Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

March 2, 1918. MOTOGRAPHY 417 Six New Triangle Pictures Begun Include "The Servant in the House," "The Law of the Great Northwest" and "Boss of the Lazy Y" TRIANGLE production is making rapid headway at the Culver City studios, where nine features arc in various stages of completion and six new subjects have been commenced during the. past week under the personal supervision of Vice-President and General Manager H. C. Davis. Two other companies have nearly completed dramas and Director Jack Dillon has sent his latest offering to the film editing department, where four additional subjects are awaiting shipment. These completed pictures are "The Scar," a western featuring Roy Stewart; "The Sea Panther," a thrilling romance of the days of Captain Kidd in which William Desmond is a swashbuckling pirate; "The Answer," a socialistic drama featuring Alma Rubens and Joe King, and "The Hard Rock Breed," with Margery Wilson, Jack Curtis and Jack Livingston in the leading roles. Charles Rann Kennedy's play, "The Servant in the House," considered a masterpiece of the legitimate stage, will be transferred to the screen as one of the foremost features of the Triangle program. The play has been adapted by Lanier Bartlett, recently added to the Triangle scenario staff. It is probable that this story will be unfolded in seven reels. Director Walter Edwards declares the script from which he will work has caught the lofty spirit of Kennedy's play, through which runs a tense human appeal. Triangle officials say that all the difficulties incident to preparing this story have been overcome and that as a photoplay, "The Servant in the House" promises to duplicate its success on the stage. The necessity of obtaining unusual types for the cast resulted in Casting Director Arthur Hoyt selecting one of the strongest aggregations of character actors ever offered in a Triangle picture. Jack Curtis has been chosen for the important and difficult role of the Drain Man, the most ambitious part he has ever had. Jean Hersholt will portray Manson, the Christ-like character, whose love and tenderness overcame the conventionalities and dogmatic principles which obscure the truth from the professional churchmen. "The Law of the Great Northwest" is the working title of Director Raymond Wells' new feature. Wells, whose specialty is rough and ready stories of the great outdoors, is working with a carefully chosen cast comprising Margery Wilson, William Jeffries, William V. Mong, Eugene Corey, William Dyer, Louis Durham, J. P. Wild and Leo Willis. This picture, adapted from Ralph Westfall's story, is the first of his tales of the Canadian wilderness to be produced by Triangle. Following the completion of "The Sea Panther," Director Thomas Heffronhas a subject of a distinctly different calibre, a society drama, entitled "The Veil." Hcffron numbers in the supporting cast J. Barney Sherry, who recently appeared in "Real Folks" and "A Soul in Trust"; Ed Brady, Mary Mersck, leading woman engaged especially for the picture; Frank Bonn and Dora Rodgers. "The Vortex," is the working title of a Triangle five-reel picture which has just been started under the direction of Gilbert P. Hamilton. Cast with Hamilton are Joe King, George Hernandez, Eugene Burr, William Higbee, Mary Warren and Myrtle Rishelle, a character woman of the grand dame type who is making her first appearance under Triangle colors. The compromising situations and misunderstandings which influence a young woman to wed the man she thinks she hates to save her father from financial ruin form the theme of "The Vortex." A new Western thriller with Roy Stewart, cowboy star, in the title role, has been begun under the' direction of Cliff Smith at the big ranch studio, Hartville. This picture, entitled "Boss of the Lazy Y," is an adaptation of Charles Alden Seltzer's novel by the same name and is said to offer Stewart an opportunity for an entirely new Western characterization. Instead of the happy, carefree man of the range', he appears as a thoughtful, serious ranchman with an unequal share of responsibilities. Josie Sedgwick, who played a dual role in "Keith of the Border," supports Stewart in this latest vehicle. The cast also includes Walt Whitman, recently seen in "The Hopper"; William Ellingford, Frank McQuarrie, Aaron Edwards, Graham Pette and five-year-old Frankie Lee. The sixth new Triangle production to be started in the week is "Another. Foolish Virgin," an adaptation of W. Carey Wonderly's magazine story by the same name, directed by E. Mason Hopper. Thomas Guinan has an important part in this production. Pretty little Billic Rhodes, Mutual-Strand comedienne , in her new picture, "Up in the Air.' Charter Train to See Film Agnes Ayres, co-star with Edward Earle in Vitagraph comedies, had an unusual tribute paid to her by the folks of her home town last week. Miss Ayres comes from Carbondale, 111., and her fame on the screen is deeply relished by the folk there. Consequently, when "His Wife Got All the Credit" was shown at a theater in Murphysboro, 111., several miles away, the home folks decided to see it. Owing to the severe snowstorm, they couldn't make the trip in autos, so they chartered a special train.