Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1914)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 273 hotel, where the members afterward said they had received word to return and supposed he had issued the order. As Mr. Olcott was walking back a native stepped beside him and inquired if he wanted to make a picture on the morrow. The stranger told him not to turn his head. When the director replied that he did, he was asked what he would pay. "Come to my hotel," said Olcott. The native followed him. When the two were behind closed doors the native demanded 200 pounds Turkish for the privilege, to be paid into his hand then. He tinally agreed to accept 100 pounds. Mr. Olcott told him to come back at 8 o'clock that evening. Then the American gatliered his two friends and went after the Governor. His 'Irish" was up. He threw diplomacy to the winds, and against the protest of the Vice-Consul insisted the interpreter say for him to the Governor that the ofticial had been made a fool of. Mr. Olcott was emphatic and belligerent. The governor became interested in the story of the demand for money. He said there would be extra protection assigned to the American company the next day and was positive that all would be well. When Mr. Olcott returned to his hotel the dragoman, Ameen Zaytoun, was missing. It was 3 o'clock in the morning when he came in. All night he had been about the coffee houses, taking his life in his hands. "He has the heart of a lion," said Mr. Olcott. "He told me that the gangsters were going to mix in tlie scenes the next forenoon and that they intended to hurt us. 'Badly?' I asked him. 'Yes, worse than that.' But Ameen said if I took the picture he was to go, too. No, the stranger never came for his money. There was but one thing to be done and we did it. We started for the location at daylight and traveled by a different route than that intended, and returned that afternoon in safety. Eventually we engaged a special train, and we left Jerusalem at an hour earlier than any other train had been known to leave the Holy City. So that is why we did not show a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It probably would have meant bloodshed. "When I look back and think of the assistance given by Bob Vignola, Jack Clark, Jack McGowan, Allen Farnham and George Hollister, not forgetting our English friends — and the women bore their share, too. Gene Gauntier and Alice Hollister — I want to thank them for their co-operation and for the way in whicli then entered into the work." Those who have been so fortunate as to see the remarkable "From the Manger to the Cross" know with what reverence and technical skill this little band of American and English players treated a most delicate subject. HIS NOTION OF WORK! Dave Thompson, the veteran Thanhouser player, is nothing if not a busy man. Recently he was appointed studio manager of the Thanhouser plant — by the way, he was Thanhouser's first studio manager, to go back into ancient history — but he said he wanted to go on acting. Mr. Hite, though, knew Thompson had fitted liimself for the post by previous experience. You see, after being the pioneer studio boss at New .Rochelle. Thompson quit the job to take liis family to Europe. Returning to the Thanhouser employ, he became a leading man. But President Hite, knowing the Thompson worth, arranged that he take over the managing work and play in the pictures besides. So now Da\e gets all the stages in order mornings for all the Thanhouser directors, nlaces the right "people" with the right producer, "makes up" and jumps into a "lead" himself, finishes, "washes up," orders the various stages and sets dismantled, orders used costumes returned and new ones produced, writes up the new property lists, tells the scenic artists the new "drops" he wants painted and "calls" the people for the next day! Upon the finish of which Mr. Thompson has "nothing to do till to-morrow" — provided some delayed director isn't using the studio at night! Dave ThomDson. Herbert Prior. Herbert Prior An Early Recruit from the Legitimate Now Firmly Established as a Leading Photoplayer. HERBERT PRIOR, now one of the best known figures on the photoplay screen, is a native of England. Before becoming a photoplayer he spent fifteen years on the stage, having entered the profession very young. A man of high ideals and serious purpose, Mr. Prior worked hard and studied constantly, always with an eye to self-improvement. He forged steadily ahead and had gained considerable prominence when the motion picture suddenly loomed upon the horizon. Being an independent thinker, Mr. Prior refused to accept the attitude of aloofness affected by the theatrical world toward the motion picture. He was, in fact, one of the first successful actors to go" over to the new field, realizing that it offered a tremendous opportunity. Like many actors who have followed liis example, Mr. Prior was strongly influenced in his choice by the tremendous range of characters which the actor portrays in the photoplay and by the unparalleled opportunity for developing versatility wliich the screen affords. Then, too, the idea of reaching so vast an audience appealed to him as he realized that he would be appearing all over the civilized world. So, despite the protests of his friends, Mr. Prior became a photoplayer and he has never regretted the step. As he himself says, "I consider the time which I have spent with the Edison Company to have been the most desirable and most instructive years of my life, as I spent two winters in Cuba, covered the Canadian Pacific Railroad route through to the Rocky Mountains, visited Colorado, Maine and made numerous short trips. I saw more and learned more of the beauty of nature during these trips than I did in all the other years of my life." Mr. Prior is at present in Florida with the Edison players where he will remain during the winter, playing leading roles in several important dramas which have already been planned. Mr. Prior has, of course, played in innumerable Edison films, ranging from the broadest comedy to the most thrilling drama. Among them are to be 'mentioned "The Doctor," "The Battle of Trafalgar," "His First Valentine," "Why Girls Leave Home," "Janet of the Dunes." "Saved by the Enemy," "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" and "A Night at the Inn." Mr. Prior is also the author of several well known Edison comedies, a few of which are: "A Pious Undertaking," "Bill's Career as Butler," "The Desperate Condition of Mr. Boggs" and "Othello in Jonesville." Although a past master in the art of fun making, and although he has confined his scenario writing to comic subjects, Mr. Prior is by no means to be considered a comedian. His interpretation of dramatic roles is powerful, sympathetic, real. It is in fact a high expression of the art of acting. A strong believer in the power of personality, and endowed with those characteristics which win and hold friends, Mr. Prior, by virtue of his natural gifts and the unceasing labor with which he has molded' them into their present high form, stands to-day among the foremost players in the filirv world. SEIGLER BUYS THEATER LEASE. Albert J. Seigler, of Pleasantville. N. J., has recently purchased the five-year lease on the People's Theater, that city, and is giving the inhabitants of Pleasantville a good show of moving pictures and vaudeville for admission prices of ten and twenty cents. Mr. Seigler has also acquired the control of the picture house which was owned by F. A. Hubin, who opened the first photoplay house in that city. The latter house will be devoted exclusively to the exhibition of motion pictures, with admission prices the same as the People's Theater.