Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

84 EXHIBITORS HERALD December 27, 1924 CHRISTMAS HOLIDA Y .... finds West Coast studios unusually active on eighty-one productions ... of this numher twenty-nine are laugh-makers and fifty-two are of a more serious nature By HARRY HAMMOND BEALL West Coast Hollywood, December 16. — If the list of motion picture productions now under way in the film capital and its environs may be taken as a criterion of the correct proportion between laughs and serious drama necessary to film entertainment, the ratio stands twenty-nine to fifty-two. A careful survey of the field discloses the fact that of the eighty-one productions active at this writing, twenty-nine fall into the strict category of laugh-makers, and fifty-two are of the more serious type, although this does not mean that the fifty-one have a serious side only— there will be laugh-provoking moments in those as well. There promises to be no special lull in the film making shops for the holidays, practically every studio having plans to continue shooting so that schedules do not fall behind. In the twenty studios here, an average for each would be approximately four companies working, yet Fox, for example, has thirteen companies actually shooting, of which six are comedy productions and seven serious drama. Tom Mix has nearly finished “Riders of the Purple Sage,” under the direction of Lynn Reynolds, and Buck Jones is well along with “The Trail Rider,” for which Edward Van Dyke is handling the megaphone. Jack Conway is directing “The Hunted Woman,” with an all-star cast, and George Marshall has another all-star aggregation making “The Bull Fighter.” Chester Bennett is directing Edmund Lowe in “Champion of Lost Trousers,” with Alan Hale, who just doffed grease paint for the megaphone wielders’ clan, making his initial effort at directing with “The Scarlet Honeymoon,” in which Shirley Mason heads the cast. Jack Ford is making a racing picture, “Kings of the Turf,” with an all-star cast; Roy Del Ruth is piloting Kala a two-reel comedy, and A1 Herman, Slim Summerville, Benny StolofF, A1 Campbell and Clyde Carruth are each making comedies under the supervision of Henry Lehrmann. * * Fewer units are active on the Lasky lot than usually are found — the number Louis M. SagaR national treasurer of the M. P. T, O. /4,, Dorothea SagaL his daughter and Glenn Harper, Secretarytreasurer, M. P. T. O, So. California. Sagal was signally honored and entertained by studios folks and exhibitors during his IT est Coast l isit. (Photo by //. E. N.) BEN WILSON STUDIO, 5821 Santa Monica boulevard. Del Henderson directing Farnum and Holmes in episodes of a serial. Ben Wilson directing Yakima Canutt in an untitled Western. CALIFORNIA STUDIO, 1438 Gower street. Bertram Braken directing Naldo Morelli in "The Son of Cain.” CENTURY COMEDIES, 6100 Sunset. Charles Lament directing Darlington and Late in comedy. Jack Robbins directing Eddie Gordon in a two-reeler. Edward 1. Luddy directing Wanda Wiley in comedy. A1 Herman directing Carr and Engle in comedy. CHAPLIN STUDIO, 1416 LaBrea avenue. Charles Chaplin directing himself in his United Artists’ comedy based on the Klondike gold rush. CHRISTIE COMEDIES, 6101 Sunset. BOBBY VERNON PRODUCTIONS: Harold Beaudine is just finishing a two-reel comedy featuring Bobby Vernon. CHRISTIE COMEDY PRODUCTIONS: Archie Mayo is directing Neal Burns in a two-reel comedy. Gil Pratt is directing Jimmy Adams in a tworeel comedy. CHRISTIE SPECIAL PRODUCTIONS: Scott Sidney is putting the finishing touches on ‘‘Charley’s Aunt,” with Sidney Chaplin in the feature role. F. B. O. STUDIOS, Melrose and Gower. Earl Kenton is directing George O’Hara and Alberta Vaughan in the “Go-Getter” series. Harry Garson is directing Lefty Flynn in “Breed of the Border.” Lloyd Ingraham is directing Evelyn Brent in “Midnight Molly.” Emory Johnson is directing an all-star cast in an untitled feature. Louis Gasnier is directing an all star cast with Mae Busch in “The Triflers.” James Hogan is putting the finishing touches {Continued on page 114) 4 group of California exhibitors, caught by H. E. hl.'s camera as they turned out to greet Sagal. Left to right are Joe Seymour, Paul Swiekard, Ben Berinstein, Mr. Sagal, Glenn Harper, J. S. Lustig, R. F. Krieg and W . W. Whitson. ft. E. Pi. says he nipped a plot to make a lot of people laugh when he broke in on this Fox comedy company. You see, left to right, George Meehan, cameraman t Kalla Pasha, Harry Lorraine, Phyllis Allen and Director W, S. Campbell. at present being five and no others scheduled to start until about the first of the year. Several big productions have just irised out of the shooting stage and gone to the cutting and editing departments, Herbert Brenon’s “Peter Pan,” being one that is in that stage and which promises to be issued during the holiday season, in conformation