New York Clipper (Sep 1915)

September 18 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER FAMOUS PLAYERS N. STUDIO DESTROYED BY FIRL SPEQACULAR BLAZE CAUSES THOnSAin>S OF DOLLARS DAMAGE. TWEVTT PIREMEIV^ INJURED—ONES The Famous Plajrcra Film Co.'a studio and tabo- TBtorles. at 213-219 West Twciily-rtxth Street, New York, were destroyed by a disastrous conflagration. i>fi.turday evening, Sept. 11. Tlie fire started In u mercautUe cnncera oa the tblrd 9oor of the Uve story slnicture. Aa employee of the Inde^ pudent Braid Co. is said to save discovered the lii'St Indication of Uie terrlJc holocaust that fol- lowed, at 0.5T> p. Saturday. An alarm xta.3 Jnimedlately turned In. ami on the arrival of tJae fire comiianlcs reopoiidlus, n-nK succeeded by a bMond alarm. Before tUc lire traa placed under control three more alarms brought over one hun- dred pieces of hre apparatus. At one time i^o less than thirty streams of water -were placed slmultoaeouiilT on the burning studio building, and consldcra'oo trouble was caused Uhrougb the bursting of liro liosc. Tnls Impeded the work of the firemen, and iraa the Immollate cause cf one flrc-flghter suilerlng what may re- KUlt In ifatal Injuries. Wm. FrcderlcKB, engineer of En«lne Co. No. 8, was the uofortunatc lire laddie In qaestloD. Stahdlng near his engine, that -was pumping -water at a mile a minute rate, Fredericks wa^ knocked against the brick wall of a Twenty-sixth Street building when the hose attached to a near- by engine burst. At the same time the hose of Frederick's engine burst, and several' bystanders were knocked down and slightly Injured by the force of the rushing "water. Fredericks -n-as removed to Bellevue, and on arrival was found to have a fractured skull, ^s condition was reported. Monday, as very serious. Richard Young and Mrs. XL vrettos, who were staadlng near toe hose that knocked Fredericks uDconacloQS, were both sevvnsly Injured. An am- bulance surgeon treated them for scalp wounda and shock, Shortly after this accident, firemen Patrick :^c- Kenna, Paul Pratte end Samuel Levy were over- come br celluloid fumes and had to be removed to hospitals for treatment. iPlfteen minutes oifter the fire started flames leaping sl;yn-ard in spectacular fashion could be seen two miles nwoy. This attracted enormous crowds, and thirty minutes after the first alarm had been sent In thcro were at least twenty-flva thousand persona contsregatcd around the square block containing the blazing picture studio. Gas fumes, resulting from celluloid combustion, also resulted In several firemen having to quit for a time. DucCfo the bad hose,- the big crowd and numerous Injifflcs. the flrojion had a hard tlioe of it generally.' The poHce, one hundred strong, under the supcrvl<iloa oS Deputy Comalsslonfr Durham, had a dlfllcult j.->b In keeping the crowds In check. Adjoining the Ftudio at 237 West ^Vnrty-sUth Street, a tcnumcut, containing twelve families, was threatened with destruction for a time. All were gotten out with minor Injuries, but the buUding was badly damaged by fire and water. I —— PAHOUS PLATIBRS LOSS. Iho Famous Players Film Co., according to ' latest estimates, suffered a loss of some thirty thousand dollars in acenery, costumes and prop- erties, and a negative film loss of thirty thousand dollars additionally. Had it not been for several fireproof safes it is understood the Famous Playera loss would have mounted Into the hundred* of tbousand<i. Pauline Fredericks, Famous Players star, Is aalS to have suffered the complete loss of her iwrsonal wardrobe, estimated at $10,000, and Arthur Hoops, one of the members of toe stock company, lost every hit of clothing he po^cssed except what he had on his person at the time. Others of the Famous Players acting company lost small trinkets and clothing left fa the dress- ing rooms. Saturday afternoon Mary Plckford, the bright particular star of the F. 1*. constellation, re- hearsed a new picture play. That she quit at six o'clock promtptly. and left the building with the other members of the comp.tny is something that the little screen favorite will always- have to feel thankful for In addition to recelvmg the largest salary ever paid a picture actress. Three thousand dollars worth of costumes. In- tended for a forthcoming Russian production that was to go Into rehearsal under the direction of James Durktn, were totally destroyed. Several of the Famous Playera employees had narrow escapes. Geo. Meyers, head of the labora^ tory, was caught by the flames, and with three, assistants managed to escape In the knick of time. Meyers suffered severely from the large amouitt of smoke he Inhaled, but by Monday was In good bhape again. TBUpOR.