The Photodramatist (May 1921-Apr 1922)

The Photodkamatist for May Pagf, 7 Quid Rides or Chaplin's Lot Is a Happy One By ELMER ELLSWORTH I HAVE been asked to contribute a piece about comedy to this number of the Photodramatist, and I guess my friends will be tickled pink to hear I am going to contribute, and they will think that it is quite a compliment to this paper, as I am always being asked to contribute to something or other, but hardly ever do if I can get out of it, as it is against my principals to contribute, for if you fall for the Y. M. C. A. and the Sinn Fein why you half to go right down the line to the Methodist Missions and the Police Pic-nic and so on. Still and all my being so well known as the writer of a number of pitchers which have turned out to be great favorities with people who don't like to stand in line in front of the theaters, and on acct. of being an inmate of the Chaplin studio (where they practically specialize in comedy) for quite a term, I don't see how I could of refused to contribute. I realize that there is not only a great interest in me, but also in Chaplin since "The Kid" has showed that he is not slipping, as some of his brother comedians feared. It may not be generally known that I am no longer at the Chaplin studio, in fact I would not be surprised if even Mr. Chaplin himself don't know it. This may surprise people who knew me as his right hand man, but maybe some of these people don't know that Mr. Chaplin is left handed. For a long time after I was ast to write this piece I couldn't think what to call it, and was almost in despair, as they say, when suddenly I thought up the above. So what I say neighbors is : Never give up, but keep trying — there are pippins for everybody if they will dig hard enough. This is point No. 1 of the fourteen points for young photodramitsts. I hope I will be excused for "expatiating" (talking more) on the subject of my main title, as otherwise some people might not think it was so good. In the first place *Two real Western drama. **Universal Film Mfg. Co. there is a kind of a ketch in it, as you will see pretty soon. Plenty of saps on the pitcher lots would think it is the main title for a *2-R WD for Tom Mix or Hoot Gibson or somebody. Boys it is Latin, and it will go sailing over the simps' heads like an old cotton hat over a back yard fence, and it will even make some of the big producers go back to their old college days to refresh their memories. "Rides" is an old Guinea word, in two syllables, from rodeo — to laugh or giggle. "But surely" some of the little photodramatists might say "Quid is English — and awfully English at that — life Arf-crown, or Elf Reeves." No children, Quid is Guinea too. But now I think that I have stalled enough, and I am going to spill the real dirt. It means "Why we laugh." Well as I said before, friends. I like my main title. It makes me feel like I don't half to take my hat off to any Eminent Author from Culver City to Rex Beach. I understand one of these birds is going to have a piece in this same No. with a high toned Greeko Roman flavor about this here Clytemnester, but I guess he will see that some of our town boys can give him a Remington for his Oliver, as the fellow says. ^TOW let's see, where was I at? Oh yes, I was speaking about the title, which is "Quid Rides," as you will see by looking at the top of this piece. That is it will be there unlest the people that runs this paper do like they do with the pitchers at the U and changes it back East, or somewhere. I don't know whether the head men of this paper intends to have these here Art titles or not, but if they do I hope they don't have this one show a buckaroo on a kyuse going hellferleather up a rocky defile — or down one either for that matter — like once when I was out at the **U, I wrote a subtitle like this : "Fired by his love He resolves to win renown." Well when the thing come out, this subtitle showed a dame kicking a guy out of