Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1920)

4124 Motion Picture News Juanita Hansen is Acclaimed Juanita Hansen has recently made two personal appearances, the receptions in both cases having convinced her of her popularity as a leading serial star. At the Court theatre, in Newark, X. J., and at the Poli theatre in Bridgeport, Conn., crowds beyond possible capacity filled the theatres and occupied the sidewalks for hours, hoping to see the fair Juanita as she left the theatre. The personal appearance of Miss Juanita Hansen at the Court theatre in Newark, N. J., and at the Poli theatre in Bridgeport, Conn., drew overflowing crowds to both of these show houses. On October 30 Miss Hansen appeared at the Court theatre and addressed the audiences at two performances. The attendance at the shows and those unable to gain admittance are claimed to establish the record for any theatre in Newark. The streets were jammed to the curb in front of the theatre and for several hundred feet on each side of it. The house was taxed to its capacity with standing room at a premium. Nathan Meyer, manager of the Newark theatre, claimed it the biggest crowd any theatre in his city had ever enjoyed. " While I have presented some of the very biggest attractions ever made," remarked Mr. Meyer, " nothing has compared with the personal appearance of Miss Hansen in the matter of attendance. I have not seen such eager crowds in my life, nor have I ever "seen such deep interest displayed in any star. We are showing ' The Phantom Foe.' Miss Hansen's latest serial for Pathe. While we have always enjoyed splendid business on the days her picture was shown, without a doubt we will not be able to accommodate all those who will now want to see it " At the Poli theatre in Bridgeport where Miss Hansen appeared the crowds were equally as large and eager to see her in person. It is Miss Hansen's intention to make other personal appearances in houses which are showing her latest serial, " The Phantom Foe." Arrangements are being made through Mr. D. A. Meaney, care of the Pathe main office. On account of working in a serial Miss Hansen can appear only in theatres convenient to New York. Notes From The French Field Frenchmen are waxing indignant over the report of an incident which occurred recently in Berlin on the occasion of the production of the famous German picture, '' Anne Boleyn." The scene showing the arrival of Anne and the king, Henry VIII, at Westminster Abbey where they were to celebrate their wedding was a remarkable display of film enterprise. Over 4,000 persons wearing the costumes of the period were engaged and the Abbey itself was complete in every detail. Henni Porten, the actress who filled the role of Anne, wore a sumptuous dress which glistened with jewels. Her outfit of eight dresses which she required for the part are said to have cost over a hundred thousand marks. The Abbey scene was staged on the famous Tempelhof Field where William the Second was wont to review his troops in the old days. But instead of William, the " reviewers " on this occasion were his late majesty's successor, President Ebert, and several members of the Reichstag who had been especially invited to appraise the quality of the German cinema art. The arrival of Henry and Anne in an automobile was the signal for tremendous applause on the part of the public and the waiting troupe of actors and actresses. But when the soldiers of Louis XIV marched by with their fleurs-de-lys banners waving in the breeze, as history recounts, the effect was too much for these highly imaginative Teutons who, despite the fact that the socalled French troops who had been sent over to England to grace the ceremony, were merely their own countrymen in the trappings of a French king, could not resist the temptation to exhibit their hate for their late enemies by booing and even spitting on them. A specious example of the misuse of the motion picture ! The great French film, " Rose of the Rail," whose final scenes were recently made in the Alps in the neighborhood of Chamonix, would appear to have established a record in the length of film used by its enterprising producer, Abel Gance. In order to obtain the perfection he aspires to, Gance is said to have used no fewer than two hundred and forty thousand feet of film. The length of the completed film does not run more than nine thousand feet. In an interesting and extremely instructive book enlijtled " Law's and Customs," published under the auspices of the French Syndicate of film directors, a page is devoted to the question of the notice which employees in France are expected to igive before resigning their positions. These vary according to the nature of the position. For example, an operator is required to give a week's notice; the lady at the ticket booth, one month ; a manager, one season unless bound by contract; a waiter, one week; an ordinary employee, one month ; an orchestra leader, one month ; musicians, two weeks. Only the chasseurs or page boys are exempt from any kind of notice.' Monsieur Raphael Beretta, theatrical and cinema impresario, announces that he has completed the production of a film entitled, " Fabiola," founded on the famous book of the same name by Cardinal Wiseman. Beretta states that he has already secured the exclusive world rights on this famous novel of the early Christian era and that he has already disposed of the North American rights for a million and a half francs, with fifty per cent of the profits, to the Knights of Columbus. The film, " Fabiola," is said to be a masterpiece of historical construction replete with a succession of beautiful landscapes of the old Roman period. Among his many and varied forthcoming undertakings, in addition to his film work, Beretta has been engaged from the first of October, to present a season of French operettas in New York. French film syndicates are already up against the dreaded German competition. From Brussels, always considered as a stronghold of the French industry, comes a cry of distress. It appears that another invasion of Belgium has begun. The German film companies are nothing if not enterprising. In order to secure a market they are said to be resorting to cut-rates. Madelaine Traverse, who will soon return to the screen in special features In Eccentric Role The role of David Gamut in " The Last of the Mohicans," the initial Maurice Tourneur offering through the Associated Producers, offered Nelson McDowell an opportunity he has long wanted for the interpretation of a quaint character. This role is that of a psalm singer and it required the costume department of the Tourneur organization two weeks to make the correct apparel for McDowell. He was bcrn in New England and knowing the dress and actions of a psalm singer as two of his uncles were of this religious sect, he had to but recall the scenes of his childhood days to give the interpretation Tourneur desired. The first time McDowell appeared on the stage in his make-up, Tourneur greeted him with the statement. " You look like you had just stepped out of a picture book." Constance Talmadge on New Picture Constance Talmadge has completed " Mama's Affair," the Harvard College prize play by Rachel Barton Butler, which is directed by Victor Flemming. The screen adaptation was made by John Emerson and Anita Loos. Without a single day's vacation in between, Constance has already started work on her next picture, " The Man From Toronto." directed bv Chet Withey. 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