Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

796 MOTOGRAPHY "'Joan of Plattsburg" Expected to Take Goldwyn Believes People Want Pictures That Have War Background — Former Successes Cited THE release on May 5 of Mabel Normand's "Joan of Plattsburg" is awaited with confidence by Goldwyn officials. The Porter Emerson Browne play is unique in many respects. It is distinctly patriotic in tone, yet it is in no sense a war drama. Rather is it a play of imagination and charm with a background of martial maneuvers and all the day's reminders of America's part in the great conflict. It is this factor, as well as the presence of the ever popular Mabel Normand, which is responsible for the confidence of everyone concerned, and, of course, the timeliness of the production. The public wants timeliness in pictures just as in clothes or in any other phase of everyday life, in the opinion of many of the most successful exhibitors everywhere. Wiseacres, who at the time of America's entry into the war, predicted dismal failure for motion picture productions which touched on the conflict abroad, have been thoroughly disillusioned. Some so-called war pictures have been frowned upon by film devotees, but mediocrity in either story or production was alone responsible. In the main, wellproduced pictures from worth while stories dealing with incidents, real or imaginative, of the French battleground, have "gone over." Especially is this true of "Fields of Honor," "The Spreading Dawn" and "The Splendid Sinner," three Goldwyn productions which contain an element of war, and "For the Freedom of the World," the stirring war spectacle distributed by Goldwyn. All four are tremendous box-office winners and have evoked unstinted praise of the press and public. The Goldwyn organization, like all other producing companies at the time, was a bit skeptical as to how the public would take a production that had an element of war in it. But so responsive were exhibitors and their patrons to the appeal of "The Spreading Dawn" that Goldwyn lost no time in producing another of its kind and "Fields of Honor" came into being. "Fields of Honor," starring Mae Marsh, has exceeded all Goldwyn expectations, its thrilling scenes of conflict, coupled with the beautiful love story it tells, winning high praise even in communities generally looked upon as hotbeds of pacifism. The tremendous vogue enjoyed by "For the Freedom of the World" is in a measure due to the marked success scored by "Fields of Honor." No production within the past year has achieved such financial returns for exhibitors, it is claimed, and received such approbation from their patrons. Goldwyn records show that the big war special has been played, or is booked for showing, in nearly every town in the country of Vol. XIX, No. 17. 10,000 population or over. To date more than seventy exhibitors have repeated on it to big business. Though only two weeks before the public, "The Splendid Sinner," with Mary Garden, has played to capacity houses in every section of the country. The situation is best summed up by a prominent eastern exhibitor, who says: "All this talk that people want to forget the war is bunk, pure and simple. Give me a war picture carrying a good story dealing with happenings in France, and I'll play it every time in preference to some wishy-washy artistic thing that means nothing." Goldwyn Boosts Mae Marsh Cast For the drama of the secret service, "The Face in the Dark," in which Mae Marsh appears April 21, Goldwyn has assembled an uncommonly interesting cast of contributing players. A leading man new to Goldwyn Pictures plays opposite Miss Marsh. He is Niles Welch, often called the handsomest hero on the screen, as well as one of the youngest. He has played with practically every star, his last production being Metro's "Her Boy," in which he was co-starred with Effie Shannon. Alec B. Francis essays the role of Miss Marsh's father, a retired secret service man who chooses to sacrifice his daughter's love rather than reveal the truth about himself. Mr. Francis will be remembered as the kind hearted friend who brought the lonely little rich girl and the poet together in "The Cinderella Man." Mae Marsh in her new Goldwyn play, "The Face in the Dark. Madge Kennedy Boosts Loan Madge Kennedy, Goldwyn star, scored a triple triumph at Detroit last week. Besides being tumultuously received by hundreds of admirers on her stage appearances and enjoying the sight of them applauding her performance in "The Danger Game," Miss Kennedy assisted materially in launching Detroit's third Liberty Loan drive. Miss Kennedy literally had* to fight her way into the Madison Theatre, the scene of her triumphs. Fully two thousand picture fans swarmed the theatre doors an hour before the star put in an appearance and there was little abatement of the crowd throughout the day. The theatre management used a novel method to introduce Miss Kennedy. The introduction was made by a short film reading: "Miss Madge Kennedy, the Goldwyn star, is in Detroit today at the request of John H. Kunsky to speak in behalf of the Liberty Loan." A roar of applause, in which everyone in the spacious playhouse joined, greeted the introduction.