Love is only a good second to friendship in "A Square Deal," a five- reel Peerless screen drama on the World program. The scenes are laid in MacDougal Alley, that short street just off of Washington Square where New York's bohemian element makes its headquarters. Two young chaps are in love with the same girl; one of the boys being a writer and the other the artist, and the friendship between them is unusually strong. Doris, the girl, prefers Mark, the writer; and Hugh, the artist, does everything in his power to help his rival. Success in his profession leads Mark away from Doris, and he makes an unfortunate marriage; but Hugh traps his friend's wife into revealing her true character, and Mark marries his old sweetheart, after divorcing the first Mrs. Dunbar. Just how true a picture of life, as it is led in the Alley, may be found in "A Square Deal," need not concern patrons of the moving picture play. The drama is intended for those who want a clean story, plentifully sprinkled with sentiment, and one that makes no pretense to furnishing food for thought. The doings of the men and women in "A Square Deal" are easily understood, although it is easier to admire Hugh's sacrifice than to believe in it. Another incident which comes under the same head is the scene at the society ladies' swimming match; also the method taken by Mark Dunbar's first wife to make him fall in love with her. She dons Annette Kellermanns, dives into the clubhouse tank in company with a number of other lightly clad society leaders and pretends to drown. Mark jumps in, fully clothed, and rescues the lady, and she thanks him so warmly that he returns the compliment by taking her in his arms and she accepts him then and there. This scene would have been considered very daring a few years back, especially the costumes of the swimmers, but, judging from the pictures taken of real society ladies at Palm Beach for the Sunday Illustrated Sections, they are not very far out of the way. The production, directed by Harley Knoles, is equal to all demands, and the cast, headed by Carlyle Blackman and including June Elvidge, Henry Hull, Charlotte Granville, Muriel Ostriche, and Charles Charles, keep the acting at par. – The Moving Picture World, February 24, 1917
