Moving Picture World (Jul - Aug 1918)

July 20, 1918 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 369 presented dramatic moments from Willard Mack's "Kicjc In." Tom Mix put his horse, Blue, through his paces. Polly Moran of the Mack Sennett studios, and Harry McCoy contributed "nut stuff." Margaret McKee whistled solos ; Mme. Mariska Aldrich sang; the Naval Base Band and the Fox Studio String Quartet furnished the music for the occasion. Comes to Los Angeles for Players. Frank Powell, who has his studio in San Antonio, Texas, has arrived in Los Angeles to select a cast for one of the eight pictures he is to make during the coming year. Mr. Powell, whose policy is to cast each picture separately, has chosen House Peters for the leading role of his first film, which will be called "The Forfeit." Los Angeles Exhibitors. June 29 brought to a close a highly successful "Victory" week at the Kinema Theater. During the week a special program of picture features were projected, including the famous French War Pictures brought here by the William Sandoz Commission. On each evening one or more stage and screen favorites made personal appearances, among them D. W. Griffith, Clara Kimball Young, Wilton Lackaye, Lillian Gish and John Mott, Douglas Fairbanks, Willis H. Booth, Frank Keenan, Mary Pickford and Bob Wagner, well known magazine writer. The Submarine Base Naval Band of forty pieces was also a feature of the week. Bert St. John, who has been imported from the east, where he had quite a record as a theater manager, to take charge of Clune's Auditorium, has grasped the reins of management with enthusiasm, and has made several changes around the Auditorium that will add to the comfort and convenience of the house. A. E. Warmington, of Los Angeles, owner of the Imperial Theater building at Imperial, Cal., took a trip to that city recently to confer with a prospective purchaser of his property. Seymour Tally, of Tally's Broadway Theater, and his family are at Big Bear Lake. The art stone front which is being built on to Miller's new theater is nearing completion. "Hearts of the World," after making a record breaking run of several weeks at Clune's Auditorium, begins a "repeat" engagement on June 30. Manager Van Dyke has reopened the Wigwam Theater at Long Beach after a complete renovation and redecoration, and the installation of a new projection machine. James A. Cook, of El Centro, has closed the Palace Theater for the summer, and is now operating in his elegantly appointed airdrome. Five hundred students of the Balloon School at Arcadia, Cal., were entertained at Clune's Auditorium on June 26, with a showing of "Eyes of the World." After the show Douglas Fairbanks treated the bunch to a watermelon feed in the dining room of the Temple Baptist Church. "Me Und Gott" Ready for State 'Rights Buyers. The Romayne Super-Film Company, with general offices on the second floor of the Marsh Strong Building, Los Angeles, are now ready to release their first feature, "Me Und Gott," to the state rights buyers. The initial offering of the Romayne company is in six reels, and, according to H. Y. Romayne, president of the company, is a strong and forceful drama, with a story that shows how the mixture of elements and races of America are united in a common cause against Germany. The picture was directed by Wyndham Gettins, formerly with Universal. Betty Burbank, as leading woman, is supported by a large number of capable players, including Josephine Crowell, who took the part of the mother in "Hearts of the World." Mr. Romayne says that pictures will be released regularly by his company, and that while no big stars with consequent big salaries will be employed respectable salaries will be paid to all members of the company, and a bonus, based on the earning powers of the features turned out by the company, will be paid to the players. By this means, he contends, a high-class of production will be maintained, allowing the company to produce pictures that can be sold on a "live and let live" basis. Mr. Romayne also declares that his company's productions will be offered to the market in a different manner than that usually observed by state rights producers. Nothing but five and six reel pictures will be made, and they will be sold direct from the main offices of the company; The Romayne company has secured the David Horsley studios, with its complete and modern equipment, for the production of its films. Frazee's Trick Film Methods. Edwin A. Frazee, who severed his connection with the active end of the moving picture industry a year ago in order to devote his time to the further development of the trick picture methods, of which he made a specialty, announces that he has perfected his inventions and is now ready to begin the commercial exploitation of his ideas. Mr. Frazee says the time has come for a new element of technique to be introduced into picture making, and as the limit of human possibility has about been reached in stunts and scenic effects that are performed by ordinary means now at the command of the producer the introduction of new methods should be welcome. It is claimed by their inventor that the Frazee trick film methods will make it possible for innumerable mechanical novelties to be introduced into films, and that all of the bewildering illusions of Hermann, Keller and other great magicians and the remarkable hoodwinking fantasies of English pantomime may be easily and simply accomplished and at comparatively small cost. Particular attention is called by Mr. Frazee to the fact that under-water pictures, heretofore almost prohibitive in cost because of the special diving and other apparatus needed, can be easily produced on the stage by his method. Stress is also laid on the fact that many scenarios that would make splendid pictures are pigeonholed as impossible of production because of the cost and difficulty of screening. All of these stories, Mr. Frazee contends, would find birth and become highly interesting and highly profitable films through his trick methods. Mr. Frazee is remembered by his record and ability as a comedy director for the Keystone company with Fred Mace and with the William Fox organization. The Frazee Films Productions studio is located in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles. Willis & Inglis Reaching Out. Out in Los Angeles whenever old Mother Nature stages a temblor, which is Pacific Coast Spanish for earthquake, the whole town gets cock-eyed from squinting up at the tall buildings to see how much out of plumb the "temblor" has left them. There was a mild seismic shock in Los Angeles in April, in which several of the local skyscrapers lost their dignity and uprightness. The Wright & CaHender Building on Fourth and Hill streets came in for more than its share of squinting because of a peculiar bulging out of the walls at the sixth floor level. Of course, the squinters blamed this on the tremblor, but as a matter of fact the earthquake had nothing to do with it. The bulge in the building, which was a mere optical illusion, was caused by the remarkable expansion in the offices of Willis & Inglis, who occupy a suite of rooms on the sixth floor. Willis & Inglis have been actively identified with the picture industry since the establishment of studios on the west coast. They are managers and publicity agents for a large number of stars ; they conduct an employment bureau for players, and maintain a large book and play department. They have a costume studio, where producers find full and complete paraphernalia and equipment for the production of any and all kinds of features. Dustin Farnum's latest feature was made at the Willing & Inglis plant. The Willis & Inglis corporation has grown from one small room to a suite of six offices in three years, and there are few stars, managers, directors or players on the coast who have not had pleasant business relations with them during that time. Both Mr. Willis and Mr. Inglis devote their personal attention to the employment and publicity end of their business, as well as personally superintending their large book and play department. Willis & Inglis are so closely identified with all branches of picture making that a statement made by them that the picture industry is in excellent shape and that a very bright future is impending may be taken as authentic and well founded. Sunset New Name for Griffith Studio. The old Fine Arts studio at 4500 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, has been given the name of the Sunset Studios, and has been divided into several studios of medium dimensions, one of which will be occupied by Clara Kimball Young and another by the new Dorothy Gish company until space can