Moving Picture World (Aug 1917)

August 18, 1917 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1091 "Polly of the Circus" Is Finished That Is, All but the Selection of Six to Eight Thousand Feet from the Eighty Thousand Now Contained in Goldwyn Spectacle. SAVE for the quaint Everett Shinn village that stood baking in the sun, the externals of Margaret Mayo's famous drama "Polly of the Circus," starring Mae Marsh, have been wiped from the face of the earth, but inside the Goldwyn Studios at Fort Lee there are 80,000 feet of film that are to be cut, assembled and released on September 9. With "Polly of the Circus," by Margaret Mayo, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation makes its formal bow to the world of cinema art. The high-water mark in elaborate and spectacular production within the metropolitan district has been reached in the staging of "Polly of the Circus." It took ten weeks of photography, by day and night, in addition to months of preparatory effort to complete this production. In it are nine separate photo-spectacle scenes which will make this classic of the big tops stand out among its contemporary field for magnitude alone. There were, in total, 1,164 scenes made, with an average' of five takes to each scene. From the 89,000 feet of film that have been sent to the laboratories from six to eight thousand feet finally will be selected. Charles Thomas Horan and his corps of assistants who directed "Polly" lived in the Goldwyn studios during the last five weeks of its production. They slept and ate there and often worked until daybreak on the circus scenes made under the "big tops," many of which were photographed at night. Herbert Messmore and staff that supervised the art direction of the picture were at Horan's side during this long grind. Four small New Jersey cities figured in the play. At Hohokus a race track was chartered and with a grandstand filled with "extras" a horse race with a field of seven thoroughbreds was run. In Englewood the circus parade was held, and it took the greater part of two days for this circus pageant to be photographed. In Kirksville scenes were made showing the early morning arrival of a circus in a small city, as well as the departure at night. On the lot in Fort Lee the immense canvas was spread and the circus performance proper photographed. Here also was built the village that Everett Shinn designed and which in point of size actually occupied more than two square city blocks. In the arrangement of lighting and artistic embellishment George W. Hill, head cameraman, and his staff have turned out new effects, prominent among which is an episode in the story that is told entirely in photographic-silhouette. Part of the plot action was devised by Miss Mayo herself calls for a fire in which the circus is burned, and to accomplish the desired effect a section of the "big top" was in reality fired and the ensuing stampede of animals and spectators photographed. In this scene entire sections of occupied bleacher seats are seen to fall. Mae Marsh, the heroine of "The Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance," and now linked with Goldwyn Pictures by a long-time contract, accomplished prodigies of work during the filming of "Polly." For days at a stretch she worked fourteen and fifteen hours a day, and to the amazement of her directors she stood the strain better than they. The selection of "Polly of the Circus" as the inaugural Goldwyn production is particularly felicitious. It is the work of Miss Margaret Mayo, a member of Goldwyn's advisory board. It again brings before the public wistful little Mae Marsh. It is a story internationally known on the dramatic stage, and the scenic settings in it lend themselves admirably to the technical and artistic facilities that have been developed by Goldwyn. Edgar Selwyn also has been one of the closest followers of this drama during the period of its production. HEARST-PATHE NEWS NO. 62 AN EXCEPTIONAL NUMBER. "A great number" is the way the Pathe film committee expressed it after seeting the Hearst-Pathe News No. 62, released August 1. In this number are scenes from San Francisco, Leon Springs, Texas, Toronto, Chicago, the battle front in Prance, Greece, Los Angeles, New York City, etc., and all of them interesting. Naturally war subjects predominate. Of extraordinary interest are views of Capt. Guynemer, the French aviator extraordinary, who has brought down 45 German aeroplanes. Capt. Guynemer is shown receiving the "Legion of Honor" rosette while thousands of war-worn troops parade in his honor. In view of the recent discussion as to whether the Allied troops will remain in Greece the scenes showing the landing of thousands of French and English soldiers at the Piraeus, Athens, are of timely interest. Thousands of newly enlisted American soldiers are pictured at a baseball game between two of their own teams. Uncle Sam's officers do not believe in all work and no play for thei*charges. Other scenes show the harvesting of California's $?,000,000 apricot crop, swimming races in Chicago, the destruction wrought by the Germans in the occupied territory in France, the launching of four submarine defiers at once in Toronto, Canada, etc. "The Mainspring" First Falcon Feature Thrill Story by Louis Joseph Vance, with Henry King Featured, Begins New General Film Releases. AS THE first considerable addition to its product, General Film begins releasing the Falcon Features, four-reel dramas, on August 17. The Falcon Features are Ixnng presented with strengtn of story as the foundation of their merit. However, groups of noted stars will be featured in th< Scene from "The Mainspring" (General Film). various releases. These include Henry King, Ruth Roland, Margaret Landis, Philo McCullough, William Conklin, Vola Vale, Jack Vosburgh, Ethel Ritchie, Kathleen Kirkhani, Heil Hardin, R. Henry Grey, Monroe Salisbury and Daniel Gilfether. New releases will be made weekly. Each Falcon Feature will be by a well-known author and will have stood the test of magazine publication before screening. Every Falcon Feature will be an individual production, and each will have different stars. Although all the stories will be dramas, the atmosphere will vary. In some of the stories adventure will be the main theme, in others romance, in others mystery. Adventure, including a host of thrills, characterizes the first release announced by General Film. It is "The Mainspring,'* with Henry King as featured lead, that begins the Falcon offerings August 17. This is a picturization of i^ouis Joseph Vance's virile story, "The Mainspring," which was published in the Popular Magazine. The narrative of "The Mainspring" grows in interest from the beginning. It relates to the fortunes of Ned Gillett, whose father, a banker, slays himself after speculating with trust funds. This tragedy interrupts the engagement of Ned to Frances Hardor, and he slips away to begin life over again in the West. There the story develops. Tramping about, he is thrown in with a typical old miner, whom he manages to befriend. The first thrill is when Ned whips a western bully with his bare fists. The next thrill comes when the defeated antagonist tries to kill both Ned and the miner by dragging their shack down the mountainside with horse and lariat. Ned, escaping death, goes to Travers City, where the pld man had an abandoned shaft, later called "The Mainspring." Ned files upon this in time to secure it before his old enemy can do so. His fiance's brother from the East is enticed into buying it by the sharpers, however, and in a dramatic scene Ned forces restitution of the money. He meets his sweetheart pouting at his abrupt departure from the East, and she will not speak to him. However, the brother is grateful and backs Ned in the operation of the mine, which turns out a success. In a spectacular mine fire Ned saves his former sweetheart and her brother and the latter's fiance, after which follows a pitched battle with striking miners led by the hero's Nemesis, the outcome of which is a final victory in war and love for Ned. The ficture was directed by Henry King ai.d produced under the supervision of H. M. and E. D. Horkheimer. The heroine is played by Ethel Peprell, one of th'e most appealing of the younger leads. Bert Ensminger is the "heavy" and other members of the cast are Charles Blaisdell, J. Cullen Landis and Arma Jacobsen. PLANS FOR WEBER PICTURE NOT DECIDED. An announcement was recently made in the trade press to the effect that Lois Weber would soon begin the film production of Mary Roberts Rinehart's novel, "K," for release under a special arrangement with Universal. Since starting work upon the book, Lois Weber is undecided whether to market "K" as a special state rights feature or as one of the Lois Weber Productions, as originally announced. Previous announcements regarding its distribution were given out somewhat prematurely, and will be subject to such change as Lois Weber may consider most desirable.