The Moving Picture Weekly (1917-1918)

THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY ly ADVERTISING CATCH LINES The worst man in Gila Junction. He lay down his life for his friend. The heart of a gambler. A romance which went wrong. Western justice against Eaistern money trickery. Twenty years of love for a Western ideal. Love or pistols. The code of the West. A desert crime. AT A GLANCE. STAR— Frank Keenan. Previous Record — Star actor and producer of the legitimate stage, now appearing on the screen in tive-reel productions. "The Long Chance" was one of the first, and is still the best example of his screen work. Scenario by Harvey Gates, from the Novel by Peter B. Kyne, Saturday Evening Post author and wellknown novelist. Directed by E. J. LeSaini. Locale — The West, extending over a period of some twenty-two years. Supporting Cast — Stella Razeto, Fred Church, Beryl Houghton, Jack Nelson, Jack Curtis and Clyde Benson. Thumb-Nail Theme — Story of the worst man in Gila Junction, a gambler, who held honor above profit, and whose code gained for him at the end the respect which men who live next to nature accord to the brave and the true. Advertising punches of the photoplay: 1. Frank Keenan, one of the bestknown stars, either of the stage or oi the screen. 2. A photoplay which gives him an opportunity to reconstruct a character similar to that of the sheriff in "The Girl of the Golden West"— a photoplay which visualizes the West as it was twenty-five years ago, when the i-apidity with which a man could draw his gun constituted the difference between the quick and the dead. 3. A well-known novel by a wellknown author, Peter B. Kyne. 4. A sensational ending. A duel in which the gambler, mortally wounded by a treacherous shot, disables his adversary and chokes out of him a confession freeing from suspicion the young man for whose happiness, and that of his fiancee, the gambler was willing to lay down his life. ITS VALUE PROVEN. •The Long Chance," with Frank Keenan, Has Made Good. gLUEBIRD has rescued from the obli vion which perforce overtakes all things cinema, another excellent photoplay. The late Broadway Universal Specials contained a number of remarkable masterpieces of the moving picture art. Among them was Frank Keenan in "The Long Chance," a thrilling six-reel picture ol the West in its most unvarnished condition. It was released three years ago, and had far more than the natural life of a photoplay. Now Bluebird has decided to reissue it on its regular program, cutting it down to five reels, and snapping it up with modern titles and the style which accompanies all Bluebird photoplays. The reissue of "The Long Chance" is not nearly so difficult as that of many photoplays, because it was the first drama to be produced along what are known now as modern lines. That is, its stox-y wasn't told in one, two, three sequence, as all stories up to that time had been told. The element of photoplay suspense was interjected in the development of "The Long Chance" for the first time. Half oi the story wasn't told until the last reel, whereas it was formerly the custom to keep the audience in strict acquaintance with the entire action of the photoplay as it progressed. In "The Long Chance" the audience is kept in ignorance of the real facts in the case by clever backward writing of the plot. At the time it was produced it was held as a great advance in the motion picture art, albeit many of those who saw it were rather mystified by what to-day is the most general of photoplay tricks. For this reason "The Liong Chance" has the earmarks of a strictly up-to-date play, and contains nothing which would stamp it as three years old. In addition to Frank Keenan, who needs no introduction to photoplay fans, and who is still grinding them out for their delectation, the cast assembled was a strong one, including Stella Razeto, Fred Church, Beryl Boughton, Jack Nelson, Jack Curtis and Clyde Benson. E. J. LeSaint made the production, which was written from a continuity contributed by Harvey Gates. In fact, it is to Mr. Gates that "The Long Chance" is indebted for its highly modern technique. Keenan is provided with a role which gives him every opportunity to play all around his now famous Jack Ranee character. In three years' time he has never succeeded in approaching the pinnacle of perfection which the character of TTo,.igy Hennage, drawn by that wonderful portrayer of Westei'n types, Peter B. Kyne, drew especially for him. Whether those who are fortunate enough to see '"^^e Long Chance" at ^he Theatre on had ever seen this photoplay before or not, they are due for a mighty entertaining evening. KEENAN A BLUEBIRD. The Long Chance" Reissued After Three Years. Y^HEN Bluebird decided to reissue one of the screen classics of the stage, there was no question of attempting either to disguise the fact that it was a reissue, or to change its title to anything else. For that reason, "The Long Chance," which has just been set on the Jewel program, will retain the title under which it made one of the greatest reputations ever scored T»y a western photoplay. The only changes that Jewel made were the cutting of the original negative to five reels, and the addition of modern drawn titles more snappily written than in the original. Although Frank Keenan, the star of "The Long Chance," has appeared in a number of plays since, he has never received the praise which followed his first big success in motion pictures, one reason being that "The Long Chance" was the first photoplay to be written in what is now considered the modem style of photoplay writing. It is as new to-day as though it were written yesterday. Mr. Keenan had been on the stage for a long time before his real opportunity came, but the reason for his instant success in "The Girl of the Golden West" was not nearly so much the opportunity as it was the fact that Keenan was preparea. Keenan was one hundred per cent. Jack Ranee. He made the part so vital, so thoroughly genuine and picturesque that he set a standard for the character for all time, and not only for that role, but for all similar parts on the stage. He made it stand out almost beyond that of the title role, though that was played by the talented Blanche Bates. When "The Girl" was put into form of an onera and Caruso played the role, Mr. Keenan coached him in the action and make-up for it, thus still further immortalizing it. It vdW be seen at the Theati'e on