A Bachelor's Children

There isn't the slightest trace of suspense in "A Bachelor's Children," a five-part Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Feature written by William Addison Lathrop and directed by Paul Scardon. The story unfolds itself after the manner of a simple but pleasing little novel and, save for a brief moment at the end when the hero takes the villain by the throat and gives him the good shaking you know all the time is coming to him, the action wanders along without any attempt to stir the blood. The touch of drama is forced into the plot and strikes a jarring note, but the main motive appeals to the better side of human nature. An orphan girl with two small sisters and an empty purse win the sympathy when they are first introduced, and to see them transferred from their one bare room to the fine country home of the man who had robbed them of the fortune left by their father is an agreeable sight. Some of the scenes with Hugh and the two small girls are charming, and he doesn't forget to send Penelope a set of his pajamas to wear the first night she stops at the Jordon home. This has now become a convention among screen dramatists. Paul Scardon has directed the picture cleverly. Harry Morey is a most satisfying Hugh Jordon, and, after Penelope's battle with the world, no one will blame her for wanting such a well built, kindly and capable looking husband to do the fighting for her. Alice Terry plays Penelope naturally and appealingly, and the smallest sister is a real little artist. Good work is done by Florence Deshon, Denton Vane, William Shea and Jessie Stevens. – The Moving Picture World, May 4, 1918