Paramount Press Books (1918)

SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE For Use of Exhibitors or Editors Desiring Up-to-Date Matter Concerning Cecil B. De Mille or “Old Wives for New” CECIL B. DE MILLE SHOWS HIGH CRAFTSMANSHIP IN HIS PICTURE “OLD WIVES FOR NEW” New Special Production for Artcraft Regarded as One of the Most Remarkable Creations Yet Made by That Master Director VY7 ITH that remarkable dramatic instinct that v lifts him high above the average in film productional work, Cecil B. De Mille has once more scored, this time with the translation to the screen of a novel that for sheer lifelikeness has few equals in American literature. This novel is “Old Wives for New,” written by the late David Graham Phillips, which, perhaps more than any other of his works, placed him at the forefront of contemporary American writers. In “The Whispering Chorus,” Mr. De Mille achieved a triumph with the use of materials close at hand. He needed not the great panoply and pomp of olden times to prove his prowess as a constructor of film epics. He took a slice of life, the record of one man, placed in strange circumstances, and traced it to the end. In “Old Wives for New,” he has handled with a deftness that is nothing short of marvelous, the domestic conditions that confront civilized peoples in modern days. The strange pranks of Fate upon the lives of mortals, their loves and hates, their capacities for suffering and for joy are presented with a vivid touch. A passion is “torn to tatters” but not to the disadvantage of the artistic structure. It is a vital story, teeming with life, cynical at times, sympathetic at others, but incisive, sharp in its delineations as the knife of a surgeon ; pitiless, yet pointing the follies and frailties of the two sexes as few other works can do. The methods employed by Cecil B. De Mille in his direction of motion pictures for Artcraft, an exceptional example of which, “Old Wives for New,” will be shown at the Theater next , are decidedly intensive. He is a stickler for exactness and detail and demands from every one concerned that same interest and intelligent co-operation that he himself gives to his work. The result is perfect pictures and this new one will bear out the assertion. The picture is based upon David Graham Phillips’ remarkable novel of contemporary life, and deals with the problem of marital relations and the divorce question in no mild terms. If it searches the very innermost recesses of the human heart, it at least betrays the follies, the shortcomings, the lack and the futility of so many lives. It shows sacrifice and selfishness side by side and paints the characters in true and vivid hues. It is a play of the day ; it betrays the mental and moral attitude of the idle as well as the busy rich ; shows what love really is in many cases and what it may be when it is not abused. It depicts the pathos, the tragedy, the comedy of existence, and leaves nothing uncovered. Intimate yet not to a degree that is offensive, it will prove an eyeopener to many, and if at times cynical, it is also full of the truth, which is always unpleasant if it discover things that we do not wish to see and hide from our neighbors. It is a picture to provoke comment, discussion and interest wherever shown. The advance notices from Artcraft as well as reports from other cities where it has been seen, declare “Old Wives for New” to be one of the biggest things in photodrama ever presented to the American public. Jeanie Macphers'on wrote the scenario with a selective skill that commands admiration. The picture is staged with flawless artistry. It is, in short, a picture that proves once again what dramatic knowledge, literary ability and superlative acting may do for the screen. In the cast are many well known players who share honors with one another in their splendid characterizations. These include Elliott Dexter, Sylvia Ashton, Florence Vidor, Wanda Hawley, Theodore Roberts, Helen Jerome Eddy, Marcia Manon, Julia Faye, J. Parks-Jones, Edna Mae Cooper, Gustav Seyffertitz, Tully Marshall, Lillian Leighton, Maym Kelso. It is an Artcraft picture, specially directed by Cecil B. De Mille, and Alvin Wyckoff is responsible for the beautiful photography, while Wilfred Buckland acted as art director. 3