Paramount Press Books (1918)

SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE For Use of Exhibitors in Their House Organs or of Editors Who Desire Original Story on Cecil B. De Mille or <<Till 1 Come Back to You An Artcraft Picture CECIL B. DE MILLE’S WORK AS DIRECTOR NOTED FOR FINESSE STRENGTH AND ORIGINALITY With the Co-Operation of Jeanie Macpherson Scenarist, His Productions Are in Every Respect Remarkable TO recount the many exceptional motion pictures directed by Cecil B. De Mille, and released by Artcraft, is like giving a catalogue of the foremost film offerings of the past several years, for they have invariably been notable for their quality, finesse, power, dramatic strength and originality, technically and artistically. Cecil B. De Mille, of a long line of dramatic j experts, comes to the work equipped as few men j are and he has so improved upon his opportu j nities and natural gifts that he stands today at the pinnacle of excellence and good taste in film di i rection. He recognizes the necessity of thought j behind a picture, the psychological aspects ap ! peal to him pre-eminently and he has put into j his offerings that degree of careful consideration of detail as well which renders them superlative j in every respect. Mr. De Mille said recently: “There is a message to be conveyed by the j motion pictures — a very definite message and one that every conscientious director and producer is j striving valiantly to get across. It is a message of Life, itself.” Therein lies the keynote of De Mille’s greatness in his work. He interprets life. He has caught the psychology of expression and feels j his work, realizing that if he fails to do so, he j will fall short of his aims. “The more light I put into my work, the better the result,” declares Mr. De Mille. And his dramas of Life have been epochal in the history j of the screen. His direction of “Till I Come Back To You,” which will be shown at the theatre next was incomparable. The delicacy, the | human touch, the conception of the theme, the handling of details, the broad treatment of the i big moments — all are evidences of the fact that there are few men in the world capable of making a motion picture with the finesse and skill of Mr. De Mille. He has added to his laurels by this picture many fold. Miss Macpherson has done wonders with her scenario, which is entirely original; the settings are magnificient and the acting superb. Jeanie Macpherson, author of “Till I Come Back To You,” is a scenario writer of more than ordinary ability. Indeed, she comes into the scale of pictureplay authors at the same point that Cecil B. De Mille enters the ranks of the directors — at the very topmost door. In the past she has done such splendid pieces of dramatic writing for the screen as “Joan the Woman,” “The Woman God Forgot,” “Old Wives for New,” etc. Mr. De Mille has directed these and many other pictures written or adapted by Miss Macpherson and the combination has been one of the most powerful in the roster of the screen. With a thorough dramatic training, great skill, a classical education and a knowledge of construction that is second to none, this author is equipped as are few who follow that difficult work of writing photoplays. That she has succeeded so emphatically is an evidence that she is more than ordinarily gifted with talents that are rare in any age. She is a conscientious worker, keenly alive to the pulse of the times, indefatigable when employed upon a scenario and exacting as to details. Amidst the host of war plays or plays dealing with certain phases of the great conflict it must have been no small task to select an untried angle or hit upon an original conception which should mirror the facts of the modern Armageddon without merely repeating what had already been done and said. But it may honestly be said that in “Till I Come Back To You,” Miss Macpherson, as author and Mr. De Mille as director, have sounded a new note, touched a new and vibrant chord and created a picture drama of the struggle for democracy that will go down in history as one of the very few really big things written and produced for the screen dealing with the subject. 3