Motion Picture Magazine (Feb-Jul 1922)

A Great Art By FLORENCE DESHON Illustrations by Olive Butler Editor's Note. — We are glad to offer the article below which is from the pen of Florence Deshon, whom most of us know thru her screen portrayals. In this satire, Miss Deshon proves her ability as a writer as zvell a>s an actress. MR. E. D. ESS was feeling very pleased with the world as he sat in his office of The Enormous Picture Co. He put his feet on his desk and lit a big black cigar with a glittering band on it. That evening all the papers would carry a notice of his latest exploit. He had spent five hundred thousand dollars in exactly three minutes, and he knew that was a record — in fact, the record up to date. He was indeed pleased with himself, otherwise he would not have received the mysterious stranger who pushed his way unannounced into his private sanctum. "What do you want?" he growled. Dont misunderstand ; he didn't feel angry. But after you have made a million dollars, you always growl. That is the language of the very quickly rich and Mr. E. D. Ess belonged to that class. It was after all quite a good-natured growl. "I want to see you, and nobody else but you — that's why I fought my way thru those fifteen barred doors," said the stranger, and indeed he looked as tho he had been in' a fight. His collar was torn off, his coat badly mussed, and his hair a bit pulled — which will lead my reader to guess he had tussled with some of the dear unfair sex, but such was not the case. It was just his own sex that had so unkindly treated him, altho he looked like such a nice fellow - behind his big horn-rim glasses. j "I've written a scenario; it's my first; but I want to learn to write for the screen, and inall your articles I notice you clamor for original stories, so I thought I would bring one straight to you and we could talk it over." He said this very quickly. Ordinarily a trap door would have opened beneath our audacious friend, and he would "I want to see you, and nobody else but you — that's why I fought my way thru those fifteen barred doors," said the stranger. And indeed he looked as tho he had been in a fight. His collar was torn off, his coat badly mussed, and his hair a bit pulled have disappeared below, never to be heard from again. But you remember Mr. E. D. Ess was in a very pleasant mood, and really he liked the young fellow's nerve, and the evidences of his athletic ability. "Hand it here, young fellow, I'll give it the once over," •he said. A very large manuscript was promptly laid before him. "I'd like you to begin with the first scene," said the young man, and he hurriedly turned over the pages to scene one. Mr. E. D. Ess read for exactly thirty seconds. Then he shook his head. "Nope. Wont do." "Really? How can you tell so quickly?" "As a busy producer I have the knack of making quick judgments. Just to show you, we'll take the very first scene. Girl refuses to go to church with parents. Father tries to compel her. In the end he strikes her for her disobedience. This is the last straw. She is twenty-one years old and wants to live her own life, so she quietly packs up that night when her parents are asleep and leaves for the city. "That's terrible ! Terrible ! No action, no suspense, nothing! And I'll tell you another thing. See that ma]) over there?" The young man turned and saw a map of the United States in two colors, pink and white, mostly pink. "See those pink states, well, in every one of those places, if a girl refuses to go to church, it's out. Understand? They just cut it out. 7>-s It's against their Board of Censorship." \ The young man looked thoughtful. "Really • sorry," he said. "I just now. Well, I'm