User Reviews

It was a good idea to make such a picture as this, and Sidney Olcott, who produced it, has scored one more very emphatic success. It is full of news interest, and also of the interest that human nature always gives. It is a picture of how Sid Olcott put over in an Arab village a story by Gene Gauntier. First we see Miss Gauntier finishing the manuscript, then we see Olcott reading it to the company. Next, he takes his Arab interpreter and goes out in the desert to a village of natives to choose the backgrounds. We are shown glimpses of the village life while he is talking with the sheik. Next day he brings out the company and his real troubles begin. He has to use a horde of lesser figures who can't understand English. One scene reminded us of the plight of an umpire, brought by the village baseball nine to an unfriendly town, when the game is close. It is likely to be a very popular picture. It held a large audience and deserves high praise. The photography is as usual in these pictures by the Kalem people. - The Moving Picture World, June 22, 1912