The New Pictures

The Lost World. The brontosaurus is usually a static creature. Propped on rods and wire, he observes the world with a stolid papier-mache curiosity from the floor of some museum. He is observed with awe and agitation by the restless seekers after cultural novelties. Now at last has the brontosaurus come to life. He is abroad in his native state, awkward, menacing and gigantically saurian. He can be viewed by the restless seekers after stimulation. In short, he is in the cinema. The film (from Conan Doyle's tale) is unimportant in narrative. An English youth would like to marry. His girl tells him he must do big things. Eventually, they migrate to South America on the trail of prehistorics. Out come the brontosauri and Bull Montana as an ape man; the fun starts. Later, one of the beasts runs loose in the streets of Liverpool. Just how it is all done, only the camera man knows. It will repay inspection. The Great Divide, you will recall, was one of the first men-are-men dramas and created exceptional excitement in its day under the interpretative treatment of Henry Miller. Currently, it only goes to prove that the world does move and that almost any plot can be boiled to the bone in the cinema. There is a desert, a strong husband, a capturing villain and a subtitle that reads: "You bought me with a handful of nuggets, and then you drove me before you across the desert like a beast." This from the play. Chu Chin Chow. Morris Gest delivered this spectacle several years ago. London luxuriated in it for endless performances. It was a big sheik adventure with lots of girls and a minor supply of costumes. The picturesque Oriental attributes of the story--caves and palaces and deserts--are naturally big medicine for the cinema. Betty Blythe, the slave girl, puts her heart into the thing, as well as her hips and shoulders. The picture is a pretty good imitation. Coming Through. Thomas Meighan is, as usual, quiet and strong, kindly and brave. He is the mine superintendent who averts the strike and hurls Wallace Beery (villain) off the scaffolding. Lila Lee is also implicated as his wife. As a careful copy of the usual Meighan formula, the film will no doubt prosper.