\llY OFFICES ESTABUSHED. The Famous Playera established temporary ofllces at 507 Fifth Avenue, New York, Monday. Adolph Zokor and Edwin S. Porter both declared their intention of going ahead ae fast as possible with production plans. It Is understood that the fire will cause little or no change In the Famous Players releasing program, as two studios bad been eecnred Monday and work started Imme- diately on new prodnctlons. The Famous Flayers Co, In a member of the Paramount Pictures Oorpor- ration. The officers of theFamons Players Film Co., which iB incorporated for $500,000, are: Adolph Zukor, president: E. J. Ludvlgh, secretary: Edwin S. Porter, treasurer, and Daniel Frohman. man- aging director. The concern has under contract several of the most desirable stars of the icgltl- uiate stage, locladlog John Barrymore, Jobn Mason, Pnnllne Fredericks. ^Marguerite Clark, Marie Doro and HaSe) Dawn. Mary Plckford Is also one of tbe b\g assets of the Famoas Flaren, and la under exclusive contract to appear Inthelr productlOBB for tbe next two years. MOnON PICTUKE BOARD OF TRADE Wia FIGHT FOR REEDED REFORMS. 'According to the plan formulated at the meet- ing held tn the Hotel MioAlpin, Thursday, Sept. 9, a charter of Incorporation will be presented to the Secretary of New York .State for his approval and signature tl'ls ^keek, embracing the alms, ambitions and desirea of a new motion picture organization. The proposed organization will be known as the Motion Picture Bo.-ird of Trade, and will have for Its chief object the curbing nnd at>olltlon. if possi- ble, of State. City and Federal censorship. The AL P. Board of Trade propose to fight hostile legislation, endeavor to secure equitable laws governing tbe film business In all States, and further purposes to make test cases through proper legal procedure of ticklish censorship decisions. An Important feature will be the inauguration of publlolty campaigns in New York, New Jensey, Rhode IBland, Kentucky. LouialAna. Maryland, Ml>- elbslppl, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Uassacbusetts. These publicity broadsides will be fired when th« legislatures are in session In. the above men- tioned States. • Tbe new board also has Its eye on the oxpoa- Hon game which so far has been easy money for the exhibitors. Next year wlU probably see the annual M. P. exposition conducted under the auspices of the Board of Trade. How the M. P. Exhibitors' League will take this Is a subject worthy of nmaiaeratlon. Other fields ia which the Board at Trade pro- I>c«es to be active are the sccuHng of better r3.ll- I'cad rotes, and the recasting of insurance and fixe laws governing films. The dues range from one dollar to tSOO, and the six classes of membership embrace manufacturers, supply dealers, publishers of trade papers, selling exchanges, exhibitors, and a miscellaneous class which win Include directors, acton), writers and employees in cvory^ranch of the business. The firms represented at the first meeting were: Metro Pictures (Arthur James), V. L>. a. E. (Wal- ter Irwin), Mutual Film Corporation (J. B. Freuler). Fox Flhn Corp. (Winnie W. Sheeban), World Film (L. 3. Selsnfck). Vitattraph (J. Stuart Blackton), Nicholas Pon'er Co., Bellg Co., Essanay Co.. Lutin and Morosco. "Sombrero Joe" (and you'll recognize him by his "head fanner") lends to the dance hall scene in the eighteenth chapter of "The Diamond from the Sky" nn nir of the real Wild West that no one else could do. In tbe action of the chapter there Is a typical Western dance hall, cowboys, dancing girls, miners, gamblers ond all the human retinue that follows in tbe train of mad night Hfe. Director W. D. Taylor, in order to place "at- ino<iphere" for tbe action and tbe work of the all- «tar cast of principals, brings forth "Sombrero Joe" to entertain the assembled invited and unin- vited guests, as is tbe Western custom. He does. And so will he entertain everyone who views this tremendous production. "Sombrero Joe" scats himself at a table near the comer of the scene, and -to the delight of all exhibits his skill In shooting down bottles, glasseo, signs, lights and about everything small enough to tempt his aim. The owner of the place, "Bad Pete." sees little humor In the exhibition ao costly to himself, and in the general inelee. In wh)ch all of the principals, Lottie Plckford, Irving Cum- DingB, William Rnssell, Charlotte Burton, Orral Humphrey and W. J. Tedmarsb. engage, the blg- hatted marksman Is -put to flight. It Is a wonderful piece of realism definitely Indicative of the regard to detail that character- izes eTei7 chapter of this sost remarkable photo- play. "I have Jupt had an experience which sbovra aoane of the great differences between dramatic art and screen art, and presents vividly the dlfllciilties of the latter as compared with those of the former.'' exclaimed UIss "Bfllle" West recently at the Re- liance studios. "Wo are making 'Merely Players,' yon know, a feature which will be flashed upon the screens of the country during th? latter part of September. In it. for a number of scenes, we appear as a compahy of very tad actors. "Now, a regular dramatic company, tn making these scenes, would lusve all the advantage that goea with grotesque exaggeration of voice and phas^. We playera of the film had nothing but our facial expressions tmd gestures and postures with which to