Motography (Jul 1918)

66 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XX, No. 2. "Salome" Completed After Six Months Work Biggest Fox Production Ever Made Will Be Available for Presentation in September AFTER six months of unremitting activity at the Hollywood studios of William Fox, "Salome," with Theda Bara in the title role, has been completed and is now in the hands of the cutting staff in the general offices in New York. This production, the biggest the Fox organization has ever made, will be seen on screens throughout the country with the advent of September. Samuel F. Kingston has been placed in charge. of the booking and an unprecedented campaign heralding the production is already under way. "Salome" is declared to mark a new development of the spectacle picture in that massiveness of effect will not smother dramatic interest. Said an official of the company, in this connection: "Two elements are responsible for overcoming this common failing. Theda Bara's art is one and the elemental strength of the story is the other. Add to this the superb investiture provided and it must be apparent that here is a production that can hardly fail to stir the spectators." How big "Salome" is will be better realized, according to this official, when it is pointed out that on 500 feet of film alone $50,000 was spent. Two thousand players in all took part. Eight hundred artisans were employed in building a reproduction of the city of Jerusalem as it existed forty years before the time of Christ, this being one of several replicas on a grand scale. Salome's bath of costly marble and the palace of King Herod are said to be triumphant examples of Judean splendor. The peacock fountain in Salome's boudoir also is shown, having been modelled after an old Biblical print. Of modern significance is the reproduction of the Gate of Jaffa, through which recently marched the victorious Britons under command of General Allenby. Some idea of the fundamental expense involved may be gained from these items: Two hundred loads of sand were hauled from the beaches to build the streets of Jerusalem. Twenty-five tons of plaster and as many loads of cobblestones were used. A hundred sculptors and mural decorators were kept busy during the initial stages. Aside from Miss Bara's costumes, ten thousand costumes were required to clothe the army of performers in the various scenes. Nothing has been overlooked by the technical staff. Camels to the number of fourteen, five hundred horses, donkeys, elephants, goats, sheep, lambs, bullocks, oxen, dogs, cats, parrots, cockatoos, doves, pigeons and peacocks there are, wherever they add realism to the scene. Fred Stone Hard at It Fred Stone, the comedian, following preliminaries, started his career at the Famous Players-Lasky West Coast studio by sliding head-downward on a rope from the top of a church steeple to the ground. Stone's initial picture is "Under the Top." It was written by John Emerson and Anita Loos and the continuity is by Gardner Hunting. It is a circus story full of comedy, with stunts galore. Donald Crisp is directing. Stone will make at least three Artcraft pictures while "resting" from his unprecedented run in New York in the musical show, "Jack O'Lantern." Chicago Loses Two Live Wires Sorry to see you go, boys — but "So long and good luck." That is the attitude of the trade in Chicago toward Terry Ramsaye, director of publicity for the Mutual Film Corporation, and Colvin Brown, director of advertising, under Mr. Ramsaye, who have packed up their tools of craft and personal belongings and gone to New York in accordance with a decision of President James M. Sheldon that the publicity department logically belongs in that metropolis. Ramsaye and Brown, both popular members of the Chicago film world, have made remarkable records and will be missed greatly. Everyone hopes and expects, however, that they will achieve even greater success in their new surroundings. Mr. Ramsaye came to Mutual several years ago after considerable newspaper experience in Chicago and other cities. Mr. Brown also entered the publicity field with newspaper experience. He became Mr. Ramsaye's assistant early in 1917. Arthur J. Pegler, who has been in the Mutual publicity department almost since its beginning, also goes to New York. Joseph Sullivan, who arranges the music cues to accompany pictures, will remain in Chicago and handle any Chicago publicity necessary, arranging trade showings and so forth. Await New Ebony Comedy Reports received by General Film indicate that exhibitors are keenly interested in the forthcoming production of "Good Luck in Old Clothes," an Ebony comedy which departs from the usual broad comedy lines to feature a company of white and negro players in the E. K. Means story of the same name which appeared in the All Story Magazine. The E. K. Means stories are described by literary critics as being the most delightful picturizations of negro life published since the days of Joel Chandler Harris. Terry Ramsaye, publicity director, and Colvin Brown, advertising director, of the Mutual Film Corporation, who have left Chicago to set up shop in New York. Wounded See Film on Ceiling "For the Freedom of the World," distributed by Goldwyn, received an odd presentation last week, when, by means of portable projection machines, it was shown on the ceiling of the convalescent hospital at Camp Upton, Yaphank, Long Island. Several hundred wounded and disabled soldiers lay on their backs and watched the picture. Previously it had been shown in the amusement hall to 2,000 men. Goldwyn supplied the film gratis.