Motion Picture News (Apr - Jun 1927)

]\I (1 V -' o . m; _v 1981 Studio Briefs The title riilc'iii ••'riic Clown," :i draiiin of circus litV wlii<*li is sclii'dulcd I'oi' early I ixluctiou by Coluiiihiu, will be placed by William V. M<)n<r. The i)ieture will mark Mr. .Mong's second appearance Tor C\dinnbi;i this season as lie also has one of the principal parts in "The I'i'ice of Honor,'' a March release trniii ( 'iiluniljia. (iariett Fort will write the screen \ i'r>ion of "The Crystal Cup," (lertrnde Atlierton's novel, wliieh is to lie ))roduced by First National under the supervision of Riiy Rockett. I'hc dii-cctor or ]>roducpr is now niakinir "Loiu'sonie Ladies" and has recently cotu|)leted "Framed," a new veiiicle for" Milton Sills. Charles F. Heisner, dii'ector of Syd Chaplin's recent lilms, has formally entered into a contract with Joseph M. Schenck to direct Buster Keaton's third feature comedy for United Artists, the story aiul title for which have not been selected. Keaton is now oomlctinf; "CoUegre," his second jucture for United Artists. Charles Edward Bull will play the role of Abraham Lincoln in the forthcoming Delores Costello vehicle, "The Heart of Maryland," which the Warner Brothers will produce. Lloyd Bacon i.s the director. Production on "Shanghai,." a picture of the sea and ships, was started this week under the direction of Kaljjh Ince at the r. B. 0. studio in Hollywood. The director and his staff spent several weeks of preparation on the production in which Ince will star as well as direct. The cast chosen to date include Patsy Ruth Miller, Walter Robbing, Tom Santschi, H. L. Jacobson and others. Ralph Graves, whose initial effort in the directorial field was "Rich Men's Sons" for Columbia, has been assigned by that company the direction on "The Kid Sister," which Harry Cohn, the Columbia vice-president in charge of production, plans to place into work at the company's studio on the West Coast ; Malcolm McGregor will have the male lead. Harry Langdon gave the signal this week which started the cameras grinding on the first scenes of his new story for l^rst National. The plot is laid in the slums of a large American city, and is said to be in many ways different from any of Langdon's previous lilms. So far no title has been determined upon for the picture, which, it is estimated, will take more than two months to make. Orville Caldwell vn\l enact the title role in "The Harvester," one of the late Gene Stratton Porter's novels which her son-inlaw, J. Leo Meehan, will place in production shortly at the F. B. 0. studio. Mr. Caldwell also interprets a role in "Judgment of the Hills.'' upon which Mr. Meehan is now working; when the director has finished his present assignment he will complete the casting for "The Harvester.'' Three more W'ai'ner productions were completed this week at tiie Warmer Bros. studio on the West Coast. 'I'he lirst to be finished was "Simi»le Sis," Louise Fazenda's comedy, which Herman Raymaker directed; the second was "Dearie," the featured player, Irene Rich, worked under the direction of Ar<diie Mayo. The last of the trio was "What lla|)])ened to Father," in which i> presented Waiiicr (Jlund in a uni(|U(' cliaracter part. l)a\id Uullei has siened a contract witli -Metropolitan to play opposite Marie Prevost in her ne.vt starring vehicle. The production, yet without an official title, will also have Harrison Ford in the male lead and E. Mason Hopper directing. Hal Koach, comedy producer for I'athe, is reinfoi'cing his comedy organization, his latest contractual aftiliation being with Henry Lehi-man, conu'dy constructor, who has been ]>Iaced in charge of the Roach story department, and Ijouise Gasnier, who will direct a series of two-reel Western comedies. Olga Printzlau, sceiuirist, has signed a contract with the De Mille organization, by the terms of which she will be associated with tliat studio for a lengthly period of years. Her latest work for the screen, "Hel|) Yourself to Hay," is scheduled for earlv lilinini; hv First National. Reed Heustis, journalist, has joined the Hal Roach story department as has Lige Conley, who will collaborate upon the construction of comedv stories. The "heavy" role in "His Dog," in which Josepli Schildkraut and Julia Faye are woiking for De Mille, will be portrayed bv Clareiu-e Burton. The dancing girl in "The Chinese Parrott," now being filmed by Director Paul Leni for Universal, will be interpreted by Anna ^lay Wong. The cast has also been augmented by tlu^ addition of Slim Summervillc and Dan Mason. Stuart Paton, directing sliort subjects for Universal, has been signed to direct a feature length production for that organization. eH is now completing the fourth of a series featuring the dog, Dynamite, with Edmund Cobb in the leading role. The picture is of five reels, and is called ' ' The Hound of Silver Creek." Johnny Downs, one of Pathe's "Our Gang," who has been plajing in "The Trail of '98," was welcomed back to the Pat he lot by his fellow "rascals." In a current Hal Roach comedy featuring the "Gang," he plays the magician and leader of a kid's circus. Anthony Mack and Charles Oelze are directing. Polly Moran is another screen actress to sign a long-term Metro-Goldwyn-Maycr contract. She will join "The Thirteenth Hour" company shortly and has also worked in two current M.-G.-M. productions, "The Trail of '98," and "The Callans and the Murphys." William Cidiill, for the past five months casting director for Universal, has resigned from that jmst in order to enjoy an exfended vacation before taking up independent duties, the details of which have not been made public. His successor at Universal City will be Victor Nordlingcr. (^wen liCe, of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company of players, will play one of the chief roles in "Liberty lV>nds, " which Monta I'clla will direct. Photography ha-s been completed on "Naughty But Nice," a First National Picture which stars Colleen Moore. Carey Wilson wrote the scenario. Millard Webb directed. Louise Lorraine has been given the feminine lead in "The P'rontiersuu-in," Tim .McCoy's ne.xt starring vehicle which is now in production at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. Reginald Barker is the director. !Monty Banks has assembled a strong supporting cast for his new Pathe feature comedy, "A Perfect Gentleman," which follows his current release, "Horse Shoes'' on the Pathe program. Ruth Dwyer has the leading feminine part and others in the cast will include Hazel Howell, Ernest Wood, Arthur Thalusso, Edgar Dearing, Agostino Borgato, Syd Crossley, Harry Darrows, Nicholas Caruso. Drew Demarest, former stage actor, has joined the cast of "The Callahans and the Murphys," the Kathleen Norris novel which Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is filming. Frank Currier, Pollya Moran and Eddie (Jribbon are in the cast which is headed by Sally O'Neil and Lawrence Gray. Patsy Ruth Miller has been engaged to appear in "LoiTaine of the Lions," a Norman Kerry vehicle which Universal will make. The actress has also been engaged to act with Glenn Tryen in "Patents Pending," which William Craft will direct. Frank Currier will remain under contract to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company, according to an announcement from Iiwing G. Thalberg. In point of service Currier is the oldest stock player at the M-G-M studio. He was the fii-st man signed by Metro at the time of its organization, and was retained for a time of the tri-interest merger. Felix Adler has returne Mack Sennett after an ab.and a half. Prior to 192') associated with Senjiett fo title writer and gagman, signed by Sennett to write the Pathe series of domestic "The Jimmy Smith" in wh Mary Ann -Jacison, Raymo Ruth lliatt. d to work for ;ence of a year ^fr. Adler was r five yeai-s as He has been and direct for comedies called ch are featured nd McKee and Humberstone Wright, English actor, will have one of the important parts in "The (Jarden of Allah," which is being produced by Rex Ingram with Alice Terry and Ivan Petrovich in the leading roles. Some of his latest work on the stage was in Barrymore 's production in London of "Hamlet."