The Moving picture world (January 1920-February 1920)

February 7, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 901 PHOTOPLAY EDITORS Copy Freely and Credit Occasionally "Clip and Paste 9f PICTURE SHOWMEN Copy for Fillers Jn Your Program MOVING PICTURES are going to play an important part in the Americanization program Secretary of the Interior Lane is undertaking — and it is verily believed that the screen can do more toward enlightening the foreigner than any other combination of factors at Secretary Lane's command. Lincoln's Birthday has been selected as the date the "drive" shall start. In every picture theatre throughout the country exhibitors will be asked to do all possible to feature Lincoln in preparing their programs. Ralph Ince has just completed for Lewis J. Selznick the first of a series of "Americanization pictures" the screen will show to awaken the natives and instruct the foreigner in the advantages the United States offers under the republican form of government. "The Land of Opportunity" is the comprehensive title Ince has given to his photoplay, in which he will himself play the leading role. Lieutenant Locklear, famous ace, will be exploited in a Universal photoplay entitled "The Great Air Robbery." Carl Laemmle, president of Universal, is going to law about a contract his firm has with Dorothy Phillips and her husband-director, Allan Holubar. Meanwhile Universal has ready for publication "The Gorgeous Canary" and "Ambition," two photoplays Miss Phillips will star in regardless of what the lawyers do with her future. Henry Otto recently took a week off unwillingly. He has resumed direction of May Allison in "The Cheater," a job that calls forth this comment from Otto on the pending Dempsey-Carpentier bout: "Don't tell me those French fighters are minus the wallop. I ran up against a guy named La Grippe and he put me in bed for ten days." Orchestras playing while the actors "emote" for film presentations is the real thing around the Los Angeles studios. As for May Allison, of Metro's galaxy, she says: "Jazz? It matters not to me. I can take it or leave it." Charles Ray Is another popular screen star to strike out for himself. He lately organized, in Los Angeles, his own producing company, of which his father, Charles T. Ray, is president. About the first of March Ray will begin work on his first "own" picture, with Jerome Storm directing. Annette Kellermann, star of several "mermaid" films, has been engaged by Sol Lesser to become star of a series of photoplays he will produce in California. It is understood that Miss Kellermann will not depend entirely upon her ability to swim like a seal and dive like a fish in the Lesser photoplays. In at least one section of the country "In Old Kentucky," stage drama of nearly three decades, has been banished from the stage by its film version. Anita Stewart lately created "In Old Kentucky" for the screen, and its popularity is declared to have kept the traveling company playing the old stand-by out of Los Angeles, where the film was shown ahead of the proposed presentation upon the stage. Now that Mary Plckford Is her orrn boss she migrht be Induced to relssne the first picture In which she ever appeared npon the screen — "The Violin Maker of Cremona," pnblUhed June 7, 1900. She was then an ingrenne of Blogrraph'a stock company. To prove that picture **fans" are adept at lip reading and well posted on "cuss wordN,*' news coulcs that Hugo Riesenfeld, director of the New York Rivoli and Rinlto, carefully edits all films for *'loose talk" by the actors. "If we have an aggravated ease we don't run the picture," says Riesepfeld. William Gillette's great stage successes are headed for the screen, "Secret Service" having already been done, with Robert Warwick the hero. Now comes the announcement that "Held by the Enemy" will be screened by Famous Players, with Lewis Stone playing the role of Gordon Hayne. Nothing has been heard of "Sherlock Holmes," the very greatest of the Gillette achievements. "The Slim Princess" is another comparatively recent stage play going into pictures as fast as Goldwyn can finish the production. Elsie Janis starred in the George Ade musical comedy of that title — but she cannot be expected to appear in the screen version. She's a Selznick star of the screen. "The Girl Patsy," staged several seasons ago, has been secured for screen revival by Metro. Viola Dana will be the star and she will begin work on "The Girl Patsy" as soon as she has finished with "Eliza Comes to Stay," which she is now screening in California. When Mme. Hayakawa presented "The