Motography (Jan-Mar 1916)

110 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XV, No. 3. Emmert. He stated that the success of the league during the past year is ascribed largely to the fact that it had become affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce, and was put on a par with other business interests. He also called attention to what appeared to be an effort to entice motion picture exhibitors into politics. He objected strongly to this and stated. "If we are forced into politics we can put up a hot battle by throwing our arguments on the screen. I am here to say that I. for one, will fight to the finish." A. G. Hettesheimer. first vice-president said, "We are the fifth largest industry in the United States and it is high time we are shown some consideration. We have a common enemy. The way it looks, this enemy is politics. We are paying federal and state taxes, and yet they are jumping on us from all sides. We demand the right to live, and we intend to live. The motion picture screen affords us a publicity medium second to none." The election of officers resulted as follows : President, F. L. Emmert; first vice-president, A. G. Hettesheimer ; second vice-president, M. Marcus ; treasurer. John J. Huss ; managing secretary, H. Serkowich ; sergeant-at-arms, Jesse J. Meis. Hal Cooley of Signal Hal Cooley, who recently joined the Signal Company to play leads in features, is an especially goodlooking young fellow of the slim athletic type. He is a New Yorker, arriving there is 1888. He received his e d u c.a t i o n at the North West Military academy of Highland Park, Illinois. and later studied at the University of Minnesota, where he created an inter-collegiate record for a mile run, and distinguished himself in other sports. Hal Cooley has had about as varied a professional experience as the heart of a young fellow could desire, and he w o u 1 d not have missed one of his adventures or misadventures, for they all contributed to his later successes, and he accumulated knowledge and had lots of fun. In between adventures he was with a number id stock companies, both as an actor and a singer. When engagements were scarce, his good looks and pleasanl manner broughl him ready engagements on concert platforms in getting up charity entertainments. In Los \ngeles h< appeared in the Hick Ferris < ompany in "The Man From Mexico," which was singularly appropriate and I ,os Vngeles meant eventual pictures, and Hal became a member of the Selig Polyscope Company for several months; after which he joined the Universal and played juvenile leads. 11 is engagement with the Signal Company, with i on the Mutual program offered, and M;il jumped at the opportunity which meant so much. / Wilfred Lucas Now a Star In recognition of his good work in "The Lily and the Rose" and other plays, the Triangle-Fine Arts studio has promoted Wilfred Lucas to stardom. Mr. Lucas, who is a native Canadian and ex-opera singer, was for five years a prominent member of "The Chorus Lady" company with Rose Stahl. He like wise appeared in several other Broadway productions. For his present use as a film star, "Acquitted," a short story by Mary Roberts Rinehart. has been adapted to the screen by Roy Somerville. It is the tale of an honest man held down for years in a financial institution and finally wrongly suspected of murder. The latterday workings of the "third degree" in extorting imaginary confessions from its victims are graphically shown. Mary Alden is Mr. Lucas's leading woman. "NATION'S" MARVELOUS RECORD Wonderful Griffith Spectacle Closes in New York After Breaking All Theatrical Records, Showing to 872,000 People and Earning $600,000 With the passing of D. W. Griffith's spectacular production. "The Birth of a Nation," from the Broadway circle is ended the most phenomenal run ever made by any attraction in the history of New York. This wonderful production was "introduced to New York at a special performance on March 2. 1015, at the Liberty theater. The public performance followed the next evening. The new ottering leaped into immediate favor and started in upon a career that was destined to set all records at naught, ddie venture was a complete departure from all traditions of the metropolitan stage. \\ hen it was announced that an elaborate scheme of photographic spectacle and operatic embellishment was to be produced at the standard scale of prices for the besl theatrical entertainment on our stage, the prediction was freely made that it would not last a fortnight. Mere in concrete form is exactly what it has done: The run at the Liberty theater continued forty-five weeks without a break. The total number of consecutive performances there was 620. During the summer months there was ;, supplementary engagement at Brighton Beach, which is part of the metropolitan theatrical district. This engagement was for fourteen weeks with 182 performances, making a total of 802 consecu