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Judge Things Not by Their Faults put by the GoodThey Contain.BY, JAMES WARREN CURRIE.It has fallen to the Essanay Company to be the first to film poetry. It required faith as well as foresight to make so radical a departure from the beaten road, but now that “The Raven” at last has been released the sound judgmentof the producers is evident. While it is true that the working plot of the picture is based on George C. Hazelton’s novel, Director Charles J. Brabin’s inspiration came from the Poe poem. He has said so himself.Henry B. Walthal, as the reincarnation of Edgar Allan Poe, is peculiarly suited to the part. Happily lacking the decorative attributes of the conventional matinee idol, ne at the same time possesses a consciousness of the dramatic proprieties which enables him to be melodramatic without being absurd. This new star of the Essanay organization is given his principal assistance in the picture by WardaHoward, who is a worthy collaborator. She proves her versatility by portraying four distinct characters without becoming monotonous.The six reels of “The Raven” portray tragic incidents in the life of the unhappy American poet. It is in no way intended to be biographical. and the director has made theutmost use of film license. Trick photography has materially aided in lending a mysteriously occult atmosphere to the picture. The soul of Poe leaves his body and walksabout in the same room where it is lying. The director has succeeded in consistently blending the spiritual and the real without offense to credulity.Photographically the picture is one of the best from the Essanay studios. The scenes are well chosen and in many instances highly decorative.Other principals in the cast in addition to Mr. Walthal and Miss Howard are Ernest Maupain, Eleanor Thompson, Grant Foreman, Hugh E. Thompson, Peggy Meredith and Frank Hamilton.* * * VMiss Belle Bruce, who is a victim of the invaders in “The Battle Cry of Peace” at the Olympic Theater, has experienced actual suffering from the ravages of war. MisS Bruce has lost two cousins who were members of the British expeditionary forces in France, and a third cousin, a woman, is now a member of the French Red Cross organization. The Vitagraph star plays the part of the daughter in the death scene in the great picture.* * ♦Clara Kimball Young recently was a victor in a popularity contest* among the prisoners at Sing Sing. A motion picture show is a part of the ^lonthlv routine at\yrITAGRAPH star who plays with Charles Rich man in “The Battle Cry of Peace” at the Olympic Theater.the prison, and the contest wasconducted under the auspices of the prison newspaper, the Star of Hope.* * *‘ “The Battle” and “Prankful Ponies” are the two pictures which will furnish entertainment for the Strand youngsters to-morrow morning. A program of music entitled “Mother Goose and Her Songs” is designed to bring back memoriesof nursery days.* * *S. E. RothapTel, formerly manager of the Strand Theater of NewYork, who will have charge of thenew Rialto Theater, now under construction, was the guest of honor last night at a banquet of exhibitors at the Hotel Sherman. Mr. Rothapfel is making a tour of the United States under the auspices of the Mutual corporation in order to cultivate a spirit of co-operation among exhibitors.
Newspaper Details
Chicago Examiner
Chicago, Illinois, US
Fri, Nov 19, 1915
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 23 Sep 2020
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