Motion Picture Classic (1923, 1924, 1926)

Blunders Immortal Screen Mistakes graph also erred in releasing several of its best players, rather than raise their salaries. Other Company Mistakes "The other famous film concerns of bygone days, Edison, Lubin, ' Essanaj . Selig, Kalem, etc., all fell by the wayside thru the mistake of adhering to ancient policy, instead of keeping abreast of changing conditions. Generally speaking, film concerns rise or fall upon the strength or weakness of the personalities in their organization. Producers must know just what stars and directors to hold onto, and just which ones to release. This requires both analytical powers and foresight, two qualities which are noticeably lacking in most production outfits. Conversely, stars and players, rise or fall thru their ability to perceive what companies to remain with and what companies to abandon, when a contract terminates. Many players have made the fatal mistake of quitting a company or producer merely because a little "more money was in immediate sight, when they would have profited more in the long run by remaining with the outfit that could have carried them to greater success. Ray's Famous Blunder Charles Ray's quitting of Thomas Ince is marked down in film history as one of the greatest blunders ever made by a star. At the very height of his career, Ray deserted the Ince guiding hand to shift for himself. In spite of his tremendous popularity and talent which amounted almost to genius, Ray was never able to make a go of it on his own hook. One or two of his independent efforts were successful, but slowly and surely he slipped farther and farther down the ladder, until finally he was forced to return to the Ince banner. Misfortune continued to dog his footsteps however ; Thomas Ince died, and his company also passed out of existence. Ray is now trying to stage a comeback with M-G-M. Dorothy Dalton was another noted star who tried to leave Ince's guiding hand, and failed. Dorothy maintained her popularity for a short time after leaving Ince, due to the prestige she had gained while working under the Ince banner, but a year or two later she passed off the screen entirely. The Case of Mae Marsh Ceveral players made the blunder of leaving D. \V. Griffith. Mae Marsh is the most noted case. Under Griffith's direction Mae Carsey Nazimova blundered into the idea that she was not only a great actress but a great producer, director and business woman combined Spurr Many are of the opinion that the greatest blunder in recent years was Cecil B. De Mille's cutting loose from Paramount — in taking so much responsibility upon his own shoulders Marsh gave performances that were rated among the finest in the annals of the silent drama. Away from his megaphone her portrayals were but mediocre. There were many who predicted that Lillian Gish would rapidly decline after leaving "'D. W." While Lillian by no means has done as fine work in the past two years as with Griffith, nevertheless, she has succeeded in holding her popularity to a great extent. It will take one or two more films to ascertain definitely whether Lillian has blundered or not. Richard Barthelmess, another Griffith protege, is one of those who set out for himself and made (Continued on page 79) Charlie Ray's quitting of Thomas Ince is marked down in film history as one of the greatest blunders ever made by a star 17