Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb-Jul 1912)

CHATS WITH THE PLAYERS 139 Q. Are you interested in politics? A. Judging by my mail, I'm a leading suffragette. Q. Do you ever personally appear before theater audiences? A. Yes, to oblige personal friends, not otherwise. Q. Have you ever been featured in the newspapers because of an heroic deed? A. Certainly; I was arrested once for speeding my auto. Otherwise my heroic roles more than satisfy me. Q. About how many parts have you played? A. I should judge between four and five hundred. • Q. Can you name some Photoplays in which you think you were at your best? A. Off-hand, I should say as Sidney Carton, in a "Tale of Two Cities," and as St. Elmo, in the picture of that name. As Sidney Carton, the English press compared me very favorably with Martin Harvey, a creator of the role in regular drama. "Tell me all about yourself, physically?" I asked. "I am five feet ten inches tall, and weigh one hundred and sixty pounds, tho this varies a little. In summer, we do a good deal of out-door work, and then I feel like a prince. In fact, the more I can get of life in the open, the better I like it ; whether it be walking, swimming, motor-boating, or any out-door sport. Speaking of working out-of-doors, I had an experience last summer which called up all my physical fitness — and kept calling for more. We were making a picture entitled, 'On the Wings of Love,' in which it was my duty to climb to the top of a thirty-foot windmill and rescue a woman supposedly in deadly peril. As a matter of fact, after I had climbed, out on the frail wheel and taken her in my arms, the danger became very real, and not stage business. The iron pipe axle of the revolving wheel slowly bent, and tho I knew we were due for an ugly fall, I did not let go of her. We fell, all right — it seemed a mile. But we got off with a few nasty bruises. First time I've been a fallen hero. "I am sorry to say that I am not musically gifted," he continued ; "dont sing or play, but I'm very fond of good music, and even poor music, if it's well executed. And," he added, "I think I like to hear the old engine singing smoothly better than anything else. "It's hard to give you my stage career in a few words, but I played, among others, with the Grand Opera Stock Company of Pittsburg, the Nashville, York, and Columbia Stock Companies, respectively, and here in Brooklyn with the Spooner Stock Company. Before coming to the Vitagraph Company — my only Motion Picture connection, by the way — I played in 'Strong Heart' with Maud Fealy. "I would like to say that stage art has changed very much in Motion Pictures in the past three years. Then, the principal object was to work out the plot — let the characters take care of themselves. As a result, they were all very much alike. Now that we have character parts, much more careful study is required; an ability to express the part distinctly, briefly, truly, and eloquently or with appeal. These things — and each part requires a different shading of them — I endeavor to do as well as I can ; for if a man, or woman, does not take absolute and feeling interest in the work, it would show itself as poor to the most uncritical. "I think I owe a good deal of my success to criticism, and I feel that appreciation is helpful, too. But I want appreciation only after the sternest kind of effort — perfunctory applause does not interest me. My oldest friend, and director, Mr. Van Dyke Brooke, is, I am glad to say, my most severe critic. It was he that first showed me the possibilities of Motion Pictures, and since then we have always worked together. But I feel that his harshest criticism is his friendliest. "What's that? Cant use so much theory?" And here he brought the spanner down on the harmless bonnet with a thump. "Well, some day, I want to get it all down for you — an article on the Motion Picture from an actor's standpoint. Something new, eh? I tell you, I feel a lot of things that haven't been in print." ORMI HAWLEY, OF THE LUB1N COMPANY Miss Ormi Hawley lives in a cozy little apartment in Philadelphia, and all her neighbors know her. In fact, it was a neighbor who directed me to the home of this interesting actress, where I was cordially admitted. "I haven't much to say about myself," she smiled, "but I'm glad to see you, because I read your magazine. It's great !" "What part of it do you enjoy?" I asked. "I read every bit of it; even the answers to inquiries." Miss Hawley is one of the artists who take their work very seriously. Perhaps that is why she prefers emotional roles. It is evident that she loves her work, for her expressive face lights up as she talks of the pictures, in a manner that leaves no doubt of her sincerity. From an old New England family, born in Holyoke, Mass., and educated at the