Motion Picture Mail (October 28, 1916)

October 28, 1916. MOTION PICTURE MAIL. Page 19. “America’s Sweetheart” MARY PICKFORD IN “Less Than the Dust” Will Positively Prove the Banner Box Office Attraction of the Year. This First Superior Production Made by Her Own Company Will Be Shown in 80 Leading Theatres on November 6—If You Have Not Booked It, Watch Ycur Patrons Go to Your Competitor’s Theatre. PRESENTED BY Artcraft Pictures Corporation 729 Seventh Avenue, New York. UNPROTECTED then and barked his orders to her and the youth and she had not seen Gor- don since. The sudden shock of the few min- utes before had numbed Barbara’s brain so that she did not realize fully what dread event had happened. .Still kneeling by the corpse, she thought of Gordon—Gordon. Where was lie now? Would she ever see him again ? And when the police, summoned by a terrified housekeeper, opened the door ol that room an hour later she seemed not to understand the ques- tions they hurled at her. Shu would only speak to put another question, which no one answered, which she asked of the walls of her cell, through all the long night. "Gordon! Gordon! Where is he now?" II. T OSHUA CRAIG, boss of Craig’s J turpentine camp, stood, as was his custom, at the gate of his camp’s inclosure and surveyed with an eye of contempt the stream of convicts which passed him as the new batch he had hired from the state prison came in. “They ain’t a bad lot,” he began, speaking to his overseer. Then sud- denly: “Say, what's the skirt? Bring her here.” A moment later Barbara King stood before the big man, a warden at her side. "Her name is Mary Jamison,” an- swered the warden. “Sentenced for murder of her uncle — life imprison- ment; commuted on account of age to ten years. No friends. Coming to take cooking job in your camp.” Craig took the cigar out of his mouth in his amazement. He burst into a loud laugh, and with one coarse red finger chucked “Mary Jamison” roughly under the chin. “Why, you pretty little she-devil!” he cried. “So you’ve killed a man, eh ?” "No, no!” cried the girl. “I never ” Craig laughed again. “They all say that,” he chuckled. The overseer chuckled with him. “Well, no more killings now. Take her away. I’ll see more of you later, little Miss Murderess.” The routine of dull labor went on for a month or more. And then, when win- ter began to close upon the camp and the hardships became more terrrible still, arose a spirit of unrest among the convicts. “May Jamison,” who had formed a strong friendship with one Tony, a genial burglar, was now a leader of the secret revolutionist party and from the first closely in touch with the movement. Days passed, preparations in which she—listlessly yet desperately—helped went forward. A chill day came. The next morning when the call to work arrived “the pale girl. Jamison.” was reported sick. The first evening she could sit up out of bed Joshua Craig himself came to visit her. Smiling, he came into the room, pushed the door to behind him and locked it. “Hello. Miss Jamison,” he said. “And are you better?” Barbara forced a smile and said she was. Why had he locked that door? She soon knew. Marching across the floor of un- hewn logs. he clasped her by the wrist and whispered: "Well—how’d ye like to stay here now — with me?” In spite of her weakness, Barbara sprang to her feet. Instantly Craig’s arms were around her; his hand over her mouth. And at that moment the saving miracle happened. From outside the shack came the cry of an angry mob. A huge stone crashed through the window and thudded on the floor at Craig's feet. There was the sound of hammering at the door. The last thing that Barbara heard before she fell from Craig’s arms in a faint was the smooth and genial voice of Tony, which came, as a matter of fact over the barrels of two long Colts he had taken from the guards: “Now, friend Craig, we’ve riz; and you’re going to fall right now. But before I drop you pot down that young ladv. She’s a friend of mine.” ******* Barbara opened her eyes to find the room in which she now lay on a cot bed, turned into a rough court of justice. Evidently the guards had re- THE DENVER NEWS SAYS OF THE SHIELDING SHADOW "THE STORY IS REPLETE WITH THRILLS BOUND TO INTEREST ” Featuring GRACE DARMOND, RALPH KELLARD and LEON GARY. Produced by ASTRA under the direction of LOUIS J. GASNIER and DONALD MACKENZIE. gained their former supremacy, for, handcuffed, with his back to her, stood one of the revolutionists. As he moved between his guards she caught a glimpse of the man who sat at the deal table officiating apparently as judge. It was the man she had met once when Gordon had been with her. Ii was Gov. Carroll, Gordon’s father. Barbara scarcely heard him. Her eyes were fixed on the door, through which came, while his father spoke, a young man, dressed in the rough costume of the woods. His face turned at once toward the cot bed and lit up when his eyes met those of “Mary Jamison.” "Gordon!” she cried. “Oh, Gordon!” He announced to himself the happy end of a long search, and answered the question that she had asked her- self so long, when he took her in his arms and cried gladly: “I’m here at last, my darling!” FROHMAN CORPORATION COMPLETES THOMAS’S “THE WITCHING HOUR” Characterized by a cast of well- known personalities, including C. Au- brey Smith, Marie Shotwell, Jack Sherrill. Robert Conness, Helen Ar- nold and Etta De Groff, “The Witch- ing Hour,” the current Frohman Amusement Corporation’s feature, is now complete and will be given a trade showing within the next fort- night. For the production, Augustus Thomas was conferred with and watched a number of the scenes made, and later projected. So highly pleased was he that arrangements are going forward for the producing of other preai Thomas productions by the Frolimans. The story of “The Witching Hour” contains, in addition to the peculiar theme of the hypnotic influence over a weak-willed boy of a cat’s eye pin worn by a nondescript gambler, three distinct romances. The one the love of the weak-willed boy for a girl and her instilling in him the power of strength. The other, the love of the honorable gambler for the boy’s mother, and the other the animal love of the district attorney for the same girl as the weak-willed boy—and these three love interests trickle through the picture in veritable waves of emotion. “The Witching Hour” will be state righted by the Frohman company and will follow the former production. “The Conquest of Canaan.” It is thought that those who have secured “The Conquest of Canaan” will also have the control of “The Witching Hour.” at least, the intention of Mr. Sherrill is to have one outlet in each territory, and to develop and create only big productions, at the rate of twelve features a year. THIS IS THE TALE OF LEWI S PHYSIOC The cameraman shares with the locomotive driver the honor of doing much work and getting little of the glory. Lewis Physioc is responsible for much of the best camera work turned out by the Famous Players; and here you hear of his career. He was born in the South, and studied for some time at the North Carolina College of Agriculture. After a time he became more interested in the arts of design than in the science of chemistry and came north to New York to study. He was for some time associated with the legitimate stage, assisting in the scenic production of several large spectacles. Then, realizing that the motion picture, then in its in- fancy, promised great things for the man who got in on the ground floor, MOLLIE KING IN PATHE SPRIAL. One of the latest screen stars en- gaged for the Pathe Gold Rooster productions is Mollie King, who is featured in “Kick In,” which has just been produced by the Astra Film Cor- poration. Miss King also plays the lead in a serial now being made for Pathe. “Kick In” is a visualization of Wil- lard Work's plays. Miss King was co-starred with William Courtney. he proceeded to get in. He was asso- ciated with several companies in vari- ous capacities; and at present, hav- ing gained a thorough knowledge of all branches of the picture-making game, he is utilizing both his scien- tific and artistic knowledge in the crank service of the Famous Players. And that is his story—so far. j. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith present Mary Anderson and William Duncan i n The Last M.an By James Oliver Curwood A Love Tragedy Of The Outposts Of Civilization Five Part Blue Ribbon Feature