Moving Picture World (Jul 1920)

446 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD July 24, 1920 | Crandall Theatres j I Strong for Sargent; His | i Counsel Has Helped at ] Box Office IT is our notion that the greatest | value to the exhibitor of Mr. Sar g gent’s department lies in the fact g | that his suggestions, cricticisms and | | comment seem to be inspired purely by | I a desire to elevate the standard of ad g M vertising display in the industry and g 1 to enhance its selling strength. . . . I g 1 may say further that Mr. Sargent’s pub | I lished counsel has on many occasions g 1 redounded to the benefit of our own g I activities in this field.” CRANDALL THEATRES, NELSON B. BELL, General Press Representative. | romped over to where I was standing and began to kick up his heels. “Figure It Up!” Thinking that this might be part of the action, and not wishing to spoil some raw stock by getting into the picture, I hastily stepped' out from under my straw hat and beat it to a doorway in a nearby set, and all the time that ornery, flea-bitten mustang was just feeling his oats and trying to show off. I’ve always heard about horse sense, but you can’t tell me horses haven’t got any sense. Miss Roland told me that “Ruth of the Rockies” is the eleventh serial in which she has played the leading part. Think of the thrills— think of the stunts, of all the adventures by flood and field that she has gone through. Figure up the gallons of midnight oil that has been burned by scenario writers ; think of the imaginations that have been worn to a frazzle doping out new stunts for her to do. Her Millionaire Prince. At the Realart studio I insinuated myself into a closed set where Chet Franklin was directing Bebe Daniels in her first picture as a star. Miss Daniels has been sick, but she says she is feeling O. K. again and she certainly looks okey. Miss Daniels’ part in the film is that of a young girl who works in the hat check room of a large hotel. She is poor, her family lives in a tenement, and she longs for the fine feathers of the fashionable and the frivolous folks who came to the hotel. She almost falls for an old roue who is willing to buy her all the finery she wants, and she does fall dead in love with a young chap whom she thinks is a chauffeur and as poor as she is, who turns out to be the Prince Charming of her dreams and with scads of money. A great part for Bebe; she is doing great work in it. Hello to Arbuckle. Edward Martindale, who takes the role of the heavy; Jack Mulhall, the hero; Neely Edwards, who is doing his first dip in serious drama in the part of a young sport, and Leo White in the role of the proprietor of a gown shop, were in the set. The play is an adaptation of two Saturday Evening Post stories, “Class” and “You Never Can Tell,” and the picture will probably be released under the last-named title. At Lasky’s I stopped a few minutes and said hello to Roscoe Arbuckle, who had just got back from a two weeks’ location trip to Jimtown, one of the oldest and at one time the toughest town in California. Roscoe was working on “The Traveling Salesman,” with Joe Henabery directing and Betty Ross Clark playing feminine lead. The stories to the effect that Mr. Arbuckle is losing his form since forsaking comedy for the serious drama are not true. Arch Reeves, of the publicity department, went over to the Arbuckle set with me. Arch and Roscoe resemble each other very much from an architectural standpoint — they each have the same full plump forms. There is less than an inch difference in their circumference at the equator. I asked Arch if it was true that Roscoe was getting thin. He nodded his head sadly, but at this moment two little girls who were working in another set wandered over where we were all three standing. “Which of you is Fatty Arbuckle?” one of them asked. “Which one do you think?” asked Fatty. “Take your pick.” DR. ALEXANDRE A. STUART, president and general manager of the Film-Lore Productions Company, Inc., of 18 West Thirty-fourth street, New York City, says that among the most important requirements of a motion picture executive is an ability to judge and select stories for filming. Expert knowledge of what the public wishes also is necessary, he said, in order to guide the production staff intelligently in the making of films of timely need and demand. In speaking of his new organization Dr. Stuart said that both the artistic and commercial values of its productions will be considered. “We have an unusual organization of people of broad experience and scholarship,” he said, “and we feel sure that in our forward strides our productions will fill a much-needed want. We purpose big things and will endeavor to make features that will possess every element a real boxoffice attraction should have. “Our material will be obtained from powerful original stories and the real treasures of literature. Science and art will be incorporated into our films and they will have an educational as well as a gripping entertainment value. We realize that the story is the most vital point of production and therefore we have made iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifi Dr. Alexandre A. Stuart President and general manager of FilmLore Productions, Inc. I stepped aside so as to make it less confusing for the little girl. She looked a long time, then she said: “Well, I read in the paper that Mr. Arbuckle was getting thin, so I guess you are him.” And she points directly at Arch. A Bret Harte “Seller.” To those who know Mr. Reeves, this incident will be conclusive proof that Roscoe is still secure in his plumpness. Roscoe told me about the two weeks’ trip to Jimtown. Jimtown was used as a location for many of Bret Harte’s stories. Roscoe says the old saloon, with the bar where Colonel Starbottle drank his toddies, and the tables where Gentleman Jack Hamlin played his games is still standing at Jimtown, and that some day he is going up there and buy the outfit, if it can be bought, and have it set up in his cellar. it the center of our activities. “Our policy will be an all-star cast. When a story has a stellar role we will give it to a capable star. At no time will we put out a flimsy story to exploit incapable people who style themselves stars. The same careful consideration that every other detail of the production will receive will be given to the settings. Historic locations entering into the locale of the stories will be filmed on the authentic site and not faked; thus our scenic settings will have the same historic and educational value as the stories.” Developing the last idea. Dr. Stuart went on to describe “Brain Cinema,” the first special feature to be produced. He is now arranging to send the all-star cast and production staff to Scotland. Most of the action occurs in and around historic Edinburgh and the Highlands, and he will see that even the smallest details are carried out logically and correctly. Keeping in Personal Touch (Continued from page 440) Harry K. Lucas, of the Lucas Supply Company, of Atlanta, and E. J. Callahan, general manager of the same company at Dallas, were in New Tork the week of July 12 getting a little northern atmosphere and lining up with the latest accessories and supplies. * * » Mr. and Mrs. A. Sottile and their daughter. Miss Sottile, came from Charleston, S. C., this week and are at the Hotel Astor for a visit of a week or longer. Mr. Sottile, who is the head of the Pastime Amusement Company, of Charleston, with five theatres in that city, three of them for motion pictures, has almost completed plans for a new theatre with a seating capacity of 3,000, and while here he will look over some of the latest theatres in. this and nearby cities for new ideas with which to improve his new theatre in Charleston. • • • A. J. Pegler, publicity director of the Gibraltar Pictures, leaves for Europe on Saturday, July 17. He is taking advantage of a longed opportunity to study conditions on the other side and attend to some personal business. £ Mexico Abolishes Censors Moving picture censorship has been f | abolished in Mexico by Provisional 4 | President de la Huerta. The censor | 1 ship department of the Ministry of | | the Interior will hereafter be used | I “to foster rather than hinder the in | I dustry,” according to a newspaper. .luniiimiiiiiiiniininummimrnnmiMinnminimimniiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiHim .mn-iui m uummuMu*. “The Story's The Thing/' Says Stuart; Film-Lore Company Bound For Scotland