Moving Picture World (Mar 1917)

March 24, 1917 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1953 y/fe ^^iiiuniiniiiuiiiiaiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiimy*'..:,;.aBp Manufacturers' Advance Notes itlllOllllllllllllim 1> FIRST O. HENRY PICTURE. Much interest has been created by the General Film Company's announcement of the first of the O. Henry series of photo-dramas, "Past One at Rooney's," a photoplay based upon one of the most famous of this most famous author's stories. Made by the Broadway Star Features Company, it details the adventures of one "Cork" McManus, a gangster, who is falsely accused of attempt to murder. Then he meets a girl who is the most wonderful being on earth to him. "Cork's" Scene from "Past One at Rooney's" (General Film). regeneration follows, but not till the course of the screen drama has led through an inextricable chain of plot, counterplot and sudden surprises such as one always expects in O. Henry stories. In the cast are seen, besides Gordon Gray and Mildred Manning, players of the huge popularity of William Martin, James Stanley and Wally Clarke. Not the least important feature in connection with the O. Henry screen plays is the fact that the titles are taken direct from the books, thus embodying all the author's whimsical and original touches of wit and pathos, and also the scenes pictured have been, whenever possible, photographed on the original locations whether on Fifth Avenue or The Bowery. Following "Past One at Rooney's," "Friends at San Rosario," "The Third Ingredient," "Gifts of the Haji" and "The Marionettes," will be screened, and the ensuing numbers of the series will be devoted to picturizations of equally famous stories of the man whom Henry James pronounced to be "The American Kipling." A THIRD MUSTY SUFFER SERIES. Kleine-Edison-Selig-Essanay announce that beginning Saturday, March 24, a third series of ten pictures, one reel each, "The Mishaps of Musty Suffer," will be offered the trade. Harry Watson, Jr., is featured in these comedies, which, since George Kleine first put them on the market almost two years ago, have been in constant demand. These pictures are released one each week. The entertainment in "The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" lies chiefly in the fact that Watson has an original film mannerism that defies duplication and is of a character that provides amusement for adults as well as juveniles. The first series of ten one-reel pictures of "The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" found instant favor with exhibitors, and Mr. Kleine had no hesitancy in producing a second series of the same number of pictures. This series, too, achieved such success that Mr. Kleine determined to offer the series -which is to begin March 24. Five of the pictures in this series were made at the George Kleine studio and five at the Essanay studio in Chicago. Watson, himself, says that his work in them represents the climax of his career before the camera. Watson has splendid support in Delia Connor, H. H. McCollum, Maxfield Morse, Dan Crimmins of Crimmins & Gore, and Wm. Thomas, Jr. ABRAMSON COMPLETES STORY FOR NEXT SUPER-FEATURE. Ivan Abramson, author and director of the sensational screen success, "Enlighten Thy Daughter," which has just completed a long run at the Park theater in New York, has been busily occupied since the completion of this last-named play in the writing of what it is declared by those fortunate enough to have seen the script, "will create a new era in screendom." "One Law for Both," the title of Mr. Abramson's next production, deals with a topic of universal interest and of a theme dear to the heart of every woman. Mr. Abramson has taken for his subject the question of "the single standard," and in this next production will present the question squarely and attempt to solve the problem of whether or not the same moral law should hold alike for both sexes. A cast of artists is being assembled by Director Abramson, each one of whom has been starred in his own name, to enact the ten principal roles in the new play. The personnel of these performers and the high calibre of their ability in the screen world will warrant the statement that the cost of "One Law for Both" will rank with that of the greatest ever made. PEACOCKE LAUDS "THE WOMAN WHO DARED." Leslie T. Peacocke, one of the foremost scenario writers of the present era, states that "The Woman Who Dared," the first release of the Ultra Pictures Corporation, is an ideal story for the screen. "It is gripping from the start," he says, "healthy in tone, offensive to none, and far removed from any of the hackneyed plots with which the film market has been and is still being flooded. It is full of what we call 'punches,' of the right sort, which appeal to old and young alike." Beatrice Michelena, who is starred in the production, runs the gamut of emotions; far excelling her work in other film productions in which she has appeared and showing in a logical way why a beautiful girl is privileged to change her mind." "A QUESTION OF HONESTY" (Selig). J. Edward Hungerford never ■wrote a better story than "A Question of Honesty," released as a multiple reel drama by the Selig Polyscope Co., in General Film service. This is the latest of the General Film dramas, and is pronounced a drawing card for exhibitors. The plot has to do with the search for work of a young married man, and of how he is made the victim of the plotting Scene from "A Question of Honesty' (Selig). of a clerk in the office of the man who employs him. How right always triumphs over wrong, and how the young mat is vindicated and the plotter punished, are but details in a production which is unusually interesting. The photography and scenic effects are above the average. "Everybody Was Satisfied" is the latest Selig farce comedy to be released during the same week, in General Film Service. The cast of laugh-makers includes such talent as John Lancaster, Wm. Scott, Irene Wallace and Lyllian Leighton. Every situation in this comedy carries a laugh, and not only this, but there is a well-defined plot.