Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1922)

December 23, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 727 Metro’s Next Two Month’s Offerings One Big Picture After Another, Says Atkinson “Not Ready-Mades, But Custom-Made” Production, States Firm’s General Manager Business life for the exhibitor during the next two months is going to be just one big attraction after another in so far as Metro’s offerings are concerned. This is the gist of a statement given out this week at the home offices of Metro Pictures Corporation, in New York, by William E. Atkinson, general manager. Summarizing Mr. Atkinson’s outline of the schedule for December and January there appears to be, in addition to the current Metro successes, no less than a dozen pictures of exceptional entertainment value in the immediate offing. Grouped about the junction of the year 1922 with the year 1923 are the Metro-SL special production of “Quincy Adams Sawyer,” Laurette Taylor in “Peg o’ My Heart,” the sensational Technicolor picture, “The Toll of the Sea”; Ben Ames Williams’ sea drama, “All the Brothers Were Valiant” ; the Reginald Barker production, “Hearts Aflame” ; Robert Z. Leonard’s presentation of a new Mae Murray picture, “Jazzmania” ; the Fred Niblo production of “The Famous Mrs. Fair” ; Viola Dana’s latest comedy of youth, “Calico and Romance,” and, somewhat later, Rex Ingram’s production, “The Passion Vine.” In addition to these features are several Bull Montana and Stan Laurel comedies — short subjects of novel appeal, which, if they corne up to the performances of their predecessors, will prove invariably_ welcome to audiences. “Making motion pictures,” said Mr. Atkinson, “may be likened to making a suit of clothes. There are two distinct sorts of clothes: the j factory-made and the custom-made, j The factory-made motion picture il has done more harm to the indus ? try than any other element. The public needs not so much to be protected _ against sensational pictures as against die-cut pictures. No man needs to be warned against wearing a black-and-white checked dinner Mat— and that’s sensational enough. But if there are too many readymades in the market the buyer — who is the theatre-goer — becomes reluctant about spending money for something that gives him only mediocre satisfaction. Metro has not only long since realized that the custom-made movie is the desirable one, but it has insisted, in translating this observation into action, that, in making pictures of distinction, all elements must be of the first grade. “In clothes there are four things to watch for: the quality of the goods, the design, the workmanship and the fit. It is the same with pictures. The quality of the goods is the ca.st; the design is the story; the workmanship is found in the scenario and direction, and the fit IS the suitability to the box office, there^ are other elements which enter into the making of a season’s I output: variety and originality. No I one wants half a dozen suits of the same pattern, and no one wants a suit made over from some one else’s. “Going over the Metro releases for the next two months or so the showman can check up and observe that the pictures mentioned conform to the necessities of success as entertainment. “Take, first, ‘Quincy Adams Sawyer,’ the Metro-SL special. The cast is little short of astonishing— Blanche Sweet, John Bowers, Lon Chaney, Barbara La Marr, Louise Fazenda, Hank Mann, June Elvidge, Edward Connelly, Joseph Dowling. Elmo Lincoln, and several others as well known. The story is the most famous home-folks romance ever written — Charles Felton Pidgin’s novel. The scenario is by Bernard McConville, who did ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’ and other pictures as successful. Clarence G. Badger, director of the picture, had much to do with the popularity of the series of Will Rogers pictures, such as ‘Jubilo,’ and others. The picture is clean; it's funny; it’s human, and it has the biggest dramatic punch at the climax I’ve ever seen. “Right after ‘Quincy Adams Sawyer’ comes ‘Peg o’ My Heart,’ with Laurette Taylor in, the star role. This actress, one of the most distinguished of American stage stars, has heretofore refused all offers of an appearance on the screen; and it is doubtful whether, had it not been in the character of Peg, her most famous role, she would have ever consented to act before the camera. The play itself is undoubtedly the most successful the modern stage has seen. Still being performed, its total number of presentations has passed the 15,000 mark. America, England, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Holland, the Scandinavian countries, cities in the Orient — all have seen ‘Peg o’ My Heart’ in the theatre. In play form it has been uniformly a hit, and all doubt as to its faithful reproduction in pictures is dissipated by the fact that the author — J. Hartley Manners — was present at the Metro studios throughout the making of the film. The scenario is by Mary O’Hara, who did the continuity for Rex Ingram's ‘The Prisoner of Zenda.’ The direction is King Vidor’s. “Metro is privileged at this time, too, to issure a picture which marks as new an era in progress as did the Wright brothers’ flights several years ago. The release is the Technicolor picture, ‘The Toll of Fox Announcements for Week of Dec. 16 Fox Film Corporation announces a program of two star features, two star-comedy specials, a Lee Kid re-issue, a Sunshine Comedy and a Mutt and Jeff Animated Cartoon for release during the week of December 16. “Lights of New York,” the special production, directed by Charles J. Brabin, which was originally scheduled for distribution October 22, was released December 10. This is the last of the series of eight specials announced by Fox Film Corporation early this year to be issued to the exhibition field. For the present week, John Gilbert will be seen in “A California Romance,” directed by Jerome Storm. The story is by Charles Banks. On December 24, “Pawn Ticket 210,” starring Shirley Mason, will be released. “The Cyclist,” a Clyde Cook two-reeler, will be ready December 24. A1 St. John will be seen in “The Alarm,” on December 17. The Sunshine Comedy is “A Poor Fish” and the Mutt and Jeff Cartoon “Jim Jams.” Records Broken by Pathe’s “Dr. Jack With respect to “Dr. Jack,” Pathe reports that exhibitors, patrons and reviewers are “sold” in the fullest meaning of the term. The statement is made that booking contracts for Harold Lloyd’s new feature comedy accepted at the home office up to December 6 broke all records for any type of picture, and that no section of the country is omitted from this claim. An extraordinary number of extended runs of “Dr. Tack” at im nortant houses throughout the United States are reported, says Pathe, to be under negotiation, inspired in many instances by bulletins of the popular furore for the Lloyd comedy in Los Angeles, where the Mission Theatre run is now entering its fifth week. In the smaller cities bookings for an entire week, and longer, by houses which usually limit their feature showings to three or four days, are shown to be surprisingly numerous, it is stated. tbe Sea,’ the first color picture to prove realistic. It is the result of seven years’ experiment and invention in color photography — sixty patents protect it — and one only has to glance at the notices in the New York papers to know that it is a success. Nor is it merely scenic; the metropolitan press commented no less favorably upon the interest in the story itself than upon the superiortiy of the color process over all others. “These are but the first of the big ones. Next in line comes Ben Ames Williams’ great sea story, ‘All the Brothers Were Valiant,’ produced by Irvin V. Willat, who has a reputation for knowing how to make sea stories, and who proves that reputation merited in this one. The cast includes Lon Chaney, Billie Dove and Malcolm McGregor. The scenario is Julian Josephson’s. “Following this is Reginald Barker’s production, ‘Hearts Aflame,’ a tremendous thing — not only filled with the most human, vital drama, but presenting on the screen perhaps the most remarkable scenes of catastrophe, such as a great fire and an earthquake, ever done. Robert Z. Leonard, who directs Mae Murray, and who presents this star’s pictures, wires us that the newest one, ‘Jazzmania,’ is going to make ‘Broadway Rose,’ ‘Fascination’ and ‘Peacock Alley’ look like primer stuff. We don’t see how it can be done, but Mr. Leonard ought to know. ‘‘To all intents, too. Fred Niblo’’s first production for Metro, now being made at the Louis B. Mayer studios, is going to be even better than tbe play upon which it was founded — James Forbes’s New York dramatic hit, ‘The Famous Mrs. Fair.’ Harry Beaumont has finished directing Viola Dana in a new comedy of youth, ‘Calico and Romance,’ and it’s more than up to the record of earlier ones. And dowm in Florida Rex Ingram has about completed the outdoor scenes of his newest, ‘The Passion Vine,' from a story of the South Seas by John Russell. The author, by the way, has been wdth , the Ingram company throughout the work to aid Mr. Ingram in obtaining absolute fidelity of atmosphere and customs ;ind native life in Samoa. Playing in the picture are Ramon Novaro, Alice Terry, Harry Morey, Edward Connelly, and others whose names mean money at the box office. “In addition to the feature-length pictures Metro is going to have ready more of the highh^ successful Bull Montana comedies, produced by Hunt .Stromberg; and of the Stan Laurel series, made by Amalgamated Productions. They’ve bep getting the laughs and the receipts. and the ones to come are even better. “The Metro offerings in sight make it look to us that life for the exhibitor of them is going to be just a routine of cashing in on one '^ig picture after another.”