Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

1004 MOTOGRAPHY Confirms Pauline Frederick's Change Willard Mack, Star's Husband, Joins Goldwyn Too as Head of Scenario Department FOLLOWING the publication in the east of dispatches from Los Angeles giving Willard Mack as authority for the report that Pauline Frederick pictures shortly will be produced by the Pauline Frederick Feature Film Company and distributed through Goldwyn, Mr. Mack, who is Miss Frederick's husband, confirmed this statement when .seen at his New York home. Going still further, Mr. Mack revealed that he had assumed personal charge of Goldwyn scenario department, with his offices at the company's studios in Fort Lee. Mr. Mack's association with Goldwyn is not the first appearance of this playwright in the field of motion picture production or editing, his affiliation with the screen having begun in the days of the Biograph Company and continued virtually without interruption since that time. While busily engaged during the last four years in writing some of the theatrical hits of the past decade, such as "Kick In," "Broadway and Buttermilk," "King, Queen, Jack" and "Tiger Rose," Mr. Mack has constantly contributed stories to the screen. In 1917 alone twentyseven of his screen plays were picturized and released. "I should say that I am merely returning to the motion picture field in a newer and bigger environment," he said when seen at his home in New York. "Further interest is added to the step I have taken by the fact that in the course of my work I have been able to select and obtain for production the first three stories for Miss Frederick, who, as you know, is Mrs. Mack. "Miss Frederick, at the termination of her contract with the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, will be starred by the Pauline Frederick Feature Film Company, recently formed, and her productions will be released through Goldwyn. When she begins work she will be under my personal direction." Vol. XIX, No. 21. New Lytell Play Progresses Bert Lytell is making excellent progress on "No Man's Land," his second picture as a Metro star. Will S. Davis, the director, Mr. Lytell, Anna Q. Nilsson, the star's leading woman, and other members of the cast spent two days on location on the far-famed Adolphus Busch estate, in the heart of "millionaire's row" on Orange Grove avenue, Pasadena, and obtained a number of beautiful exterior "shots." "No Man's Land" is a story of love and thrilling adventure. It is not a war story, the title being descriptive of a mysterious island off the Pacific coast. Select Forced to Reprint "Over There" Feature Goes Especially Well in Denver, Where America Theatre Packs House Four Days Straight William Desmond, Triangle star. SELECT'S patriotic photodrama, "Over There," is in such great demand these stirring days that the corporation has been forced to reprint the subject. Many prints are being made on a rush order and shipped as fast as ready to the territories most in need of them. The first batch goes to New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Omaha and Denver, the five cities where the need for extra prints is most pressing. In the Denver territory "Over There" has been riding to success on the popular wave of patriotism, which has helped to put this territory over so well in all war measures. An ovation which was accorded this picture when it was shown at the America Theatre in Denver has been duplicated in scores of theatres in the Denver territory. At the America — Denver's largest house — the theatre was sold out from the time the show opened in the morning until it closed during a period of four days. Rendition of George M. Cohan's immortal marching song, "Over There," was made a feature of this showing, as it has been in almost all cases." Since it is no easy matter to keep such a large house packed for four days, it is interesting to know how Manager Talbot went at his problem. Instead of being afraid to play up the fact that "Over There" contains war scenes, he used printers' ink and advertising space to inform the Denver community of this fact and of all of the patriotic angles to the picture. Then he booked Cook's Drum Corps, a famous musical organization, and one of the largest drum corps in the United States, to appear simultaneously with the picture. The drum corps, of course, played "Over There" and all of its known variations constantly. Between numbers, the audience was moved to the point where it rose and sang "The Marseillaise," "Star Spangled Banner" and other patriotic airs of the allies. The result was that Mr. Talbot's theatre cleaned up. Increase Select Runs M. Kashin, the well-known Brooklyn exhibitor who owns the high-grade Marcy Avenue Theatre, has expressed his approval of Select Pictures by asking for an extension of the length of runs in his theatre under his Select contracts. "After playing Select releases for one day," said Mr. Kashin, "I found it impossible to handle all the people. It resulted that I was forced to book your releases for two days. That was a month ago. However, I must request in this letter that you mail me contracts to cover a three-day run on your future releases. This request has been made necessary for two reasons: Scientific advertising and the quality of the goods which backed it." Baby Actress in Big Role Norma Haas, the child actress who played "Dearie" in the Metro production, "The Claim," starring Edith Storey, will be seen again in the star's forthcoming picture, "The Demon." Little Miss Haas is still on the sunny side of five years. She has the part of the heroine, Perdita, when at the age of six she is sold in an Algerian slave market. Miss Storey enacts the role of Perdita grown to womanhood on the island of Corsica, where she finally wins the love of the man who had "bought" her.