Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1919)

EXHIBITORS HERALD destinies and the stately Kathleen Kirkham is to have a leading role. Other details are not yet forthcoming. * * * Admirers of William Stowell, the Universal leading man who was killed in a railroad wreck in South Africa, are raising a fund to bring his body back to America for interment. * * * A special production due for release this month of which much is expected is "The Amazing Woman." It was produced by Lloyd Carleton from a story by Rupert Julian, author of the big box office winner "The Beast of Berlin" and it has for its star the leading lady of Julian's big success, Ruth Clifford. "The Amazing Woman" is said to be strong in its feminine appeal. It is a melodrama. * * * For the picture rights to "The Woman in Room 13" which Frank Lloyd is translating into films, the Goldwyn company is said to have paid A. H. Woods, owner of that highly successful play, the sum of $35,000. Lloyd has been instructed to make an elaborate special out of it. Pauline Frederick is the star of the picture. * * * Irene Rich, Goldwyn leading lady, goes with George Beban and Helen Eddy for one picture. Miss Rich has been playing opposite Will Rogers in the star's latest series of pictures, and in Eminent Authors' all star versions of famous novels. In Basil King's "The Street Called Straight," Irene Rich, Milton Slls, Naomi Childers, Lawson Butt and other well known players appear in the leading roles. * * * Allen Watt, formerly a captain in the U. S. Army and lately returned from overseas, has been added to the producing forces of the Christie Film Company in the capacity of assistant director. Before joining the army Watt was with Henry McRae at Universal. * * * Molly Malone, the latest acquisition to Supreme Comedies, which are being released through Robertson-Cole, has started work in her first comedy. * * * The Christie Film Company has secured Frederick Sullivan, well known moving picture director and stage manager as one of the new directors who will guide the destinies of the Christie Comedies, according to Al E. Christie, who is now supervising the production of all Christie onereel comedies and specials in two reels. Six hundred extras were used one day this week to visualize a scene in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1850, for Jack Pickford's picture "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come." The set for this was built at a cost of ten thousand dollars. Wallace Worsley is directing. * * * Lillian Rambeau, mother of the illustrious Marjorie, is playing grand dame parts with the Edith Storey Company at the old Griffith studio in Hollywood. Mar-, jorie Rambeau, by day, is playing the star role in a new production by Capallani and by night leading at the Eltinge Theatre (N. Y.), in the spoken drama "The Fortune Teller." Her present stage vehicle is "The Unknown Woman." Tom Mix and H. H. Van Loan, who is writing a series of stories for the Fox star, spent three days together at Catalina Island off the southern California coast, last week. * * * The Goldwyn studio band gave its first concert recently at Culver City. There were thirty-five pieces in the band. It was directed in turn by Victor L. Schertzinger, director, and Bert Crossland, studio musician and band director. * * * Horace Williams, who was Metro's casting director for a year and a half, has resumed that position. Mr. Williams has been affiliated for ten months with the service bureau of the Motion Picture Producers' Association. Jans Pictures, Inc. to Produce And Market Twelve Features a Year H. F. Jans, president of Jans Pictures, Inc., announces that plans have just been completed whereby he and his associates will produce and market twelve pictures annually, one to be published each month, The company has been working out the details of the plan for some time and considerable time and money has been expended to have them perfect in every detail before actual work began. Several stories by well known authors have been purchased — big stories, it is said, with plenty of thrills and dramatic punch— that should prove real box office attractions. While directors, as well as featured players, have already been signed, Jans Pictures will not announce who these are until plans for an extensive advertising campaign have been completed. An Old Exchangeman Before undertaking the formation of his company Mr. Jans had been approached by many exhibitors who urged him to enter the production field and it was largely because of this and the realization that the demand for the right sort of pictures was so great that induced him to formulate plans to supply this demand. In commenting on his plans Mr. Jans said: "As I control the Metro franchise for the state of New Jersey and have been intimately connected with the exchange business for some years I fully realize that there is a very big field for the out-of-the-ordinary feature. And when I say out of the ordinary I mean just that, not the old familiar stuff that has been done to death but pictures that are different, that will interest the public from a new angle and present opportunities for exploitation for the exhibitor that he has not had heretofore. Jans Pictures, Inc., will make such pictures for we have the material to do so. Wre have bought the proper kind of stories and we have contracted with directors that know how to produce them. In addition to this the star that we will present can be depended upon to bring business to the box office and please the public. Has Right Material "Before making any announcement about our company we first made sure that we were on the right track, that we had the right stories and the right people; now that we are assured of this we are ready to go ahead and will, within a short time, announce the titles of our first productions as well as the directors, players, etc." Jans Pictures, Inc., is negotiating with a number of foreign buyers to handle the foreign rights to all of their productions. This will insure a wide distribution. The Jans features will, under this plan, be shown all over the world. How the Jans pictures will be distributed and also other details of Jans Pictures, Inc., will be announced during the next two weeks. Three scenes from "The Fear Market," starring Alice Brady. (Realart Pictures Corporation). 154