Motography (Jul - Dec 1915)

September 4, 1915. MOTOGRAPHY 489 Beatriz Michelena, the operatic star, who left the stage something over a year ago to join the producing forces of the California Motion Picture Corporation as leading woman and who has since become one of the most popular favorites of the screen, is just returning from a visit of several weeks to New York City and other Eastern points to begin work on her next picture at the California studios at San Rafael. "Mortmain," a picturization of Arthur C. Train's story of the same name, produced under the direction of Theodore Marston, will be the next Vitagraph Blue Ribbon Feature to be released through the V-L-S-E, the announced date being Monday, September 6th. Mack Sennett, managing director of the Keystone Film Company, has been so thoroughly occupied with supervising the direction of eight separate and distinct Keystone companies that he has not put on a make-up and worked in a picture for many months. When Raymond Hitchcock started work, however, Mr. Sennett decided to both act and direct in "The Stolen Magic" and "My Valet," the two feature Hitchcock releases which will soon be seen on Triangle programs. His herculean work in preparing the largest motion picture organization which ever left this country to sail for Jamaica proved too much for Herbert Brenon last Tuesday, and he broke down completely the day before the great William Fox company was scheduled to leave. His physician decided that a few days in bed would set Mr. Brenon right, and it did. The sailing was postponed for one week, until August 25. Mr. Brenon has entirely recovered. DeWolf Hopper has returned to New York from Siasconset for a few days. He will start on Sunday, August 22, for the Griffith studio in Los Angeles, where he is to portray some of the great comedy characters in the world's greatest classics for the Triangle screen. All of Mr. Hopper's camera work will be under the direct supervision of D. W. Griffith. Henry Otto, the American director, is in Los Angeles and is under the doctor's orders. He is suffering from acute nervousness brought on by hard work. He expects to be away from Santa Barbara about a week, and is already feeling much better for the treatments and the rest. A complete demonstration of the railway mail system is one of the features of "Caught," an Essanay three-act photoplay. To keep pace with the demands for clever stories for the two-reel feature stories that the Keystone is releasing under the Triangle brand, Managing Editor Hampden Del Ruth is still adding writers to his staff. Harry Williams, writer of songs and plays, and Vincent Bryan, another clever writer, were hard at work when Jean Havez, fresh from his New York successes, arrived. Jean Schwartz has been busy arranging music for the new features, and these, together with Frederick Palmer, Clarence Badger, "Chuck" Wiesner, William Campbell, Jack Byrne and others, form the greatest comedy writing staff in the world. Al Lichtman, vice-president and general manager of the Standard Photoplay Distributors, Inc., wires in from the coast that Sol L. Lesser, president of the All Star Features Distributors, Inc., handling the Metro Program in California, Nevada, and Arizona, has completed arrangements to serve the Standard Program to the theaters of the above territory through his well known Golden Gate Film Exchange in San Francisco. Among the Lubin players present at the Motion Picture Exhibitors' Carnival at Brighton Beach were: Billie Reeves, the famous English comedian; Mary Charleson, who played the principal role in "The Road o' Strife"; Rosetta Brice, who is playing the lead in Louis Reeves Harrison's great war play, "The Rights of Man"; Richard Buhler, who enacts the role opposite to Miss Brice; Octavia Handworth, Frances Joyner, Patsy De Forest, the "flirt" of the Lubin studio; Clarence Jay Elmer, who palyed "Patsy Bolivar" in a serial of that name; William Potter, Charles Brandt, James Cassady, Peter Lang, Bartley McCullum, Arthur D. Hotaling, Jack Standing, Mae Hotely, Kempton Greene, Jack O'Neil, and others. Having finished the picture for which he was engaged by the Balboa Amusement Producing Company of Long Beach, Calif., William Elliott has returned to New York to begin work on his fall productions for the legitimate stage. Mr. Elliott has extensive plans which will keep him busy for some time. In order to make the Universal Animated Weekly stronger and even more comprehensive than ever, a Pacific coast edition of the Weekly will be issued from Universal City, Cal. After more than two years' constant work with the Edison Company, Marjorie Ellison, whose work in both leading and heavy roles has gained her much flattering praise, has decided to take a much deserved vacation. She has planned a trip to California to visit the Panama Exposition and undoubtedly visit many friends in the city of Los Angeles. It is rumored she may listen favorably to a certain offer from one of the large producing firms in Los Angeles. The Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, accompanied by members of the Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, visited Universal City recently. John Steppling has been given the directorship of the second American Beauty Company, recently formed at the Santa Barbara studios of the American Film Company, Inc. Already Director Steppling has produced three comedydramas, the latest of which is "Uncle Heck, by Heck," which will be released Tuesday, August 31. At the Lake Tahoe branch of the Universale Pacific Coast studios, the Kerrigan-Victor Company is this week completing the final scenes in their production of a three-reel film entitled "A Kentucky Idyl." J. Warren Kerrigan is featured in the production with Buck Connor, Norbert Myles and wife, and May Talbot supporting him. When the Vitagraph Company sent out the announcement that they would set apart Friday of each week beginning October 1 to be known as "Sidney Drew Day," on which they would release a Drew comedy, they were flooded with letters from exhibitors asking to advance the time to as early a date as possible. In compliance with the many requests, the Vitagraph Company now announces the first "Sidney Drew Day" for Friday, September 3. The four releases for the month of September will include "Their Night Out," "Unlucky Louey," "The Professional Diner" and "Back to the Primitive." George W. Terwilliger, one of the Lubin directors, is planning a big naval scene at the Newport Studio of the Lubin Company. To prevent a foreign agent from escaping with plans of something important, Captain William S. Sims, U. S. N., will go into motion pictures next week by permitting one of the destroyers of the Atlantic destroyer squadron to send to the bottom with her battery the 100-ton schooner Azaba, of Providence. The schooner was purchased recently from Frank White by the Lubin company. Ed. J. LeSaint, with Frank Keenan and Stella Razeto and supporting company, have been spending some days in the desert, and it is nice and hot there now. In one of the last scenes in Tom Terriss' latest features to be completed, "A Woman of the World," a garden party was given by Dudley Olcott, vice-president of the Central Trust Company, at his beautiful home in Morristown, N. J., his guests participating for the first time in a moving picture. Warren Kerrigan, the Universal star, who recently was confined to the hospital for several weeks, is rapidly recovering his health at Lake Tahoe near San Francisco. With his Kerrigan-Victor company Mr. Kerrigan is encamped scarcely a stone's throw from Lake Tahoe high up in the Sierras where the air is cool and pure and where the fishing and hunting is without equal. "A Sultana of the Desert," a Selig special in two thrilling reels, will be released in regular service on Monday, October 4. This Selig special was written by and features Kathryn Williams. Miss Williams achieves even a greater artistic triumph, if that were possible, than in her recent Selig Diamond Special triumph^ "The Strange Case of Talmai Lind." James Dayton, the man who wrote and rewrote six hundred photoplays in three years and who never had a rejection, has gone to the American Company in Santa Barbara, where he will take charge of the story department. Mr. Dayton is regarded as one of the heads of his profession. Anna Little left the Universal last week, and although she had made up her mind to take a holiday, she had to change her mind. Miss Little had no less than four offers for her services and had to make a quick decision. She decided to accept an engagement offered her by Mr. 5. S. Hutchinson, of the American Company, and will commence work at Santa Barbara on Monday, the 16th of August. She will probably be seen in a western series. Al Lichtman is now on his way to the New York headquarters of the Standard and an interesting announcement is promised for the near future. Jack Richardson, one of the "Flying A" heroes, has just returned from a camping trip in the Santa Ynez mountains.