The Moving picture world (June 1921)

500 MOVING PICTURE WORLD June 4, 1921 derstand them only too well. Children never stop at being onlookers, she says; they copy what they admire. Isn't all this a rather sweeping statement, Mrs. Fulton? Don't you mean SOME slap- stick comedies have a bad influence over SOME children? We take the liberty of im- agining, for instance, that when you were a little girl, Mrs. Fulton, if you had seen a custard pie comedy you wouldn't have gone home and cast pastry in the general direction of the nearest innocent bystander. Nor can we imagine you going around the house kicking people. We bad little boys iiave been known to play practical jokes long before the advent of motion pictureSj when we did not have their "brutalizing" influence. * * * Ben Blotcky, Kansas City manager for Associated Producers, is a check .from Czecho-Slovakia. Any Kansas City bank will cash him at face value. Question: Whdt is his face value? * * * J. Parker Reid, Sr., who has just returned from, a fourteen month's trip to South America, says that Main street looks much cleaner and everjthing, but he misses the bottle of Scotch he was able to get at any time he wanted it down where Cine-Mun- dial is widely circulated. * * * Edward Armstrong, district sales man- ager for Universal in the Pacific Coast ter- ritory, has been in New York during this week looking over the summer film styles. * « * W. E. Atkinson, general manager of Met- ro, l<as returned from California. * * • L. C. Barnstyne, head of the Dutch Film Trust, who has been in this country for several weeks, sailed for Holland last Sat- urday. * « * Doc Willat arrived in town from the coast the early part of the week. * * * Ray C. Smallwood, Nazimova's director for several years, came East from Califor- ii'.d. recently for a vacation. * « * Joseph Schildkrout, the recent recruit from the Jewish stage, who has made an unqualified success in the title role of "Liiiom," has been signed on a three-year contract by D. W. Griffith. Schildkrout has had studio experience, but never in this country. In Europe he appeared in a screen version of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Grey." * * * "Jack Mulhall is the hero. We have never cared much for him before, but in this picture he resembles Eugene O'Brien, and that is the highest form of praise."—New York Tribune. Absolutely the highest, Harriet? * * * Don Walk, well kno\vn publicity man, has been engaged by Universal to prepare special advertising and exploitation material on Universal features. * » * The mascot of the Goldwyn sales conven- tion was husky George Hickey, of Buffalo. Hickey was the butt of the conventionites from the start of the Goldwyn special until the arrival at the studios. Col. Ar- thur Lucas, of Georgia, did most of the baiting. But George is a big boy and he can stand a lot, so they tell us. * * * At the convention, it was officially an- nounced that on a certain banquet eve- ning, all dress would be formal. Hearing this. Will Rogers called over to Doc Remy, of the Lone Star territory, "I say, Uncle Lou, are you going to wear that evening dress suit they have in Texas ?** * * « If Charles Dillingham can find a big picture that meets with his approval the Hippodrome is to be turned into a film theatre for the summer months. A mam- moth orchestra is to be a feature of the presentations. The Hip management would have secured Sousa's Band had not the band's . summer engagements prevented. This mark the first exhibition of films for an extended engagement in the Hip since the Shuberts gave up the management of the house. * * * After two busy and festive weeks at the exchange men's convention in the studios at Culver City, California, Goldwyn execu- tives located *t the home office returned last Sunday, with the exception of F. J. Godsol, vice-president and chairman of the board of directors. Godsol has been a member of the studio colony since the early spring and he finds the atmosphere so congenial that he refuses to set a definite date for his return. Now that Samuel Goldwyn has recovered from the operation on his throat, which prevented him from attending the conven- tion, it is probable that before many days have passed he will pack his bag and join Godsol at Culver City. * * * That "Monsoons" are a subject of intense interest was demonstrated on Thursday of last week when a prospective purchaser of a large equipment was having lunch with the Monsoon \'entilating System sales manager. At the next table were seated four gentlemen discussing the fa- mous questionnaire as prepared by Thomas A. Edison. One of the party, reading some of the questions aloud, came to the one which asks: "What is a monsoon?" Before he could proceed to the next question one of the men remarked: "Huh, that's easy, anybody knows a monsoon is a fan what makes summer breezes for theatres." All of which may be a surprise to Mr. Edison, however. * • * Eugene Cliflford, for a long time a mem- ber of Bill Yearsley's flying squadron up at First National, has resigned from the publicity department of that company. He has joined the editorial staff of Motion Picture Life, the attractive sheet that is circulated to numerous theatres for use as a house organ. .* * * Julius Singer, manager of the Reelcraft -^.^w York exchange, barely escaped being Killed in an automobile accident in Tarry- town last Sunday. The party included Harry Lewis, the well known attorney, and other prominent film men. * * * Somebody must have made a mistake Ihe producer of a certain feature thought so much of a trade paper review of his picture that he followed the usual custom °^ reprinting the criticism in full in his exhibitors' plan book. The review began so well and praised the picture so glowingly gushing about the merits like a sopho- more, that the producer became so enthus- iastic he evidently did not read the last paragraph, which is headed "Box office value.' It read : "If ever we wished we were an exhibitor we entertained such a wish after viewing ~ I for most certainly we would waste no time booking this one." It all depends on how you take or leave the "waste." * * * "Free Lecture on Morality" was a sign that inspired Owen Moore to remark: "They make you good for nothing these days." * * * The secret is out I It has been discovered that Arthur Brilant, the demon publicist, who recently became the handy man with a Remington up in the Associated Pro- ducers' offices, is an inveterate joiner. He already belonged to so many lodges that when he wore all the emblems on his Mon- roe doctrine waistcoat he looked like the front elevation of a Mexican general on dress parade. Then he went and joined another the other night, and the initiation was so vigorous that he had to write his copy in long hand from an upright posi- tion. * * * Irving Thalberg, the youngest director general in the film world, is in New York from Universal City for a few days. It is his first visit here since he matched his twenty-two years against the fifty-two kinds of hot water at the Universal studios. The other day he ran the gauntlet of East- ern beauties, following his announcement he is looking for several young women to be enrolled in the Universal stock at Los .\ngeles. He is still in a maze of blondes and brunettes. It is the young executive's aim to get players who can act naturally, not stagey, before the camera, and he says that he is having a hard time of it. * * • Announcement is made that Martin, McGire and Newcombe, title artists, for- merly located at 727 Seventh avenue, have taken offices at 130 West Forty-sixth street. The studio will be equipped with the latest devices for the production of art title and special effects. Several changes have been made in the personnel of the organization. F. C. Mims will have charge of the pho- tographing of titles; A. J. Wildman, cine- matographer, Edward Side, formerly with Wids, will be in charge of sales. * * ♦ The features at the following theatres next week are: Capitol, Florence Reed in "The Black Panther's Cub"; Criterion, Thomas Meighan in "White and Unmar- ried" opens an indefinite engagement; Rial- to "The Woman God Changed" moves down from the Rivoli, which will present "A Wise Fool"; Strand, Charles Ray in "Scrap Iron." * • * Hugo Reisenfeld is back from Boston where he put on at the Colonial Theatre one of his typical programs with "The Woman God Changed" as the central fea- ture. * • * The O.xiord .\musement Company of St. Paul, Minn., has been incorporated with a capital of $100,000. Andrew P. McGlynn, Minneapolis, is president; Thomas A. Burke, of the same city, vice-president, and George W. Granstroni, of St. Paul, secretary-treasurer. .A theatre will be built in St. Paul. FLORENCE VIDOR One of the screen's most charming per- sonalities, now an Associated Exhibitors' star