Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1914)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 75 merly of the General Film Co., has taken charge. This office controls the booking of the company's releases in some of the middle western states. Their latest production, "St. Elmo," is now being booked in Illinois. * * * J. H. Mayer, formerly editor of the Billboard in Cincinnati, spent a few days in the city last week. Mr. Mayer reported the recent Ohio state convention in Columbus for the New York Morning Telegraph. He advised me that the convention had approved of the publication of a trade paper by the Ohio branch of the League. This paper will probably be called the Motion Picture Age and will have offices either in Cincinnati or Columbus. Mr. Mayer has been appointed editor. * * * The Blinkhorn Photoplay Corporation has opened an office in Suite 511, Mailers Bldg., this city. A. G. Buck, formerly with the Edison Co., has been appointed manager. This office wiMdistribute the company's product in middle western states. Hepworth, Florence Turner, Eclipse and Hecla brands are now being released. * * * Francis X. Bushman, E. H. Calvert, Ruth Stonehouse and Wallace Berry left for the East last week to take scenes for the four-reel Essanay production, "The Slim Princess," written by George Ade. Scenes will be taken in New York harbor, Old Point Comfort and Washington. Mr. Ade will personally supervise the taking of some of the sets. * * * The Chicago board of censors rejected, last week, the "$5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot," in which Win. J. Burns figures prominently. Harvey Brient, who has spent quite a sum in preparing to exhibit the picture in the city, protested strongly against the action of the censors, and demanded reasons for the rejection of his picture. The censors informed him that they were not required to give reasons. Afterwards it was decided that the censors would again view the picture later on. * * * Annette Kellermann, who is at present living in France, hopes to appear in a new spectacular film in the coming year. Her manager has privately informed Alfred Hamburger, this city, that he is offering $500 for the scenario of a new photoplay for Miss Kellermann. In this photoplay Miss Kellermann's swimming, diving, dancing, swordsmanship, etc., must all be given a good showing. * * * The Englewood Theater, West 63rd and South Halsted streets, was broken into by burglars last week. The safe was blown open and the burglars escaped with $682 and jewelry worth $1,400, according to the statement of L. M. Quitman, the manager. * * * A reader of the Chicago News asks that paper in a recent letter why the life of Sir William Wallace, the great Scottish chieftain, should not be done in films. The "Scottish Chiefs," a thrilling novel by Miss Jane Porter, which I read when a boy, affords splendid material for a scenario. Now let some of our big producers go ahead. Essanay is now sending more films to England than before the war started. This should be the experience of most of our leading manufacturers, as the English market depends chiefly on America for its product. SAWYER HAS "SHAKESPEARE" PICTURES. Sawyer, Inc., announce that they have closed contracts with the Trans-Oceanic Flms, Ltd., to handle their productions, "The Life of Shakespeare: His Intrigues and Romances" and "The Aerial Scout." The Shakespeare film is in five reels, and it is one of the most brilliant and dramatic of feature films. The great bard's life was one long series of adventures, romances and intrigues; far surpassing the imagination of modern scenario writers are the facts that history has brought down to us, and which are so strikingly recorded in this picture, which will shortly be released. "The Aerial Scoutj" in two reels, is a thrilling story which might almost be called melodramtic. Certainly it holds interest every moment of the time. HANFORD C. JUDSON OFF TO THE HILLS. Hanford C. Judson, of the staff of the Moving Picture World, has gone to the White Mountains for rest and recuperation. Mr. Judson is not ill, but he has not recovered his old-time snap and ginger following two operations early in the summer. The best wishes of his associates and a host of friends go with him to his retreat in the hills, in full confidence that the invigorating New Hampshire air will be the tonic that sends him back to them better than ever. NEW ALICE JOYCE PICTURE. Kalem Star Photographed Wearing a Lucille Gown and a Million Dollars' Worth of Jewels. THERE is that about the phrase "a million dollars' worth of jewelry," which presents a tremendous appeal to the popular imagination. The average person has never seen so great a fortune in gems at one time. With but one exception, no person of modern times, and but lew who figure in history, have been known to wear a collection of jewels totalling a million dollars. It takes a strong imagination, a keen knowledge ot human nature and an appreciation of what constitutes good publicity, to originate an advertising device which makes use of a girl of surpassing loveliness, wearing a gown representing the supreme achievement of the country's foremost modiste, and a million dollars' worth of gems. Here are all the elements calculated to arouse interest and fill the average person with curiosity. They form a combination which is irresistible. The half-tone of Miss Joyce is the photograph of an oil painting which was made recently while a forthcoming feature of the Alice Joyce Series was being filmed. Aside from the fact that the painting is a wonderful likeness of Kalem's beautiful star, the picture is of interest in that it shows Miss Joyce wearing a threethousand-dollar gown designed by Lucille (Lady Duff-Gordon), and jewels which approximate a total value of a cool million. The fame of Lucille as a designer of gowns for the members of ultra-fashionable so Alice Joyce. ciety is widespread and the fact that Miss Joyce wears a gown which represents Lucille's utmost achievement, would alone be sufficient to arouse a keen desire on the part' of the feminine photoplay patrons to see the feature in which the gown is worn. Added to. this is the wealth of gems with which Kalem's star is adorned. It required no small sum to secure the loan of the jewels for a few hours' use. It is stated that the rental and the expenditure necessary to insure their safety during that time actually exceeded the cost of producing the average two-reel production. An arrangement was effected with Lebold & Company, of New York, among the most prominent of the Fifth avenue jewelers, whereby Kalem secured the loan of the gems for a period sufficient to take the scenes in which they were to be used. A special force of detectives was employed to surround the studio and guard Miss Joyce while the scenes were being filmed and later, when the portrait from which the oil paintings were made, was being photographed. Among the jewels worn by the Kalem star were a magnificent tiara, containing eighty diamonds; a huge pear-shaped pearl, famous the world over, suspended from a necklace of diamonds; a superb diamond sunburst, in the center of which nestled a pigeon blood ruby, and a hand-beaten gold bracelet containing a circle of pearls surrounding a superb ruby. The beautiful oil painting which shows Miss Joyce in the Lucille gown and wearing the fortune in jewels will create a sensation wherever it is shown. Exhibitors who appreciate the great attention-attracting value of this painting, and its value when advertising future Alice Joyce features, will therefore be gratified to learn that a limited number of them have been made by Kalem and that they will be sold at actual cost. ?14, f. o. b. New York. Paintings similar to these have been sold for $35.