The Beauty Shop

Photography, Lighting and Direction. — A great deal of credit is due Edward Dillon on this production. There were only few places in which the action afforded any comedy, and he made the most of those. The settings were good, the lighting fine and the photography excellent.

A Cosmopolitan Production Released by Paramount. Adapted from the Musical Comedy of Channing Pollock and Rennold Wolf. Scenario by Doty Hobart. Directed by Edward Dillon. Photographed by Harold Wenstrom. Length, Seven Reels.

CAST AND SYNOPSIS

Dr. Arbutus Budd, Raymond Hitchcock; Sobini, Billy B. Van; Panatella, James J. Corbett; Cremo Panatella, Louise Fazenda; Cola, Madeline Fairbanks; Cola, Marion Fairbanks; Anna Budd. Diana Allen, Maldonado, Montagu Love ; Phil Briggs, Laurence Wheat.

Dr. Arbutus Budd, a New York beauty specialist, does a thriving business, but as none of his patrons pay their bills, he is dogged by creditors. He purchases the crest and uniform of a broken-down baron of Bolognia, Sizerella, which he uses as a trade mark on his bottles of beauty lotions. A bottle of his lotion reaches Bolognia, where the crest is recognized, and Sobini, an undertaker, is commissioned to go to New York and bring the baron to Bolognia. Dr. Budd is willing to accompany him, he will inherit a fortune, and takes his attorney, Phil Briggs, and ward, Anna, with him. Instead of a fortune, he finds more trouble, his only legacy being a duel with Maldonado, a notorious bad man. Budd is appalled at the thought of fighting a duel and tries to escape, but every attempt is thwarted. To add to his discomfiture, Cremo Panatella, hideously ugly, becomes enamored with him, and disgusted, he gives her an armful of beauty preparations. She puts some of the paste on her face and it defies removal. Budd flees with Cola, and they are pursued and captured at the beach. Budd removes the paste from Cremo's face and she is revealed as strikingly beautiful. He and Maldonado call the duel off as they are to marry sisters, and Budd, Cola, Anna and Briggs sail for America to make a fortune out of the beauty paste.

In adapting Channing Pollock's and Rennold Wolf's musical comedy. The Beauty Shop to the screen, Cosmopolitan played wise and placed the bulk of the story telling on the subtitles and not on the action in the picture. In doing this they have given the screen a boiled down musical comedy without the music and chorus that will probably get by on its humorous subtitles. It is a picture that is entirely different from anything that has been released since Raymond Hitchcock discontinued making two-reel comedies several years ago. Taking it all in all, it will probably please in towns where members of the cast are popular and the patrons are not finicky about the story being told in subtitles and not in action.

Points of Appeal. — There is not very much action in this picture on which to base an appeal, aside from the excellent photography of the splendid settings. There is a little comedy, however, and in a few instances toward the last the action gets rather fast, but it fails to convince. Some of the subtitles are humorous and will provoke laughs where slang is liked.

Cast.— The work of Montagu Love and Louise Fazenda stood out above all of the rest. They made the most of their parts. Miss Fazenda getting spontaneous laughter on several occasions. The rest of the cast made the most of the roles assigned to them, the Fairbanks Twins proving attractive in the roles of Coca and Cola.


Source Files

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