Way back in my university days, I happily served on the film selection committee for the uni film society. Just about every term, we booked The Covered Wagon, The Lost World and Hands Up! from the local Kodascope Library. Thinking that the Library might have other features to interest our members, the committee took a look at The Moonstone, The Wonderful Chance, The Safety Curtain, Captain January, Flesh and Blood, Are Parents People?, The Pony Express and Ella Cinders.
Needless to say, although we were blown away by the special effects in The Wonderful Chance and loved Colleen Moore's Ella Cinders, the movie that impressed us the most was, unexpectedly, The Safety Curtain, which we booked simply because the title aroused our curiosity. If we had read a synopsis of the story beforehand, we wouldn't have considered it at all, because the plot reads like pure melodrama. But that's not the way it is played or directed. The acting from all four principals is so natural and life-like that the taut story itself seems absolutely true-to-life.
Furthermore, Norma Talmadge radiates an undeniable charisma. And she and the other players are well served by Sidney Franklin's surprisingly inventive and skillful direction, which is further enhanced by entrancingly attractive sepia-tinted photography. A large budget also helps keep interest at the highest level. In all, a masterpiece of movie artistry!
Needless to say, although we were blown away by the special effects in The Wonderful Chance and loved Colleen Moore's Ella Cinders, the movie that impressed us the most was, unexpectedly, The Safety Curtain, which we booked simply because the title aroused our curiosity. If we had read a synopsis of the story beforehand, we wouldn't have considered it at all, because the plot reads like pure melodrama. But that's not the way it is played or directed. The acting from all four principals is so natural and life-like that the taut story itself seems absolutely true-to-life.
Furthermore, Norma Talmadge radiates an undeniable charisma. And she and the other players are well served by Sidney Franklin's surprisingly inventive and skillful direction, which is further enhanced by entrancingly attractive sepia-tinted photography. A large budget also helps keep interest at the highest level. In all, a masterpiece of movie artistry!