SOUL OF THE BEAST
Starring Madge Bellamy, Cullen Landis, Noah Beery
Motion Picture Classic
July 1923
We have had stories which have featured horses, monkeys, mules, storks, ducks, chickens and bears, but when you see "The Soul of the Beast" (Ince-Metro) you will see an elephant (his name is Oscar, but he isn't wild) carrying the plot and Madge Bellamy thru' to the plaudits of the multitude. Because of the presence of the big pachyderm, the expression must be listed as a real novelty, although the idea itself is a sort of second cousin to the circus formula.
"The Soul of the Beast" carries, as it asserts, a gorgeous woodland background, a complete set of unadulterated thrills which show Oscar rushing to the rescue of Madge when a cyclone sweeps away the tent - and who saves her again when the ornery villain attempts to embarrass her after she had felt the call of romance with a crippled musician. The atmosphere is of the French-Canadian brand, and the comedy and novelty are highly enjoyable in those scenes which offer Oscar giving the scamp a "shower bath" with his trunk. Let it be said that the North Country hokum is given an airing. Why not - with a canoe chase, fistic battles and a knife duel?
Oscar is big enough to walk away with the picture, yet there are Noah Beery and Cullen Landis - to say nothing of Miss Bellamy to give him good support. John Griffith Wray directed this neat study from a story by C. Gardner Sullivan. As yet no one has come along who can displace the author as the best scenario writer in the game.
Video availability: Facets