convey the suggestion of bad acting, and we had not merely to act badly, but we had to conTes> to the screen audience that we. a com- pany of capable ecreen players, were acting de- liberately and for a purpose a company or bad actors- So you can see how dtfflcult our task was. "Perhaps that is one of the chief differences be- tween the screen art and the dramatic art. One's face must fully mirror all that Is within one's tnlnd. In the epeaUng theatres thlo, of course, wotild l>e an ideal, hnt It would not be so cnn- etantly necessary amce the apoicea work is always tn evlaeoce there." Eugenie Ferde, fh« <Bagar of "The Diamond From tbe Sky," will soon be seen again la the North lAmerlcaa's $20,000 fjizt photoplay. Tbe Intricacies of the plot demanded that Htss Forde is rendered mentally Irresponsible (In the ptctnie). i7 and the hard hearth author haa only remitted her recently to recover. That Miss Forde's work In the earlier chapters of this ffreat photoplay haa endeared her to the vast audiences throu^boat the countiT, Is evi- denced by the Inquiries Mug made as to when she will return in the story. In the role of Hagar, Misis Forde gave a dra- mstic strength to the picture and a character to the prnentatlon absolutely unlguc In photoplay productions. She was rraulred to run the com- plete gamut of human emotions, and to "get over" with over acting In depleting thr emotional cn the screen Is the supreme height to which one can aspire. Alias Forde accomplishes all she sets out to do In "Tbe Diamond From the Sky," and that ia considerable, for in the earlier stages of the story the drama is woven around the bereft Oypsy char- acter which she portrays. "The House of the Photoplayer" Is the title that Is tielng given tbe Vlnorla Theatre, of Roch- ester. N. Y. xhls Is due to the fact tbat Book- ing Manager John J. Farren has been making a feature of the personal appearance of the photo- play stars whenever It has been possible for him to obtain tbe servl<-es of one. To date be has played Francis X. Bushman (this was the atart of Bushman's popularity campaign several years ago). Florence Turner (last appearance In thin country), Crano Wilbur, JImmic llorrlson and Tom Power*. Vltacraph Edith Storey. Vltagraph Cmn- pany Earl W'ilUams Vltagreph Bill Ualley and a number of others. Manager Parren would be more tban pleased to hear from any photoplayer who would like to fill In a three days' sojourn in Roch- ester, and can guarantee him a plea.<iant engage- ment and the best of treatment. He gives as refer- ence any of the above pla>'er8. Manager Farren Is a meni<>er of the Screen Club and a "good fel'on," Rochester is a very nice city to spend a vacation, and If you have a few days open, you photo- players, it would be well to consider Manager Far- ren s proposition. Sam Bernard left New York for Mount (Semens, Sunday, to undergo a practical cour.ie of training for bis forthcoming season in Keystone comedies, for tfao Triangle Film Corporation. Tbo come- dian's delay In beginninic operatlona on the Coast is due to the fact that while a picture he had done for another company was being shown re- cently at the Strand Theatre, In New York, ht, dropped in while the Keystone ".\ Lover's Lost Control" was being fla.<:hpd on the screen. When he «aw' what he wonid he tip afntnst with the Sennett aggregation of fun makers and practical Jokers, he decided ot once on the health resort trip before putting himself In the bauds of the Edendale crowd. Rjaymond 'Illtcbcock. having hern Initiated and served his time, has returned to New York, but Weber and Fields are now soJourntD;; at Keystone, In pleasant anticipation of the ar- rival of tbeir fellow garblcr ot tbe Queen's E^ng- llHh. flBKmu, ILiVAneit Psier, of Hie Bqnltable Cor- poration, is endeavoring to procure a numl>er of Stewart Edward Whites books for adaptation to screen form, as Mr. Edexon prefers big, out-of-door themes. Edeson is a warm friend of Mr. White's, and portrays better than any other tnie of man tbe cMractera described by .\Ir. White In his virile stories of the North. "In Back of Beyotid," T>U. White's most recent fictional document appeals strongly to Mr. Ede- Bon, and the Equitable peop'e are mailing every effort to procure the picture rights to it, D.tVTT> W- fJnirFlTn Is very bner indeed with tkls trraMnidous productions at the Cirlffltb studios, and new buildings are being erected all the time. DorcLAS Fairoanks likes film work Immensely, and Is appearing In another feature before hurry- ing F.tM. He Is a favorite at tbe studio, and has no "side" to hurt him. DANIEL FROHBSAN PRESENTS The Star Who Intmdnced a New Penonoilty to the Screen MARIE DORO In a Fanclfnl Romance of the Orient the White Pearl " By EDITH BERNARD SELABO In F1y» Parts Bele»sed Sept. SOtb Produced by the PAHODS PL&YEBS Fill CO. ADOLPH ZDEOR, Pres. DANIEL FROEUIAN, Uansglng Director EDWIN S. FORTEB, Tr«M. * Oen. Mgr. ExecntlTe Offices: ziB-229 w. 2ath su.N.Y. f.«n«iii»n distributors, Famoas Flayen FUm ttervtcc, Ltd. CALOABT-H9NTBEAL-TORONTO