Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

June 29, 1918 MOTOGRAPHY 1227 Notes of the Industry In General BRIEF NEWS OF NEW YORK IN PARTICULAR New York THE two enterprising spirits of General Enterprises, Inc., Arthur H. Sawyer and Herbert Lubin, have been observed recently dining at Delmonico's and the Biltmore on two successive days. The attitude of mystery assumed by these successful exploiters of "The Warrior" and "Mother," when questioned regarding the impressive looking strangers with whom they were seen eating tends to the belief that General Enterprises, Inc., may be "starting something." Oh yes, Ralph Ince was also present. .$. 4. 4. James E. MacBride, president of the New York Municipal Civil Service Commission, has tendered his resignation to Major John F. Hylan, to take effect before July 1. Mr. MacBride is to take an executive position with the Fox Film Corporation. Mr. MacBride, who formerly was a newspaper man, was in charge of the publicity of the Business Men's League, which conducted Mr. Hylan's campaign for Mayor. 4? .4* 4" Frances Marion has signed a contract to write for Artcraft and Paramount for a year. During the past year Miss Marion has written almost exclusively for Mary Pickford, and among her notable recent successes have been "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," "Stella Maris," "Amarilly of Clothes-Line Ally," "M'Liss" and "How Could You, Jean?" 4 4 4 Lila Lee, the new fourteen-year-old star of Paramount pictures, recently announced by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, has left New York for the Lasky studios at Hollywood, where she will start work immediately on the first of the series of productions in which she will be starred under the terms of her five-year contract. 4 4 4 Director Travers Vale, who is now engaged on a big World Picture, has been named as a member of the advisory board, division of films, Committee on Public Information. Charles S. Hart is the director of this division. 41 4* 4? A Unit of Red Cross nurses, passing through New York on their way to France, were the guests of Manager Edel of the S'trand Theatre the other day. 4* 4? 4? Dorothy Dalton, Thomas H. Ince star, is in New York for a brief stay. Miss Dalton's sojourn combines business with pleasure, for she is taking a much needed vacation and buying new gowns for a forthcoming picture. 4* 4> 4? Virginia Pearson, Fox star, who has just completed work on "Her Price" at the Blackton studio in Brooklyn, recently delivered a patriotic address before an audience of 15,000 soldiers at Camp Upton, Long Island. 4? 4? 4? A two story theatre and store building will be erected at Ft. Washington and 160th Street, which will have a seating capacity of 2,700, and cost $100,000. 4? 4? 4* The S. & W. Harlem-Fifth Avenue Theatre Company, Inc., has been incorporated by Charles Steiner, Louis Weinberg and Herbert Kaufman. tu 4 4 4 The Lexington Theatre Corporation has been incorporated with a capital of $50,000 by F. T. Kelsey, H. A. Mumma and C. C. Pearce. 4* 4 4* The Claridge Film Producing Corporation has been incorporated by John P. Quirck, John Mann and Louis Halle. ■?• 4* 4* H. A. Dolgoff and A. Migdale have leased the former Drury Lane Theatre from the estate of Albert L. Hascom. to the committee members by Director J. Gordon Edwards of the Fox organization : "I have your wire relative organization named Motion Picture War Service Association formed in Los Angeles. I think it excellent idea to mobilize our industry for all war charities and other efforts to win the war. I give my full support to any such worthy movement and will appreciate further details so as to enable me to give it vigorous attention. During recent American Red Cross drive, in which I served as captain of Allied Theatrical and Motion Picture team, our industry raised more than $1,000,000, showing plainly that the stage and motion picture are an essential in the winning of the war. Congratulations on the fine spirit of our associates in Los Angeles." 4 4 4 The latest patriotic act of the Lasky studio in Hollywood is the contribution of sets for use in the soldiers' theatre at the Y. M. C. A. clubhouse at Fort Rosencrantz, California. The boys at the Fort had a brand new stage and they were all set to give private theatricals, but the drawback was lack of scenery. Dwane Lyons, who was formerly assistant to Wilfred Buckland, art director at the Lasky plant, heard of their predicament. Lyons is now a member of the anti-aircraft battalion at the fort and he volunteered to put the matter up to the studio people on his next furlough and see if sets could be arranged. Accordingly he visited the Lasky lot the other day and told Director Buckland and Director General Cecil B. DeMille that the dramatic talent of the boys at Camp Rosencrantz was being held in abeyance because of lack of scenery. The two directors put their heads together and planned and inside of an hour orders had been sent out to the scene construction department to build a complete set of interiors, which will be forwarded to Fort Rosencrantz in a few days with the kindest regards of Mr. DeMille and his associates. 