Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1922)

January 28, 1922 7 43 Charles R. Pain, Jr., appointed assistant sales manager of the Rothacker Practical Picture Division NewAss’t Sales Manager for Rothacker Charles E. Pain, Jr., has been made assistant sales-manager of the Rothacker practical picture division. Watterson R. Rothacker announced the appointment early in January. Mr. Pain was formerly assistant secretary of the J. I. Case Co. and of the Shotwell Mfg. Co. He was a first lieutenant in France. After leaving the army he served for a time as an assistant on corporation finance for a large Chi(cago legal firm. Then he succumbed to the film fever. He started at the bottom of the ladder in the Rothacker organization — in the laboratory washroom. He worked up to his present job within a year. “The Rosary’’ Plays in Frisco for 2 Weeks The world premiere showing of “The Rosary ” is being held in San Francisco. It began a two weeks run in the Golden Gate city on January 15th at the Imperial Theatre. “ The Rosary ’’ is a Selig-Rork production, and is being released by Associated First National Pictures, Inc. The action of the management of the Imperial Theatre in booking the picture for an engagement of two weeks is revolutionary, in view of the general custom of booking a production for one week, and then extending the run if the picture proves a drawing card and a box office success. Universal Names New Cuban Manager Beverly Griffith, whose connection with the film industry antedates the formation of the Universal, has just been appointed general manager of the Universal’s Cuban exchanges and supervising director of the several theatres on the island which Universal has leased for first-run showings of its pictures there. Mr. Charles King has resigned to accept another connection. Plans for First Nat’l Week February isth to 25th has been designated as First National Week in commemora: tion of the second anniversary of the formation of Associated First National Pictures, Inc. A statement from the First National headquarters, announcing the plans for First National Week, follows in part: “ First National Week will be celebrated in thousands of theatres throughout the country next month. Response from the exhibitors has been spontaneous and enthusiastic, and five weeks before the opening of the period more than 2,100 theatres had booked First National productions solid for February 18th to 25th. “ An exceptionally attractive array of First National features and comedies, recently released, are available for First National Week programs, in addition to the older releases.’’ The First National statement lists the sixteen new releases which will form the backbone of the nation’s cinema entertainment from February 18th to the 25th. This list includes the productions described as follows : “Smilin’ Through” is one of Norma Talmadge’s contributions and one which is' destined to create as much laudatory comment as “ The Sign on the Door.” Its chief feature, aside from Norma’s customary powerful acting, is the pictorial beauty of the production. “ ‘ The Wonderful Thing ’ is another Norma Talmadge production on the list. It was directed by Herbert Brenon and is one of the most appealing plays in which this star has appeared. Harrison Ford is Miss Talmadge’s leading man, and the cast includes Mrs. Lydig Hoyt, well known society leader. “ ‘ Penrod,’ a picturization of the famous Booth Tarkington story and starring ‘Freckles’ Barry, is one of the two Marshall Neilan productions numbered in the sixteen. It is a delightful ‘ Kid ’ story — one that will captivate both old and young. “ ‘ Tol’able David,’ Richard Barthelmess’s first starring vehicle for First National, is his offering for F'irst National Week. Based on the story by Joseph Hergesheimer and published in the Saturday Evening Post, the picture is a powerful yet simple narrative of mountain life in West Virginia. Henry King directed it and Gladys Hulette plays opposite the popular star. “ ‘ My Boy ’ is the title of the picture in which celebrants of the week will see the youngest of stars — Jackie Coogan. The story is written especially for this little idol of millions of theatre-goers. Claude Gillingwater and Mathilde Brundage are in the supporting cast. Jackie Coogan as the little homeless, friendless immigrant will not soon be forgotten. “ Red Hot Romance,” written and produced by John Emerson and Anita Loos, will delight every type of picture fan, but especially those who are fond of satire. The drunken king, the inebriated courtiers and the opera-bouffe revolution are a few of the “ high spots ” in this picture of continuous laughter. Feb. 1 8th to 25th to Mark Celebration of Second Birthday “ Polly of the Follies,” Constance Talmadge’s newest production is also the