Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1916)

November 11, 1916 MOTION PICTURE NEWS 2989 part taken by Lee Moran, the operator of a sanitorium where all ills to which flesh is heir is cured. Eddie Lyons as a matinee idol, goes to the place for recreation and treatment, and there meets an aged man and his daughter. The actor and the owner are both smitten on the girl, and their rivalry takes the form of winning the good graces of the father, which create numerous comedy situations. The story is by Bess Meredyth, and Louis Chaudct is directing the picture. " Winning a Mother," a comedy written and being produced by Captain Peacocke, has to do with the members of a bankrupt road show forcing one of their number to impersonate the missing son of a wealthy woman in order to raise money that they may get out of town. The comedy is in one reel. A burlesque on " Damon and Pythias " is being made by Director W. W. Beaudine of the Joker players. The beautiful stor>of love and friendship has been changed to show jealousy and hatred, which builds up a number of slapstick situations. The usual Joker cast appears in this subject. " The Organ-Grinder," a drama of two reels with Italian atmosphere, is being filmed by Douglas Gerrard, who directs and plays the lead with Ruth Clifford in the feminine lead part. Betty Schade, who has been seen in Universal program subjects for the past three years, and who took a prominent part in the Pavlowa subject made by the Smalleys, is now playing the featured part of a fivereel production known as " The Reward of the Faithless." The opposite lead is taken by Wedgewood Nowell, who has appeared in the lead part in several Universal-Bluebird subjects. The photoplay has a Russian atmosphere. Rex D. Rosselli, who has played character parts in many Henry McRae subjects and worked under the direction of other well-known directors at Universal City, is to film several subjects featuring Joe Martin, the orang-outang. Rosselli is superintendent of the Universal zoo at the present time. Roy Stewart has been cast to play the featured part in the five-reel production taken up by Director Charles Swickard entitled " Mixed Blood." Director F. A. Kelsey has been selected to direct the first subject in which Harry Carey, recently contracted hy the Universal, appears. The Western actor takes the role of an outlaw in this semi-western production of three reels. Working opposite him is Louise Lovely. Mardonald Directs " His Precious Jewel " Donald Macdonald is directing the filming of " His Precious Jewel " partially of the nature of a melodrama in two reels. He has Edith Roberts and Lee Hill as the featured players. Charles Rankin, who served as manager of production at U City, and was called East for consultation in reference to sales plans, has returned to U City, but it is not announced in what way he will be connected. Mary Chambers, former American newspaper W'Oman and caricaturist who now claims London as her home, and who perhaps is best known by the pen name of Kate Carew, was a guest at U City last week, where she spent a full day learning the technic of motion pictures. Another distinguished visitor of the week was Frank Rolph, uncle of Mayor James Rolph of San Francisco. Raymond W'ells is next to produce a five-reel production to be known as " Constantinople by the Sixth." Ruth Stonehouse is to be starred in this, and the story, which is by Fred Myton, deals with an attempt of a man to reach the Turkish capital by a given time for an important engagement. Miss Stonehouse takes the part of a boy who runs away from home and becomes a stowaway. As such the latter becomes the traveling associate of the one who is attempting to set a more speedy record than that described in the story " Around the world in eighty days." Barnyard and urban scenes make up the Mack Sennett Keystone comedy " Haystacks and Steeples," which has just been completed by Clarence Badger. It is a farcical melodrama with the old time villian trying to win the heart of the fair one through the means of posing as a man of wealth, and thus gaining the good will of the girl's relatives. In this instance the girl runs away to the country and there finds a new lover who appears just in the nick of time to stop the marriage. The principals are Gloria Swanson, Reggie Morris and Bobbie Vernon. Mack Sennett has added to his collection of artists, Jasper the educated diving horse, and his trainer Soveren, who are to add thrills to the comedy melodrama. The first scene was staged this week when Jasper and his trainer in a runaway scene ran off a broken bridge, and dived more than twenty-five feet to the Keystone tank below. It is spoken of as the most sensational stunt ever staged by a Keystone Company, and the act was performed in the presence of practically every member of the producing staff. Bobbie Dunn scored additional honors as a thrill maker last week when he jumped from the running board of an automobile moving at twenty-five miles an hour over the balustrade of a bridge in HoUenbeck Park, and dived to the water forty feet below. The scene is for a picture being made by Frank Griffm, which as yet has not been titled. This is only one of the many stunts that Dunn has pulled, the list includes a leap from a four-story building, and numerous high dives into the Pacific Ocean from ships. He has also made the slide for life down a four hundred foot cable. Winsome Alice in Railroad Comedy Roscoe Arbuckle, Al. St. John and Alice Lake have taken up the filming of a railroad comedy, or at least one which has numerous scenes of railroad properties, and are working at local yards. In two instances trans-continental trains were delayed in departing to make possible the shooting of a Keystone comedy scene. Two companies are absent from the Keystone studio. Walter Wright with Ora Carew and a number of supporting players joined the Sells Floto circus when it left Los Angeles Wednesday, and will be out for a week or more taking scenes for " The Circus Girl." Director Frank Griffin with Charles Murray as leading comedian and Louise Fazenda playing opposite, are spending a week at San Diego. A reception was held on the Keystone lot when an unannounced pair of distinguished visitors arrived. They were Douglas Fairbanks and Director Paul Powell of the Fine Arts Company. It took but a few minutes for word to get all sets, and all the Mack Sennett companies took part in entertaining the actor and his director. Two companies have begun work at the Horsley studio for releases on the Mutual. Crane Wilbur is to be starred in a series of pictures, the first one of which is to be titled " The Morals of Alan," which was written by the actor himself. Tom Ricketts of the American staff is in charge of the direction, and Florence Prienty is playing the opposite. Others in the organization are Oliver Stokes, Nan Christy, John A Quartet of Scenes from Four Lasky Offerings — Left to Right, "Lost and Won," "The Black Wolf," "The Years of the Locust, and "The Soul of Kura San "