Motography (Jul - Dec 1915)

December 25, 1915. MOTOGRAPHY 1319 Leon J. Rubinstein jirl who was selected as "RUBY" MAKES GIRL FAMOUS Thanhouser Publicity Man Makes Doris Grey Famous Over Night at Boston's Film Ball— To St>ar in Pictures Tust how far a theatrical publicity man may go has almost been demonstrated, but the motion picture purveyor is still an unknown quantity. It is only known that the film P. A. can be the more spectacular of the two, a fact which has just been proven by Leon J. Rubinstein, director of publicity for the Thanhouser Company of New Rochelle. He turned the trick at the greatest motion picture event of the year, the Boston ball. While all the P. A.'s were striving to outdo one anothe r, "Ruby" sat back with his trump card up his sleeve. It was not until after the grand march that he sprang the surprise. In the booming big voice with which he is gifted, he announced to the ten thousand people who packed the Arena that to the the prettiest from among those present, Edwin Thanhouser offered a career in motion pictures. The sensation created was most satisfactory — even to "Ruby." With a jury composed of Florence La Badie and the dramatic critics of Boston's four great newspapers, the contest started and for a half hour this Thanhouser publicity work held the undivided attention of the great assemblage, including the governor of Massachusetts and his full staff. The lucky w i n n e r is Miss Sophie Sadowski, an eighteen year old Polish American Boston girl. While a surging mob battled the police to congratulate the winner, it was decided that Florence La Badie select a nom-de-screen for her, and now she is to be known as "Doris Grey." The next day proved the value of "Ruby's" idea. Five evening papers carried Doris Grey's pictures on the front page, and all the others spread their space on her in double column pictures and special articles. Over night this obscure little girl had leaped into the limelight. According to the press representative of the ball committee (this is from his letter), "this stunt received more publicity than anything in the history of Boston, with the exception of 'The Birth of a Nation.' " When "Ruby" re turned to New Rochelle he began to answer a stream of wires from papers requesting material for full-page features ; also, two vaudeville offers for Doris Grey. Giving the girl a few days at home in which to recover from her sudden good fortune, "Ruby" then stirred the' whole thing up again. Together with Mr. Thanhouser, he went up to Boston to bring Miss Grey down to New Rochelle. This time "the wizard of New Rochelle" took part in a great series of ovations. The girls from Miss Grey's high school gave her a farewell reception, after which sbe appeared on the stages of four big Boston theaters. In the evening Mr. Thanhouser gave a banquet to the press and the ball officials, to which the governor sent his personal greetings by his secretary. All this, of course, won more Thanhouser space in the daily papers. Doris Grey is now one of the most widely advertised girls in the world, and has already begun her work in the Thanhouser studio. She is of medium height, slender, blonde, and has big brown eyes, and fair complexion. She will first be introduced on the screen in a five-reel picture entitled "What Doris Grey Did." It will picture the remarkable events which brought her to the screen. She will be directed by George Foster Piatt, and Florence La Badie will take part in the production. Picture Jammed with Thrills "The Girl and the Game," heralded as the greatest thrill-filled screen novel thus far produced, will be released December 27. The first chapters have only been shown informally in Chicago, but received such a tremendous ovation from exhibitors that the prints which had been sent personally to Samuel S. Hutchinson, president of the Signal Film Corporation, were kept busy all day, that the continually arriving exhiDitors might view them. The result is that "The Girl and the Game," even a fortnight before actual release date, has a volume of business rivaling the records established by "The Million Dollar Mystery" and "The Diamond From the Sky." The theme of this new screen novel is such a tremendous one that the most unusual opportunities are afforded for logical thrills. The story is of empirebuilding — the reclamation of the great houseless tracts of the west by the railroad. It is a tale of battling interests, not merely two men fighting for a fortune with the ever-present sympathy-inspiring heroine's welfare as the prize, but a struggle of man-made forces, in which millions of dollars are involved, the future of a country at stake and the prosperity of thousands in peril. Helen Holmes, as the heroine-star, Frank Hamilton Spearman, the author, and James P. McGowan, the director, offer a combination of genius seldom poured into the making of motion pictures. In addition to this matchless combination is the guarantee of Samuel S. Hutchinson, master producer of "The Diamond From the Sky," that there will be a thrill in every chapter of the heart-stirring kind, and a reason for such thrill, too. "This great railroad film novel in chapters, starring Miss Holmes, is built differently from any previously attempted picture," says Mr. Hutchinson. "There is no element missing necessary to make it a box-office attraction. I guarantee these thrills and want the exhibitors to watch for them. I will only