The theatre of science; a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry (1914)

of^cicnce 129 ceiving was this novel introduction that more than one of the spectators thought that the players were present in the flesh. As a fact, this was true in that nearly all of the ladies and gentlemen were seated throughout the auditorium imparting to the eventful occasion just the sort of glamour that would have attracted half of Greater New York to the playhouse had this feature been advertised in advance ; but there were present, too, not a few persons who did not hesitate to deplore the personal presence of so many screen favorites, claiming that it was calculated to destroy the illusion, that it would tend to impress the photoplay patron with the idea that, after all, his idols were much like ordinary mortals — in fact, merely human. At the premier of "The Christian" at the majestic Manhattan Opera House, the principals in the cast were conspicuously on view in the boxes, and the spectacle of John Storm, holding a reception first in one box and then in another just before his great scene with Glory Quayle, when, while mentally unbalanced, Storm is revealed as a brute in minister's garb, the majority'of the audience was intensely interested, many apparently not comprehending the meaning of so unusual a sight. The closest scrutiny on the part of the writer failed to discover the presence of Harry Northrup, whose portrayal of Lord Robert Urie, in "The Christian," was surely very artistic. For once, the role of a villain was enacted for the benefit of the ensemble. Northrup emphasized the repulsive side of the character with little need of subtitles or inserts. Here was a demonstration of silent acting worth going far to witness. The shrug cf a shoulder, the consummately ar