.

Many a woman, dazzled by wealth, and pleasure has been thrilled byi "One Glorious Night" of luxury and | extravagance, and has thus been per- j suaded into a marriage with a man for whom she has no real love. But when! !> man marries out of his own social sphere, he is bound to have domestic trouble unless he keeps his relatives from interfering in his home. Thus Elaine Hammerstein, in "One Glorious Night" has much trial and tribulation through the interference of her mother-in-law, but her youthful sweetheart is always in her Armament like a guiding star, and he it is who unselffishly solves her difficulties. The story supplies a new angle of the marriage question, although it is not |by any means a "stx" picture. Free- | nian Wood plays the harassed husband, i and Al Boscoe the unselfish lover,

•<hile Clarissa Selwynne makes the mother-in-law a quite sufficientlv hateful personally. Baby Vondel Darr nlnvs little Mary very appcalingly, i« a -"erv unsophisticated little