Breath of the Gods" In Brooklyn the audience was largely composed of sailors. The theatre where the film was shown was located near the Navy Yard, and investigation proved that the sign-painter had made a slight mistake in lettering. He had made it "The Breath of the Gobs," and the sailors were curious. J. Robert Pauline, widely known in the entertainment field as an exponent of hypnotism, is about to become a film-star in a serial entitled "The Master Mind." Naturally hypnotism is involved in many of the "thrills." "Alma, Where Do You Live?" originally exploited as a musical comedy by Adolph Philipp, its author and star, is being converted to the screen. Pretty girls and other attractive incidents of the stage version will be amplified in the photoplay. ' Lucy Cotton is the star of "Blind -Love," a photodrama recently completed by Oliver D. Baker, who directed both the screen and stage version of the play now presented in the movies by Gerald F. Bacon. Marjorie Rambeau soon will come to the screen as a star in Pathe's presentation of "The Fortune Teller," a production directed by that skillful Frenchman, Albert Capellani. It's no relation to the opera. Marcus Loew, proprietor of a chain of nearly a hundred theatres scattered throughout North America, has purchased controlling interests in Metro Pictures Corporation and will thus become producer of pictures for his own theatres — as well as others. Metro stars include Nazimova, Bert Lytell, Alice Lake, May Allison, Taylor Holmes and Viola Dana. It is always the desire of movie magnates to first show their new productions in large cities, but in the case of "Huckleberry Finn" it was different. The "small town" verdict was wanted, and in ChlUicothe, Ohio, and Riverside, Cal., the first test was made. In the Ohio town schools were dismissed in time for the matinee. Mildred Harris, who is Mrs. Charlie Chaplin, will present on the screen "Polly of the Storm Country," a First National production promised to be "a sequence of biblical scertes in retrospection." The picture is made from a well-read novel. The Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence, dressed in winter garb, will be an unusual feature in Eugene O'Brien's "A Fool and His Money." Usually these famous beauty spots of nature are visited or pictured in Summer, but Mr. O'Brien and his players went to Alexandria Bay in mid-winter to get the needed scenes for his forthcoming photoplay. "Madame X," which was one of the real stage sensations of its period, when originally produced in ^^merica some years ago, will be screened by Goldwyn. The actress who will play the role originally assumed by Dorothy Donnelly is not named in the early announcements of tbe picture version. What, indeed, is In a name? Prltzle Brunette, leading woman for Warren Kerrigan In Pathe's "Live Sparks," is one of the prettiest blondes in filmdom. May Allison will play the role in "The Marriage of William Asche" which Grace George created on the stage when Metro brings the screen version of the Mrs. Humphry Ward novel into view. "Shore Acres," made famous by the late James A. Herne, is being prepared for the screen by Metro. Alice Lake, a new and brilliant screen star, will be directed in the perennially popular drama by Rex Ingram. Gladys Leslie has terminated her contract with Vitagraph and will become an independent star of the screen, appearing first in "A Child for Sale,' with Creighton Hale as her leading man. Harry T. Morey'.* newest Vitagraph picture is titled "The Flaming Clue." Its plot should be easy to follow. "Mr. and Mrs. Not Married" and "Some Honeymoon" are stories lately purchased by Thomas Ince for his young stars, Douglas MacLean and Doris May. Mary MacLaren's newest Universal feature will be titled "The Girl in the Mirror." Harry Hilliard will be her leading man. Knid Bennett, as "The Woman in the Suit Case," will be packing and unpacking while the film is being shipped from theatre to theatre. Harrison Ford was the first leading man in the Los Angeles film colony to receive a leap year proposal. There may be girls among the "fans" who will be made happy in knowing that he didn't say "yes." Enid Bennett has completed her new Thoma^ Ince production, "The Man In the Moon," under direction of her husband, Fred Niblo. David Butler has secured the screen rights to the Saturday Evening Post story "Sitting on the World" and will star Sophie Kerr in the leading role. "The Greatest Question" represent* nothing more than a photoplay to Its producer, David Wark Griffith. But with politicians it's like this; Is Hoover a Democrat or a Republican?