work of Mr. Emerson and Miss Loos, and they have injected into it almost as many laughs as “ Red Hot Romance ” contains. The supporting cast is a remarkably strong one, Kenneth Harlan plays opposite. Katherine MacDonald will be seen in two of her latest productions, “ The Beautiful Liar,” and “ The Woman’s Side.” The first is a novelty in picture making — a production without a villain. Charles Meredith is her leading man, and others in the cast are Joseph J. Dowling, Kate Lester, and Wilfred Lucas. Wallace Worsley directed it. “The Woman’s Side” has a political background, with the star, as Mary Gray, daughter of the candidate for governor, being drawn into the vortex of crooked politics. Raoul A. Walsh contributes his latest, “ Kindred of the Dust,” from the novel by Peter B. Kyne, which appeared serially in the Saturday Evening Post. Miriam Cooper plays the leading part, supported by Ralph Graves, Eugenie Besserer, W. J. Ferguson, Pat Rooney, Lionel Belmore, Carolyn Rankin, and others. One of the spectacular features of the production is a rescue from the midst of a log jam. “ The Song of Life,” a “ drama of dishes and discontent,” is the offering of John M. Stahl. It is a story of pathos and tender appeal, with such actors as Gaston Glass, Georgeia Woodthorpe, Grace Darmond, Richard Headrick, Arthur Stuart Hull, Wedgewood Howell, Frank Kelsey, Claude Payton and Edward Pell. EDWARD L. HYMAN, managing director of the Mark Strand in Brooklyn, who has booked the Triart Great Masterpieces series distributed by Hodkinson, of which “The Beggar Maid” and “ The Bashful Suitor ” are the first two released, authorizes a statement this week in which he declares the Triart Productions to be among the most beautiful screen plays he has ever seen. Mr. Hyman is particularly enthusiastic over the second picture of the series, “ The Bashful Suitor,” based on Josef Israels’ painting of the same name which now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. “ I will be greatly surprised,” said M r. Hyman, “ if audiences throughout the country do not take favorably to these pictures. However I have no fear that they will not, because the wonderful ovation accorded “ The Beggar Maid ” is still Anita Stewart will be seen in “A Question of Honor,” the scenes of which are laid in the West. The story was adapted from the popular Ruth Cross novel of the same name. In the supporting cast are Edward Hearn, Arthur Stuart Hull, Walt Whitman, Bert Sprotts, Frank Beal, Adele Farrington, Mary Land, Ed Brady and Doc Bytell. A re-issue of “ Cabiria,” the great Italian masterpiece, will feature First National Week. “ The Rosary ” is a Selig-Rork production. The story is an original one by Bernard McConville, and the cast includes Lewis Stone, Robert Gordon, Doro Davidson, Wallace Beery, Jane Novak, Mildred June, Eugenie Besserer, Pomeroy Cannon, Bert Woodruff and Harold Goodwin. “ Shattered Idols,” produced by J. L. Frothingham, is an intense spectacle of restless, discontented India in a story throbbing with human appeal, and was filmed under the working title of “A Bride of the Gods.” It is founded on I. A. R. Wylie’s novel, “ A Daughter of Brahma,” and is enacted by Marguerite De La Motte, Ethel Grey Terry, James Morrison, William V. Mong, Frankie Lee, Harvey Clark, Josephine Crowell, Claire Windsor, Robert Littlefield and George Periolat. There are four Buster Keaton productions in the seven comedies slated for the week, “The Paleface,” “ The Boat,” “ The Playhouse,” and “ The Blacksmith.” Mack Sennett contributes “ Be Reasonable,” “ By Heck,” and “ Bright Eyes,” the latter a Ben Turpin comedy. Free advertising accessories will be supplied by First National to exhibitors who book its pictures for First National Week. These accessories will include First National star 24 sheets ; special one sheet, cuts of various sizes, slides and cloth banners. fresh in my memory. Personally, I believe “ The Bashful Suitor ” is even more artistic than its predecessor. “ Every scene of ‘ The Bashful Suitor ’ disclosed to you on the screen seems a masterpiece in itself. For sheer beauty I hardly believe it can be excelled. “ Leading artists in their various lines of endeavor have helped make this picture a masterpiece. Herbert Blache, who has handled the megaphone behind many successful stars directed ‘ The Bashful Suitor,’ and Lejaren a Hiller, a portrait painter of note was art director. The softfocus work that will be seen in the production and, by the way, which was a dominant factor in “ The Beggar Maid ” was directed by this man. Soft focus photography tends to eliminate detail and harsh lines bringing forward the beauty and depth of expression in the scene and characters. Hyman Lauds Triart Films Manager of Brooklyn, N. Y., Strand in Tribute to Hodkinson Releases