Moving Picture World (Jul 1919)

234 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD July 12, 1919 Universal Engages Laura Trainor. Laura Trainor, the Montana girl, who achieved fame some time ago by riding her pet horse from Missoula, Mont., to Los Angeles, has been engaged by Universal to play with Jack Perrin and Josephine Hill in “Fighting Blood,” a two-reel western drama, which Reeves Eason will produce from a script by William Pigott and Anthony Coldewev. Scott’s Farm on Staten Island and in a studio in Jersey City. Enlarges Production Facilities. After a few pictures had been produced it became apparent that the existing organization was not based on sufficiently comprehensive lines to permit the development that seemed assured. In consequence the Fox Corporation absorbed the business of the Box Office Attraction Company and began immediately to produce on a much larger scale. Mr. Fox purchased the Eclair studio, organized new companies, engaged additional stars and popular leading players, and gave notice, by aggressiveness if not by words, that he was in the producing business on a big scale. He made himself more and more a power in the industry. One studio became altogether inadequate for his purpose. Others were bought. More companies were organized. More stars engaged. Additional office space was taken in the building at 130 West Forty-sixth street. New branch offices were established in this country. Canada was invaded, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Cuba; and when war burst on the continent of Europe, immediate advantage was taken of non-production there for the establishment of a chain of Fox branch offices centering at London and Paris. Opens California Studio. Having purchased or leased a number of studios in the East, Mr. Fox now established a production plant at Hollywood, California, being attracted there by the extraordinary facilities which that section affords for the filming of pictures. The Fox Hollywood plant was one of the largest studio plants on the Pacific Coast, covering several acres. Despite its size, it was not large enough to meet the growing demands placed upon it by the increasing business of the Fox Film Corporation. Since it was laid out in 1916, the studio and laboratory facilities have been increased several times by the purchase of adjoining Lew Cody Salvaging a Few Beautiful Bits from “Broken Butterfly.” Pauline Stark looks on with evident approval, still fearing, in this Maurice Tourneur production. Jack Perrin Engaged by Universal. Jack Perrin, who supported Olive Thomas in “Toton” and who was starred in the two-reel Western drama, “Two Men of Tinted Butte,” has been engaged by Universal to CQ-star with Josephine Hill in a series of two-reel Westerns. Perrin’s latest work with Universal was in "The Pinnacle.” tracts and the erection of additional buildings. Strengthens European Position. This spring, Mr. Fox, in company with Mr. Sheehan, spent several weeks in Europe establishing ten new exchanges and preparing for the opening and operation of studios and laboratories in England and France. The branch office organization of the Fox Corporation now literally covers the civilized world, with the exception of Germany, Austria and Hungary. There are twenty-three branches operated in the United States under the immediate supervision of Herman Robbins, assistant general manager of the company, and six district managers working under his direction. In Canada there are six branch offices, in Great Britain nine, in Scandinavia and Russia two, in Australia five, in New Zealand one, in Cuba one, in South America six, and on the continent of Europe ten — making a total of sixtythree branches. Many of these are quartered in buildings owned by the Fox Film Corporation, and all are operated as an integral part of the Fox organization. With the opening of the new $2,500,000 William Fox Building in New York and the completion of plans for work abroad, the Fox Film Corporation will have its extensive business centralized in two immense plants — one in the East and one on the Pacific Coast — with supplementary plants in England and on the European continent. The New York plant is not to effect a reduction of the work in California, nor to modify the plans for European production. The Sincredsoyooz, Co-operative Credit System, Will THE place of the motion picture in Russia’s reconstruction plans was clearly defined by her commercial representatives to the United States a few days ago during the visit of M. and Mme. Gennady Alexandrevitch Bersenyeff, Miss Mary Woodyard, of Sydney, Australia, and Howard D. Hadley, American consul in Russia for the last two years. M. Bersenyeff is president of the Sincredsoyooz, one of the world’s greatest co-operative credit systems in the world. It is an organization of 1,000,000 members, serving 6,000,000 Russian people, and new methods of agriculture, manufacture and business will be demonstrated to Russia’s huge population through the cinematographic medium. Bersenyeff Meets Laemmle. While at University City, Mr. Bersenyeff met Carl Laemmle, president of the Universal Company. Mr. Laemmle told the Russian official and Consul Hadley, representing the American Government, of Universal’s entire willingness to serve Use Films for Propaganda American interests and humanity’s progress in applying the motion picture to Russian conditions. Miss Woodyard, who is foreign buyer for Farmer & Company, owner of a • chain of the biggest department stores of Australia, accompanies the party. She told of the big welcome given the motion picture play in Australia, especially of the popularity of such stars as Dorothy Phillips, Charlie Chaplin, Constance Talmadge and Mary MacLaren, and she said that James J. Corbett’s popularity was so great in Australia that the colonists awaited eagerly his first screen release, “The Midnight Man,” which will be shown on the continent for a consecutive run of eighteen weeks. Believes in Kolchak Regime. M. Bersenyeff said that the Kolchak regime, which he believes has established itself as successor to the LenineTrotzky-Bolshevik influence, or will have, conclusively, within a few months, strongly favors the introduction of the cinema as an educational force in Russia and a number of cameras and projection outfits have already been ordered. While at Universal City, M. Bersenyeff and Mr. Hadley inspected methods of productions and through the good offices of Mr. Laemmle learned much of the commercial science of distribution. The party left Universal City for New York, whence they will take ship for London. After a stop in Paris the visitors will return to Petrograd to report.