Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

THE :\[(A'IXG PICTURE WORLD 269 I'.ut we know w^e could not rnn rhe l)ig stuff every night — it would hurt the business. "Tl'.e public recognizes the name of an establislied company, and the announcement of a feature made by an old concern wdl lill a house. If one group of manufacturers lias the advantage over another it is because it has liad the time to gather experience and facilities and to accumulate that storehouse of information so necessary in the making of a perfect picture. A good production depends upon a hundred incidentals, the going wrong of any one of which may seriously mar the whole subject. We have got to maintain a good organization; we have got to work all the time ; we have got to have a good studio, and to have good ideas to make this industry a permanent business. By doing we learn to do. Interior of Thanhouser Studio. "We are now ready to make big pictures, and we are goiii ; to make them, .^.s a matter of fact, we have turned out five big subjects since our fire a year ago. I think there is one thing the manufacturers have to fear, and that is the amalgamation of theaters. If this ever takes place, you may be sure I am going to be one of the amalgamators." Mr. Hite admitted, however, that it would be a practical impossibility to put into effect any plan of this sort by reason of the many conflicting interests involved. "THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA" (Vitagraph). Sailors stripped to their waists, manning the big guns; otficers on the bridge shouting orders; shells exploding in mid air; mines upheaving the sea; ships in front of the besieged city returning the fire; towers and minarets bursting into flame and falling to ground in a thousand fragments: everywhere excitement and carnage, this is what takes place in one of the big scenes for a new feature motion picture drama, being produced by the Vitagraph Company, when the English battleships bombard Alexandria, the Queen City of Egypt. The most remarkable part of this scene is that it was staged in the yard at the Vitagraph plant. The city, the sea and the ships were all stage property, and yet a degree of realism was reached which the actual bombardment of a real city could not excel. Three large "drops" were set up at one end of a large tank filled with water. One "drop," the largest, represented the sky and the city in the distance, another was a mass of Egyptian houses and buildings, while the front "drop" showed a nearer view of the city, including the water-front with its wharves and wharf houses and many ships tied to the piers. .At the other end of the tank, facing the city, a battleship lay broadside to the city. On this ship, sailors and officers in active battle, loading and discharging cannon, while the eye of the camera records it all. A clever electrical arrangement of explosive, including the mine of the deep tank, and the setting off of combustibles in the minarets and towers of the city, and above the water and over the ship; dazzled, and even frightened, the spectators. Some women, standing near the water's edge, jumped back and sought safety when the bursting of the guns and mines threw torrents of water about and above them. The scene was produced by directors Maurice Costello and Robert Gaillord. M. P. OPERATOR ON BATTLESHIP. Last week, P. T. Slamon, a blue jacket of the U. S. S. North Dakota, lying in the Brooklyn Navy Yard for the winter, paid a visit to tlie office of Warner's Features, Inc., in quest of portraits of Gene Gauntier, Jack Clark and Sidney Olcott, to complete his folio of motion picture stars. Besides being a sailor, he also is the motion picture operator on board the North Dakota. Every Wednesday and Saturday the Tars enjoy a moving picture exhibition consisting of one, two and three-reel subjects. MISS JANE WOLFE. IF MISS JANE WOLFE, the famous Kalem star, was not so successful in her photoplay work, she could easily attain rank as an architect. This was demonstrated recently when a party of prominent architects enthusiastically ]iraised two bungalows designed and built by this remarkably versatile woman. .-\bout a year ago. , , / Miss Wolfe, who is a member of the Kalem lorces at Glendale, became dissatisfied with uie quarters she was occupying at the time and determined to build a home of her own. Years of residence in California had caused iier to grow weary of tile sameness of the architectural style of the residences peculiar 10 that state and Miss Wolfe determined t o have her home as diflferent from the rest as possible. For several months, the Kalem performer toiled over her plans until she finally drew up a set which proved satisfactory. To make sure that her ideas were carried out. Miss Wolfe personally superintended the construction work. When the building was finally completed, Glendale awoke to the fact that it possessed a new object of beauty. The enthusiastic comment of the newspapers caused a party of architects from Los Angeles and San Francisco to make the trip to Glendale. In Miss Wolfe's bungalow they saw what one of their number later described as "one of the most exquisite architectural gems in California.'' Despite this flattering comment, Miss Wolfe expressed herself as disappointed in the building and immediately started to work on a set of plans for another bungalow which would embody her ideas more perfectly. This building was completed recently and is considered so perfect a piece of architecture that one of the West's most prominent architects recently requested Miss Wolfe's permission to show photographs of it in an article which he is preparing for a trade paper. As the result of the comment which has arisen, Miss Wolfe has received almost a hundred letters from people who intend to build homes for themselves and want to use the Kalem actress' plans. Some of these letters border on the pathetic and tell of the struggles experienced by the writers in saving enough money to build a tiny home. Miss Jane Wolfe. McKAY DID NOT BUY THEATER. It was stated in the correspondence columns in the issue of January 3, under the head of "New England and Canada," that Manager Pearson had disposed of his Broadway Theater, .Somerville, Mass., to John F. McKay, an attorney and counsellor at law. in that city. In a letter to the Moving Picture World, Mr. McKay says that he has no interest whatever in the Broadway Theater, except as attorney for George H. Pierce, lessee and manager of the house. Mr. McKay further says that Mr. Pierce has had no business relations Vvhatever with A. G. Pearson, the former lessee, who ran the house under the name of "Pearson's Annex." Mr. Pierce holds a lease from the owner, Thomas Davey, and has made a number of extensive improvements, which puts the place in the up-to-date class. Vocal and instrumental music is the accompaniment to a program of moving pictures.