Paramount Press Books (1918)

Maurice Tourneur, Producer of the Superb Paramount-Artcraft Special Picture “The White Heather” New York Times Declares Few Motion Picture Directors Equal and Fewer Surpass Mr. Tourneur in the Art of Making Scenes for the Screen. * * * His Latest Production “The White Heather” is Warmly Praised. FEW motion picture directors equal, and fewer surpass, Maurice Tourneur in the art of making scenes for the screen, according to the New York Times in reviewing Mr. Tourneur’s “Sporting Life,” the ParamountArtcraft special picture which preceded “The White Heather,” his latest screen triumph. Continuing, the Times said “By this work he stands out prominently, even among the small group of exceptional men who appreciate the peculiar powers of the camera and know how to employ them in the production of a photoplay. Once more, and in some ways more than ever, he has revealed his creative genius in ‘Sporting Life.’ He has not faltered before any of the big, comprehensive scenes, such as those of the prize fight and the Derby race, while in the little incidents also he has done not only the obvious and expected, but the surprising. The spectators were drawn into the excitement of the play’s episodes, applauding and exclaiming at the succession of climaxes, as people do only when they are thrilled by a sense of participation in what they see or hear. It is a remarkable picture.” The reason for the signal success of the production, which drew forth the above and other similar comment from the leading daily newspapers of New York, the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation points out, is twofold. In the first place, Mr. Tourneur is an arfist in the truest sense of the word. Born in Paris, he began the study of painting at an early age, and was a pupil of some of the great masters of the modern French school. Later he became an actor and producing manager and applied his knowledge of art to the stage productions which he supervised. He was also a musician of considerable repute. Later he became interested in motion pictures and was identified with Eclair and other French companies prior to coming to this country in 1914. He directed Elsie Ferguson and Mary Pickford in some of their best work for Artcraft, and his superb picturization of Maeterlinck’s “The Blue Bird,” also for Artcraft, was hailed as one of the great artistic triumphs of screencraft. In producing “The White Heather” he picked for the cast players of ability, each cut out for a distinct character type, the result being a charming performance from the standpoint of art. Purely a melodrama, “The White Heather” was written by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, and was first produced on the stage at the famous Drury Lane Theatre in London, August 16, 1897, proving one of the greatest spectacular productions ever offered at that home of the drama’s most stupendous spectacles. Millions saw it, both in England and diis country, and the memory of the furore it created at that time has created an unusual amount of advance interest. A leading critic, in speaking of die premier of “The White leather” at the Rialto Theatre, New York, on May 4, 1919, said: “Maurice Tourneur unfolds the scenes of the Drury Lane melodrama in studies of remarkable beauty. There is Scotch mist in these pictures, and the wind on the dunes, and the scent of the white heather. Tourneur has some magical method of enveloping ‘shot with atmosphere,’ says one, while another says : ‘There are plenty of stirring scenes and dramatic climaxes in “The White Heather.’ ” The beauty of the Scotch highlands, the lure of the ocean, and the mystery of its depths are revealed from the screen as they lever were in the theatre. The film allows a greater field for spectacular scenes than the play, the director has taken advantage of this fact and added effects which thrill and amaze.” The verdict of the New York newspapers was unanimous that “The White Heather” is one of the finest picture spectacles of the decade. 3