Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1912)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 43 murderer; but the cowboy recovers in time not only to save his friend, but to confound the villain whose wedding plans he interrupts. Many of the scenes make pretty pictures and the story will interest. "MUTT AND JEFF BREAK INTO SOCIETY" (Nestor). December 30. — This is very funny, as funny almost as any of the series. The story is now laid in California, with some excellent views of southern scenery as backgrounds. The actors are new. Perhaps they are better than those who formerly took these parts; but that is hard to decide. "THEIR AFTERNOON OFF" (Nestor), December 30.— Exquisite pictures of semi-tropical public gardens make this film notable. The story is very amusing and is well told, but is slight. A young man and a girl scrape acquaintance. They both talk as though millions were behind them. Next day they meet again. She is a cook in a handsome dwelling, he the new milk man. They become friends. Perhaps they took other afternoons off to walk among pahn trees and beautiful flowers. "THE SIGN OF THE HELMET" (Powers), December 26.— A tramp and policeman comedy, not very refined, but there is nothing in it that seriously offends. The helmet was owned by the cop on the beat and was good for a glass of beer handed out over the swinging doors of the saloon. The tramp got beer with its help; but he discredited it and when the cop came back, he got slops. "WHEN STEEL MEETS CLOUD" (Powers), December 26.— An instructive and very interesting picture showing much of the construction of those steel skyscrapers of great cities. Incidentally, many very interesting birdseye views of New York City are shown. INTERESTING INTERVIEW WITH J. C. DEAGAN. J. C. Deagan, inventor and manufacturer of the famous Deagan bells and other musical novelties, is back home again from an eleven months' trip around the world. Mr. Deagan, accompanied by his wife, sailed from New York the 8th of last January on the Hamburg-American S. S. Cleveland, and visited the principal parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Egypt, Asia Minor, Switzerland, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the British Isles. In an interview with a representative of the Moving Picture World, Mr. Deagan gave a very interesting account of his trip, which included the Arctic region, as well as the tropics. ."We went as far north as Spitzbergen," Mr. Deagan said, "which is only 600 miles from the pole, a country owned by no nation, a land of eternal ice and snow, where the sun rises and sets only two months of the year, with five months of complete darkness and five months of continuous sunshine. Mr. J. C. Deagan. "A place almost as remarkable is Assouan, Egypt, on the Nile, at the tropic of Cancer, where it has not rained for five hundred years. Thousands of nude men are dipping water out of the Nile, by hand in buckets, exactly as they did in the days of the Pharaohs, to irrigate their crops. Here also is the site of the ancient city of Thebes, where inscriptions in the temples say seven million people dwelt in the time of its greatest prosperity — about 1800 B. C. Only the magnificent ruins with carvings, statuary and hieroglyphics now tell the story of the great metropolis with seventy gates. What a pity." Mr. Deagan said, "that we did not have a moving picture camera with us to portray all the remarkable things we have seen." Of course the conversation drifted to the pictures. "There are some very fine moving picture shows over in Europe, especially in Holland and Germany. In Berlin we saw a film manufacturing plant as pretentious as anything m America. The exhibitor is making money, and generally gets a higher admission than over here. In Berlin they generally charge one mark (twenty-five cents) for the moving picture entertainment, and in Paris one and even two francs. The pictures are, on an average, better projected and in better condition than over here, particularly so in Holland, Germany and France. We saw some beautiful pictures in Italy and Austria. In some countries the moving picture is quite unknown, and we did not see a single picture show in Constantinople. My impression is that in many parts of Europe and Asia the opportunities for the motion pictures are far from being realized, and appearances indicate that there may be a large and profitable field for .\merican capital and enterprise. "Among other places of interest was the World's Fair in Turin, a magnificefit exhibition where American industries were well represented. We had a small exhibit there ourselves of our musical novelty instruments and were awarded several prizes, among others the blue ribbon for our musical electrical bells. "In London we saw the coronation, and a reproduction in pictures on the night of the same day." Mr. Deagan also visited the place where his father was born, Nennagh, Tipperary County, Ireland. Concluding the story of his travels, Mr. Deagan stated that he has a surprise in store for the moving picture exhibitors of this country, and said that after scanning Europe, and particularly Germany, for novelties in his line, and especially for something that might appeal to the moving picture people, he had been fortunate enough to run across a musical instrument called a "harmonium," which looks like a small organ and which, he declares, possesses some really remarkable musical qualities. Mr. Deagan believes this instrument will be an exceptional feature for the photoplay theater. The instrument will sell at a very moderate price, further announcements of which will be made in the Moving Picture World at an early date. It was also learned that the site for a new factory has been obtained by Mr. Deagan, and that a large and modern plant will soon be erected to meet the ever increasing demands of the Deagan product. CONCAVE SCREENS. The Inventors' Specialty Company installed several of their concave screens in Chicago last week. A representative of the Moving Picture World visited the Park Theater, at 6ist Street and South Park Avenue, where one was in operation, to see the screen as installed. Mr. James Tank, the manager of the Park Theater, said it realized his long-felt desire for an even picture from all angles, regardless of what seat in the house the spectator may view it from. It also evens the picture when the picture is thrown at an angle above or at one side of the screen, says Mr. Tank. MOVING PICTURES AND THE CHURCH. Rev. Father M. J. Dowling. pastor of St. Aloysius Catholic Church, of St. Joseph, Mo., and former president of Creighton College, of Omaha, has established a motion picture theater in the hall of the parochial school and proposes to give shows each week on Monday and Thursday night. * * * Moving pictures at Sunday night services of subjects appropriate in character, will be the attraction at the First Congregational Church of Gardner. Mass., early in January. It is the opinion of the members of the church that religious stories in photoplay would be of benefit^ in the work of the church, and a committee has been appointed to secure funds for the purchase of a moving picture machine. The Rev. Burton S. Gillman will himself operate the machine and is already taking lessons in the operating room of the Gardner Theater, through the courtesy of Mr. W. A. Wesley, manager. To use his slogan, we know the above is true because "Wesley says so."