Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1917 - Jun 1918)

Wm. A. Brady Stages Spectacular Fight Between Aircraft Visitors along the boardwalk at Atlantic City last week were treated to the spectacle of a fight between a Zeppelin and an aeroplane half a mile off shore. Both aircraft were the property of William A. Brady, who is producing "Stolen Orders" and has a picture plant below Atlantic City. While they were banging away at each other with machine guns at a height of 100 feet, Grace Hoffman launched herself gracefully from the aeroplane into the bay. Her lofty dive was registered by a photographer in a second aeroplane, piloted by Beryl Kendrick, of the Aviation Reserve. Miss Hoffman lives in New Rochelle and is a daring swimmer. She was pulled out of the water by a boat crew of the U. S. Coast Guard. Mr. Brady's Zeppelin, built as closely as possible on German lines, is 150 feet long and 30 feet high. It carried seven men. For the past several weeks Atlantic City had been in a state of excitement. Rumors of unusual happenings at the Longport end of the island, of a gigantic balloon securely anchored in an immense hangar somewhere on the deserted dunes, and of a sudden flight to sea, were rife. Visitors who ventured to the end of Longport found it fenced off and a guard on hand to enforce the frequent "No Admittance" signs. All they could see was a building, 150 feet long and 60 feet high. Inside that hangar was a balloon, probably the largest in America. 150 feet long and 30 feet high, and into which at that time was being forced 25,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas necessary to fill it. "Stolen Orders" will have in its cast Kitty Gordon, Carlyle Blackwell, Montagu Love, June Elvidge, Madge Evans and George McQuarrie. It will be the first of Mr. Brady's big spectacular feature productions recently announced. "Sealed Orders," when produced at Drury Lane and later here at the Manhattan Opera House, was replete with action and possessed unusual pictorial values and the screen version promises many unique and highly interesting features. Mr. Brady has been at Atlantic City supervising the production of "Stolen Orders" and giving to its every detail his personal attention. With him have been Harley Knoles. Montagu Love and June Elvidge. Leading Man Signed For Doris Kenyon Play Doris Kenyon's leading man in "The Street of Seven Stars." the Mary Roberts Rinehart story, which will be the initial offering of De Luxe Pictures, Inc., will be Hugh Thompson. Mr. Thompson signed a contract last week to appear in Miss Kenyon's company. He is now working as leading man in a picture in which Virginia Pearson is the star, his other most recent screen appearances having been as leading man with Theda Bara in two of her most successful pictures, with Annette Kcllerman. Edna Goodrich, and others. Peggy Hyland's First For William Fox Is "The Debt of Honor" The William Fox Special Feature for the week of March 10th is "The Debt of Honor," the first production Peggy Hyland has made for Fox. The spy element enters strongly into this picture. Supporting Miss Hyland are Irving Cummings, Frank Goldsmith, Hazel Adams and Eric Mayne. The story is by Eve Unsell, the direction by O. A. C. Lund and the photography by Joe Ruttenberg. Many of the scenes in "The Debt of Honor" were taken at New Orleans. "I am sure that exhibitors will welcome Peggy Hyland to the list of our stars," says an announcement from the Fox offices. "She has been on the stage in England and began her motion picture career there. She made so big a hit that an American producer sent for her to do some particularly special film ,vork here. She got a big welcome on this side of the water. Mr. Fox watched her for a long time and was so well pleased with her that he signed her as soon as her old contract was up." Pathe News Weekly Shows Moroccoans in Rush to Join French In the Hearst-Pathe News No. 16, issued Feb. 20, are some striking scenes dealing with a country and incidents which are very rafely seen in this country. They depict the rush of the natives of Morocco to join the French army. The great picturesqueness of the scenery, the unusual costumes, the life and the action of these scenes make them of a kind to be remembered. Their importance may be judged from the fact that some 225 feet of the issue is devoted to them. The previous number of the HearstPathe News showed American soldiers in France wearing for the first time gas masks and undergoing training from French officers as to their use. These scenes are all the more interesting since recent newspaper dispatches refer to German gas attacks upon the sector held by the Americans. No. 15 also showed the review of an entire division of the National army at Camp Gordon in the South. This is perhaps the first time that such a large number of soldiers of the new army have been caught by the camera in review. The "shots" are excellent and most impressive, it is said. "Woman and the Law" Based on Recent Case "Woman and the Law," the new photoplay R. A. Walsh is making for William Fox, is said to contain many scenes that will enhance Mr. Walsh's reputation for staging thrilling, realistic productions. The story is based on a recent sensational case in which a wealthy and prominent young woman killed her husband and was acquitted after a trial, the proceedings of which crowded the war news off the first page of metropolitan newspapers for several days. Frank A. Keeney Co. Leases Pathe Plant To Produce Features Frank A. Keeney, head of the Frank A. Keeney Pictures Corporation, has leased the Pathe studio at 134th Street and Park Avenue, New York, one of the best equipped motion picture plants in this section of the country. Hereafter it will be known as the Keeney Studio. The lease was taken out in the name of the Frank A. Keeney Distributing Corporation. The studio was originally built for a dance hall and was later fitted up as a studio by Eugene Sanger, who used it for a time and then turned it over to the Pathe company. Recently the Edison company spent about $15,000 in installing a thoroughly modern lighting system. "A Romance of the Underworld," which is to be the first feature of the Frank A. Keeney Pictures Corporation, is being completed in the new studio. It will present an all-star cast, headed by Catherine Calvert, the widow of the late Paul Armstrong, author of the play front which the picture is taken. As soon as "A Romance of the Underworld" is complete the cast will begin the production of a new feature entitled "Marriage," by Guy Bolton, co-author of "Oh! Boy!" "Oh! Lady! Lady!!' and other stage successes. James Kirkwood will continue as the Keeney director. Film Agents Support Chinese Censors in Better Films Fight The faith of the Chinese in democratic institutions is freshly illustrated by the plan which has been adopted in Shanghai for the purpose of raising the average of quality of the motion pictures exhibited in the interior of China. A volunteer body similar in general character to the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures in this country reviews the pictures at Shanghai. In a letter from S. E. Hening, executive secretary of the review committee for China, the methods of this reviewing board are described in this fashion: "The Film Review Committee, composed of 70 representative Chinese and foreigners in Shanghai, has for the past two years undertaken this work (that of the naming for recommendation of suitable films to schools and other indi-' vidual film users through China) on a voluntary basis. The committee receives the hearty support of two leading film agents in Shanghai, and on four afternoons each week a group sits for two hours reviewing films. The committee stands for the showing of only the best films and earnestly hopes to be instrumental in raising the tone of films shown in China. In addition to the support being given by the film agents and the renters of films, the committee invites the moral support of the public. "While this committee has not undertaken to review films specifically for Shanghai, its recent adverse report_ regarding a certain well-known American picture showing the nude, was supported by action of the municipal government.' 46