Motion Picture News (Jul-Oct 1915)

September 25, 1915. MOTION PICTURE NEWS 55 Gold Rooster a Sign of Quality Is Pathe Plan Company Inaugurates New Policy of One Picture a Week, Under Favorable Auspices — A Large Array of Histrionic and Directing Talent Engaged Under the Pathe Banner for the Achievement of the Concern's Intention to "Offer the Picture-Goer Pictures of the Highest Type It Is Possible to Produce" THE immense resources of the Pathe offices are being chiefly directed this week toward the inauguration of the new one-a-week policy, which began with the release of the first Gold Rooster feature picture, on September 10. The announced intention is to make this series the most successful, both from the standpoint of the exhibitor and producer, ever launched, and the policy will be to achieve this by a direct appeal to the public — by offering the undoubtedly be carried to full realization. These will be followed, in regular order, by "Simon the Jester," "The Spender," "John Gleyde's Honor," "An Affair of Three Nations," and then will come "Mary's Lamb," "Comrade John," "The Weavers," "At Biy," "The Closing Net," "The Beloved Vagabond," "Nedra," "The Shrine of Happiness," "The River Alley Mystery," and others yet to be announced. Two of these, "The Beloved Vagabond," studios and large force of well-known players, the special features from their studios for the Gold Rooster plays may be confidently expected to be far above par. In their enlarged studios at Long Beach, Cal., the Horkheimers have under way a series of pictures complete in themselves, which will be a sequel to the "Who Pays?" series that proved so popular last year. Among the actor folk gathered by the Horkheimers for their productions are THE PERSONNEL OF THE PATHE GOLD ROOSTER PLAYS I TOP ROW: H. M. HORKHEIMER, EDWARD JOSE, GEORGE FITZMAURICE, LEO I | FOLD WHARTON, ARNOLD DALY, DONALD MACKENZIE, E, D. HORKHEIMER. 1 i BOTTOM ROW: FANIA MARINOFF, LOLITA ROBERTSON, MAX FIGMAN, CLIFTON I = CRAWFORD, RICHARD CARLE, BRUCE MoRAE, GAIL KANE, KATHERINE I I BROWN-DECKER = picturegoer pictures of the highest type it is possible to produce. It is with the hope that the Gold Rooster will become the signal mark for films which are absolutely good in every respect, story, settings, actors and direction, that everybody in the Pathe offices and studios has been working for several months, and the result is now ready for the verdict of the public. Plays and novels which have already proven successful have been picturized by expert scenario writers, and turned over to the most capable directors and companies to be found. The greatest care in everything, from the main essentials to the most minute details, has been exercised, that the finished picture may be free from flaws of every sort. The first two releases, "The Galloper" and "Via Wireless," have already been viewed at private screenings. They se't a mark of unusual excellence, and the reviewer is responsible for the statement that if the Pathe forces can maintain the standard set in these two productions, their ambition for the Gold Rooster plays will un and "The Shrine of Happiness," have been sent to France, where the films are being colored. Gratifying Advance Bookings Advance booking for the series, it is announced at the Pathe executive offices, have exceeded all expectations, and practically insure the success of the new series. Exhibitors who have not seen any of the pictures, and have heard little concerning them have accepted them on the strength of the guarantee of excellence which goes with the Pathe name. General Manager Gasnier of Pathe, when he determined to put out features of the highest quality, found his hardest problem to be the assembling of a thoroughly competent corps of producers. That he has solved the problem successfully is evident from a survey of the names now associated with Pathe. There are the Horkheimers, H. M. and E. D., for example, who have made a name for themselves with their company, the Balboa. "Neal of the Navy" is a living witness of their ability. With their new William Courtleigh, Jr., Henry King, Lillian Lorraine, Ruth Roland and Jackie Saunders. Leopold D. and T. W. Wharton, former Pathe directors, now producing their own pictures at their Ithaca, N. Y., studios, and releasing exclusively through Pathe, have been identified with Pathe for many years. The excellent dramas, "The Boundary Rider," "The Pawn of Fortune," and "The Prince of India," are proof of the ability of Wharton, Inc. Leopold Wharton was born in Manchester, England, in 1870, but was brought to this country two years later by his parents, who settled in Hempstead, Texas. After a long career on the stage, when he was associated with Minnie Maddern Fiske, Augustin Daly, Olga Nethersole, and others of equal celebrity, he became interested in pictures in 1909, and made an extraordinary success as a director for Pathe. His brother, Theodore, is a native of Milwaukee, but was reared in Texas, where for nine years he was treasurer of the Dallas Opera House. Feeling that life