User Reviews

A story within a story is "The Iced Bullet," with the comedy element offered as a background for a tale of mystery. The preliminary comedy deals with the adventures of that non-descript, the "author- actor" at the Ince studios, and it has the Moliere charm of undeniable veracity, a bitter truth if scenario writers are treated with such infinite scorn when they call at the studios. Actors, directors and stage-hands roll up to the massive gates in opulent motor cars, gentlemen engaged in visualizing the story, but the fellow who creates it, the author, has the gate slammed in his face. Presumably this is not to be taken as a warning to authors to keep in their places, for Desmond, the author-actor, finally gains admission by climbing the fence. There is a way in. Interesting exteriors of the entire plant are shown during his adventures with a glimpse of a play in process of manufacture. He finds his way to the manager's office during the letter's absence and sits down to dream of a future screen success. Then comes the mystery story presented with Ince skill and good taste. Desmond appears as the hero of his own story and does well. It is by his skill as a detective that the mystery of an attempted murder is solved, a correct structure in a class of story depending entirely upon structure, but the false scents fail to be misleading. Wonder is a short-lived emotion, it can rarely live through five reels. The story of mystery is, however, well handled and ingenious enough to serve its purpose. The reversion to comedy at the end is good, and the entire release satisfying. – The Moving Picture World, January 13, 1917