THE CRIMSON PLAYGOER

To Douglas Fairbanks goes the credit of producing the best motion picture since "The Birth of a Nation".

Praise as strong as this of course demands some explanation. There have been many good pictures since "The Birth of a Nation"; there have been a few excellent ones; but not until "The Thief of Bagdad" has there been one that could be considered quite its equal. Half a dozen pictures might be mentioned which are rich in historical interest or beautiful in pictorial setting, but none of them have had the charming romance and clean humor which lift "The Thief of Bagdad" above lesser productions.

Fairbanks is at His Best

Douglas Fairbanks, as the thief who becomes a prince, is at his best. In "Robin Hood" one was conscious that Doug was acting a good part; in this Arabian Nights fantasy one is not aware that he is acting at all. And in the same way, one is not conscious of the impossibility of the multitude of mysterious and magic occurrences which are continually taking place. Every trick known to photographic art is used, and so skillfully used that the most extraordinary events seem perfectly natural. Elton Thomas, the author, has chosen a number of incidents from the Arabian Nights and woven them together into a fairy story that cannot fall to delight and enchant the youngest and the oldest members of the audience.

Mongol Slave Girl Attractive

The part of the princess is well played by Miss Julanne Johnson. But Anna May Wong, the Mongol slave girl, is so attractive as almost to equal her mistress. And one So-Jin (not to be confused with Slo Gin) who plays the Mongol prince, might well be a scion of the late imperial family of the Celestial Empire, so naturally does he present his role. Suitz Edwards, the "evil associate" of the thief, is a sort of perpetual comic element.

If the reader has gained the impression that "The Thief of Bagdad" is perfect, he is wrong. The reviewer can think of several faults that he might point out. But the virtues are so much greater than the vices, and the picture is withal so far above the ordinary, that its shortcomings may well be overlooked. If the motion picture camera has ever recorded a more enchanting romance, a more delightfully impossible fantasy, or a cleaner fairy story, it has not been the pleasure of the writer to see it.