Exhibitors Herald (Jun-Dec 1917)

What They Want From Santa— g William Fox — More classics to perpetuate in celluloid. 4» 4f 4? Carl Laemmle — A new Shakespeare for his scenario department. •{••{• 4? Adolph Zukor — The whole darn fil-lum business. ♦ ♦ ♦ Lee A. Ochs — The scalps of "them babies." 4? 4? *fr Richard A. Rowland — More war-tinted films with the punch of "Draft 258." ♦ ♦ ♦ Samuel Goldfish — A few more Selwyn stage hits for Goldwyn stars. 4. 4. 4. George Kleine — Another "Quo Vadis." 4? •b 4r Frederick L. Collins — More delightful "Mother" stories. 4. 4. 4. John R. Freuler — A Great Dipper of shining stars for the Mutual Exhibitor. 4. 4. 4. J. A. Berst — Somebody who can write sub-titles. 4. 4. 4. H. E. Aitken — Chains for some of the Triangle vehicles that are skidding badly. 4. 4. 4. Edgar Lewis — Another check for $110,000 for another "Bar Sinister." 4. 4, 4, Geraldine Farrar — A screen spectacle with a story. 4. 4. 4, Terry Ramsaye — A stocking-full of fifteen cent pieces. 4. 4, 4, S. L. Rothapfel — A paper with his pic. and endorsement on every page. 4. 4, 4. Charles C. Pettijohn— 10,000 members for the A. E. A. 4, 4, 4. Robert H. Cochrane — Court-martial for the companies that "absorb the tax." 4. 4. 4, Bert Ennis — A typewriter apparatus that will enable him to write four stories at one time for four different companies. 4, 4, 4. Mary Pickford — A twelve cylinder vehicle to replace her baby go-cart roles. 4, 4. 4. Albert E. Smith — Some new star material for "Vitagraph's Cradle.' ♦ • ♦ ♦ William A. Brady — Twenty-six hours to each day. 4, 4, 4, Walter W. Irwin — A trip to Russia. 4. 4. 4. Lewis J. Selznick— A few more stars of just the same calibre to add to his "Select Few." 41 4 4* F. B. Warren — Nothing to do but give that, well-known literary touch to Goldwyn ads. 4, 4. 4. Winfield R. Sheehan — An exhibitor who is willing to pay a fair price for Fox service. 4. 4. 4. George -K. Spoor — A few more just like Taylor Holmes. TODAY IN PICTURES (Continued from preceding page) words, ever since the photoplay began to be an art, there have been stars. There will be stars as long as the photoplay exists. In the terms in which I define the word, there is no starless photoplay which has met important success — since, as I reiterate, the photoplay became an art product. The public mind has made all of these stars and no manipulation by producers and picture distributors can affect the condition in the least. A Star in Every Film I see somebody in the back of the house rising to demand the name of the star in "Intolerance." And I reply, "David Wark Griffith." And another gentleman defiantly asks, "Who was the star in 'The Barrier' and 'The Spoilers'?" And I reply, "Rex Beach." Again, somebody suggests Keystone comedies, with a question, and he is as easily answered with the name of Mack Sennett. If we would look into the "life expectancy" of stars and the star system let us take the insurance companies' method of canvassing the life history of the "risk." Three years ago Charles Chaplain was a knockabout character comedian getting a lot of fresh air and about $40 a week. A little earlier perhaps there was a curly haired girl who made a good many friends in the pictures and presently the public wanted to know and learned she was Mary Pickford. Mary Miles Minter, another pretty child of the confectionery type, was a stage child with considerably more beauty than fame. Public Makes the Stars When all these people started to work they were just appearing in pictures. With the exception of Miss Minter these people started when a thousand feet of anything was a picture. Their success with the public made them stars. No producer ever made a star on purpose. A producer once in a long time thinks to create a star and then cash quick before the price goes up, but the experiment fails fifty times where it succeeds once, but the experiment fails fifty times where a poor way to try to make money. It is too much like prospecting for gold, the strikes are too far apart. The public only can make new stars. Quite apart from the certainty that the public creates and will maintain the star in the star position, there are other forces working in the same direction by which the producer quite automatically is forced to support the star system. A real star costs a great deal of money. Capital is careful, or as nearly careful as it can be. Hence, the high-priced star is given every support possible to insure that the big salary investments will pay dividends. The big star gets the big story, the most skilled director and the utmost in studio facilities. So quite apart from the star himself, the fact of the star's presence at the top of the cast has come to mean to the public the best picture, the finest settings, most perfect direction, and all of that. The star will not and can not be eliminated. Any attempt to eliminate the star will be followed by a loss of capital. It has been rav pleasure to pay the highest star salary in the history of the amusement business, being a matter of $670,000 for one year of the services of Mr. Charles Chaplin, an exemplar of stardom, and the only actor who does not need a cast. And out of that supreme trial of the star system I can insist that it pays. There are limitations but they are set only by the public, and the star principle stands unimpaired. ESSANAY COMPLETES FARCE -COMEDY Essanay has completed the fourth of the series of slapstick comedies being produced by Director Arthur Hotaling and work on the fifth is now under way. Each picture is a fifteen-minute subject and carries a farce theme along with the fun and action. Amedee Rastrelli, the French comedian on leave of absence from the trenches, and Arthur Higson, an English contortionist-comedian, are being featured in the productions. E XHIBITORS-HER A L D ] Metro to Make "Weaver of Dreams" Admirers of the stories of Myrtle Reed will be interested to hear that her novel, "A Weaver of Dreams," has been acquired by Metro Pictures Corporation for the use of Viola Dana. Work on the production has already been commenced at the firm's West Coast studio. EDITH STORY IN "REVENGE" Production has been begun at Metro's West Coast studio in Hollywood, Cal., on "Revenge," the next starring vehicle of Edith Storey. It is a picturization of the novel, "Hearts Steadfast," by Edward Moffatt. 28