The Reformers; or, The Lost Art of Minding One's Business

This satire, in two parts, is aimed at busybodies, legitimate game; the satirist who makes fun of them is sure to have the audience with him. This picture won many and many a good laugh. But the humor that made the laughter is never a part of the satire itself, of the cutting edge. It never is of any satire until it reaches a very high plane, like Cervantes's Don Quixote, for instance. A satire is sanity looking at insanity, the former being the spectator and the latter the one whom the spectator knows is in the wrong. This picture is a close enough approximation to this condition to be a very profitable release from the exhibitor's viewpoint. The laughter is mostly due to William Murray, though Christy Miller tickled them too. Charles Mailes plays the mayor, leader of the busybodies. Mae March and Ronert Harron play his two children. Miss March carries the tragic role with imagination and powerful effect. She is a fine actress in emotional work. The photography is clear. - The Moving Picture World, August 23, 1913