Pictures and the Picturegoer (Jan-Dec 1925)

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58 Pictures and PichureO&er JANUARY 1925 /\e l&r\c & ALMA TAYLOR For "The Shadow of Egypt" Alma Taylor paid her first visit to the land of the Pharaohs. Have you ever visited a place for the first time in your life, and felt that you were perfectly familiar with' it? If so, you can imagine my feelings when, after depositing my bag and baggage at the Winter Palace Hotel, at Luxor I walked out on to the Terrace to take my first glimpse of the Nile. It was a feeling I shall not easily forget. I was not in the least surprised to hear the monotonous rhythm of the boatmen's songs. I felt as if I had .heard them all before. What did surprise me was to be met with the chorus of "Yes, we have no bananas," from the dark-skinned, fascinating little urchins who pester the English visitors for pennies in the streets and bazaars. TV/ly visit to Egypt was a wonderful experience in every way, as it was for the first film in which I have appeared in which I have not been directed by Cecil Hepworth, and it was the first occasion on which I had used greasepaint for my film make-up. Despite the terrific heat and the attacks of mosquitoes, Egypt impressed me very much indeed. Sidney Morgan, who was directing the film seemed to " feel " this strange atmosphere too, at which he was delighted, for it was to capture this in the film that we had travelled from England. I think everyone who sees The Shadow of Egypt will agree that our 6,000 miles' journey was well worth the trouble, for no studio setting, however elaborately built, could adequately convey the majesty and mystic fascination with whicb these real backgrounds inbue the film. tTilming in Egyptian sunshine is not the ideal business one would imagine. The heat, the flies, and sometimes the smells, make one long for the English countryside ; but the wonderful aweinspiring Temples, the Obelisks, and last but not least the Sphinx and the Pyramids, win one's admiration as soon as the cool of the evening appit)aches. Perhaps you may be able to judge something of the insignificance one feels on visiting these century-old famous places, when you see the Temple of Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, and the Ptolemy Gateway in the film. How inconspicuous one feels amidst these A snapshot of Sydney Morgan (right) and Carlyle Blackwell taken at Karnak. miles and miles of desert, meeting the sky on the far distant horizon ! How puny are our efforts at modern city building when compared with the beauty and size of these ancient Temples ! How ignorant of art are we Above : Alma Taylor and Milton Rosmer before the Sphinx and a Pyramid. Left Circle : Alma Taylor. twentieth century beings when we take a glimpse at the exquisite workmanship on the walls of the Tombs of the Pharaohs. We try to imagine we are wise in our generation, but visit Egypt, and one wonders what further undiscovered secrets these towering rocks may hold. In my spare time I visited several of the native bazaars and had the good luck to find a really beautiful scarab brooch. Bargains in these shops are really few and far between, for as is common knowledge most of " the lovely antique treasures " from the Tombs are imported from the South of England, and as Milton Rosmer as my film husband in The Shadow of Egypt discovered to his sorrow, the real treasures are regarded as supremely sacred by all Egyptians. The market blace in " The Shadow of Epypt." This was a realistic studio 'set.'