4 4 4 Montgomery and Rock, Vitagraph comedians, have a habit of disappearing when thinking of some difficult business for their Big V pictures. They choose such hiding places as the projecting board near the roof of the light studio, the limb of a pepper tree on the Vitagraph lot, or any other so-near-and-yet-so-far hiding place. They are accustomed to hearing Director J. A. Howe send scouts out in search of them, with the caution: "They're within thirty feet of me, I know, so look under every box and everything." 4 4 4 Henri D'Elba, the most recent addition to Triangle's directing force, has a new assistant in Dick Oliphant, formerly with the Heffron company. D'Elba, who came to Triangle with several years experience as a director of feature pic A T the first meeting of the executive committee ** of the Motion Picture War Service Associa, tion, William Fox, president of the Fox Film Corporation, was unanimously elected vice-chairman to be in charge of all work connected with the organization east of the Mississippi River. The motion was made by Jesse L. Lasky. The following telegram from Mr. Fox was read Tom Mix, noted portray er of Western roles for Fox, who will soon appear in a Sunshine comedy. tures ■ abroad, and has been making a careful study of American methods for more than a year, had William Crinley as his assistant on his first Triangle feature, "Marked Cards." Crinley is now assistant to Director Christy Cabanne, also a new director with Triangle. The title of Director D'Elba's latest Triangle subject is "Alias Mary Brown," a crook story written by E. Magnus Ingleton. 4 4 4 Bessie Barriscale has been a very busy young lady since her return from New York in more ways than one. Besides starting "The Rainbow" at the Brunton studios under the direction of Howard Hickman (Mr. Barriscale), she has been very busy finding places in her Hollywood home to put the many things she purchased while visiting her sister in the metropolis. Just at present Bessie doesn't know whether she should buy a larger home or give some of the things away. Right now it looks as if her generous spirit would prevail. 4 4 4 Mary Niles, until recently a stenographer at the Triangle Culver City studios, is now an actress. When President H. E. Aitken took over the active management of the studios he saw Miss Niles on the lot one day and was struck by her beauty. "Have tests made of Miss Niles," was Aitken's order. _ S'o well did the tests come out that Miss Niles is now a full-fledged actress and may have a part in the coming production, "The Mavor of Filbert,'-' which is being directed by Christy Cabanne. 4 4 4 Al Ray has not been seen in the handball courts of the Los Angeles Athletic Club for the past week and his disappearance caused quite some comment, as Al makes it a habit to play a few games before supper every day. The reason for Al's disappearance was accounted for, however, when it was learned that he had started to work playing the juvenile in Earle Williams' latest Vitagraph feature and hadn't returned early enough from location to get up to the club. 4 4 4 Alfred Whitman has returned to the Vitagraph studios in Hollywood again after being on location in Northern California for some exterior mining scenes in his latest feature, "A Gentleman's Agreement." Incidentally, Al has forsaken the mining clothes he wore for some of the latest styles in clothes, which he wears during the interior scenes for this feature. He enjoyed his location trip immensely, spending his nights sleeping in the open under tents. 4 4 4 Mary Pickford has commenced work on a new Artcraft feature. "The Mobilization of Tohanne," by Rupert Hughes, with William D. Taylor directing. Taylor has not quite finished with his star in "Captain Kidd, Jr.," but as they had to wait_ several days to get some special sets they required, he decided to go ahead with the new story in order not to waste the time. Doing two pictures at once is quite a novelty for both Mary and Taylor. 4 4 4 Jack Cunningham, one of the well known script writers of the Los Angeles colony, had a picture on at the New York Rialto durinsr the past week, "More Trouble," starring Frank Keenan, was ,the picture, and those who knew the story previously will recognize the script, due to the fact that Mr. Cunningham effected the commendable change of injecting a_ treatment which took away the curse of an obvious plot, on which many of our scenario writers fail to make good. 4 4 4 Gloria Hope has purchased a touring car and has been spending the last few <3ays trying to master it. She thought she had progressed far enough to invite her sister for a ride the other day and the sister eagerly jumped at the invitation. But when she saw Gloria put the car in reverse instead of low, and almost back through the rear wall of the garage, she remembered a verv important letter she had to write — and Gloria went riding alone. 4 4 4 Herbert Howe, who handled the fan-publicitv for the Vitagraph Companv at the latter's New York office, is heard from in the tank service at Camp Colt, Gettysburg, Pennsvlvania. It was Mr. Howe, too, who, as an exhibitor, though just a boy out of school, first saw nossibilities in Charles Ray and Louise Glaum. His theater in a middle west city exploited these two stars all of two years before their respective companies put them on the trail to stardom. 4 4 4 H. Tipton Steck, ten years production manager for Essanay, has come to Universal City to take over the management of a newly created department, that of the reconstruction bureau, which has as its work the "making over" of scripts. Mr.