Moving Picture World (May - Jun 1918)

June 8, 1^18 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1 111 a> a tourist, as the guesl ol Mr. Corinaldi, who took me in and around the historical i > Ul citj and the new, below the superficial. I also had the pleasure ol dining with Arthur \Y. Concklin », w 1 1 1 1 whom 1 had corresponded in Los Angeles on film topics), an executive in the big administration building, who explained the working of the giant waterway, and .showed me through the building housing the models, working plans, miniatures, and maps of the canal. Mi". Concklin is in his leisure hours a writer and scenariost of some note and is tapping out modern American comedies ami dramas while helping to run the United States' business in t lie Zone. America has improved the country in the vicinity of the big ditch. Balboa is a small modern city in itself, run by the government, and is healthier than most cities in the States. The houses art set off the ground. There is not a trace of rubbish; no alleys, no fly-breeding garbage cans, no hidden vacant lots with trash overflowing, but a clean-as-a-whistle town with robust men and women and sturdy children. The government employes make good money, and eat well, at wholesale prices, even though old H.-C-L is abroad in the land. The municipal cafeterias arc wonders when it comes to cooking, quality and conservation of the contents of the wallet. Government Conducts Picture House. "It the Canal employe," says Mr. Concklin, "wishes to take a bus or a carriage to town he goes and sees a picture, but if he is tired and wants to see one just around the hill, the Ancon theater, run by the government, shows pictures one day later than the downtown houses." He went on to explain about pictures and their future in the southland. "It has been a puzzle to me why American distributors do not go after this South American business more than they have," he remarked. "All the central and southern people crave the photoplay, and it remains for the States man to come and get the money. Since the war started, foreign pictures have been replaced here by American-made films, and the people like them much more. What the photoplay fans of the torrid zone want are real live pictures of life; the romantic west and its picturesque characters — especially the women." And he concluded with, "You can say that I am always a faithful devotee of the World, and when you get to New York give my regards to those who are supplying the real news of the industry. There is one scribbler down south who appreciates the only real picture journal — I would be utterly lost without the Moving Picture World." I hope this little traveltalk will get by the Navy censor without much amputation. The trip was made some time ago, but the picture information is timely. I have since gathered some material from Key West, the coral island city that came back to life with the war, where two picture houses are running all the time with the good old S. R. 0. sign nailed permanently to the lobby and lighted with the electrics. The Sailorman's Angle of "Home Fires." One admonition to you at home : Keep the home fires out (to save coal) as much as you can; buy Liberty Bonds — till it hurts ; save food, wish and pray, and the good old Stars and Stripes will float from a housetop in Berlin some of these days. I wish it ! Keeney Will Continue Making Pictures Corporation Denies It Is Going Out of Producing Business, as Intimated by New Publication. AN article recently printed on May 22 in a daily publication conveys the erroneous impression that the Frank A. Keeney Pictures Corporation has gone out of the producing business. The facts are that a three months' lease was taken on the Pathe Studio at Park avenue and 134th street by the Frank A. Keeney Pictures Corporation for the purpose of producing two pictures, "Marriage" and a picture tentatively entitled "Out of the Night," according to a formal statement by the company. Both pictures have been completed, except for the cutting and titling, and Mr. Keeney has given up the studio, in accordance with his original intention. He had previously used the Biograph Studios under the short-term lease for the production of "A Romance of the Underworld." All three pictures star Catherine Calvert, who is under a long-term contract with the corporation. The work of production is to be resumed after the first of the Keeney pictures is placed on the market. Essanay Announces Real Novelty Muggsy, Mi.m and Mike Will Perform in Half-Length Reels as Movie Marionettes. ESSANAY has nc.uU completed a il ten picl which it claims are the most uniqui produced. liie chief characters are Muggsy, Mose and alike, movie marionettes, although in some of the pictures human characters take minor parts. These dolls are fourteen imhes high and act before the camera just as human beings act. They run the gamut ol facial expressions, depicting grief, joy, anger, terror, jealousy, hate, love or any other emotion. They move on the screen as human beings, walking, running, etc. They have been so perfected thai there is scarce Muggsy, Mose and Mike, Three Chief Actors in Essanay's Marionette Pictures. ly any perceptible hesitancy in their movements. Each film carries a distinct plot just as any picture in which real players enact their roles. The making of these pictures has entailed months of work on the part of Directors Howard S. Moss and Charles B. Bennes. Frequently it is necessary for the men manipulating the dolls to hold one position for hours at a time, to time the action perfectly so that there be no jerkiness in the movements of the marionettes. The making of the many dolls to get the various facial expressions also entails long, tedious work. This is the first Muggsy in a scene from Essanay's Marionette Picture*. time in doll pictures in which the dolls were able to show a change of countenance. Among the first releases will be "Cracked Ice," "Ups and Downs," "All Balled Up," "Drafted," "Angel's Food" and "Their Jonah Day." The pictures run five hundred feet each. Their release dates will be announced shortly. HOTALING DIRECTOR IN L-KO COMPANY. Arthur Hotaling, who has been directing the Lyons-Moran comedies, has been assigned as a director to the L-KO Company. BERNARD McCONVILLE WITH UNIVERSAL. Bernard McConville, well known screen author, has been added to the staff of scenario writers at the Bluebird studios and is now preparing the working script from "Turn About Eleanor," Ethel M. Kelley's novel, which is to be used by Bluebird as Ella Hall's next photoplay.