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

0 f ^ c i e n c c 217 was privileged to visit the European centres. It was in such of these as Paris, Turin and Copenhagen that he first discovered the possibiUties for himself in the new art, and he studied the subject matter on the screen — visited the studios and finally disposed of his vaudeville holdings and came to America, where he quickly was engaged by the Selig Company, but it v/as with the American Company that he achieved renown. In one year Johnston produced 75,000 feet of film, himself preparing the scenarios for one-third of the total. In a talk with the writer, Johnston expressed himself thusly: "Not all of my productions were good — how could they be? The one desire of the manufacturer is Speed speed, — footage, footage. This does not make for great pictures." But when I recall such productions as "The Cricket on the Hearth," "Destiny Fulfilled," "The Adventures of Jacques" and "The Rose of the Traumerei," I feel certain that Johnston, who is now the manager and director of the Santa Barbara Company, is due to vastly extend his influence. No one who saw his reproduction of Leonardo di Vinci's painting, "The Last Supper," will question his artistic capacity. It is only fair to Mr. Hutchinson, the American's progressive president, to state that there has been no perceptible indication of retrogression since the departure of Mr. Johnston. Sydney Ayres, who succeeded Warren Kerrigan in the "leads" in this company, has now succeeded Johnston as chief director, though he will not absolutely retire from screen acting, and as Mr. Ayres is of that type so ably represented by Messrs. Kerrigan and Blackwell, both of -whom developed equal ability as directors, there is