Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1924)

it ■ .*■> ■ ■ a, i. « V TBI I B.^ Hi ■til H *9 bvAvK ^ H KK iU « . I 11 Rfi 1 ■Til ■ ■ Hi jmR jg ^r^ Tr^SHM n * 1 1 ; 8KB £r* 'JW4M ■»".. HMtfl 'oflfl ■ I ■ ION blood in his eye and that there would shortly be hell-a-popping in the Sales Company crowd. Meanwhile, the ruthless raiding started. And on October 28, ign, Majestic announced the acquisition of '"Little Mary Pickford" and Mr. Owen Moore, this over the signature of Tom D. Cochrane, general manager. This Majestic company was surely starting something. It was not an admitted published fact, but Miss Pickford had been acquired away from Laemmle's Imp concern at the amazing figure of S275 a week, an increase of one hundred dollars a week. Cochrane reached about, taking what and whom he chose for the Majestic stock company until the imposing roster included David Miles, Mabel Trunelle, Anita Hendrie. ArmOliver. Herbert Prior, George Loane Tucker and Paul Scardon. November 26 Majestic offered its first Pickford release entitled "The Courting of Man-." Nov. that the producers were fighting over her Man had really become a star. '"PHE waxing prosperity of the Independents ■* brought growth and swift development to every competently, or half competently managed producing concern. The early autumn of 191 1 found the Baumann and Kessel interests, flourishing with the Xew York Motion Picture concern, on the eve of widely extending their operations. Rumors got about that the X. V. M. P. would soon be in the market for a new and outstandingly able director. It was reported that they were going to be willing to pay a considerable price to get the best man in the business. This report reached young Thomas H. Ince, who was progressing merrily but not conspicuously as a director for Laemmle's Imp company. Ince again gave a demonstration of Yankee strategy. He regarded a very young face in his shaving mirror and decided that it would be well to have a bit of a moustache to conduce to a scenic effect inferring more age and experience. When the moustache had reached the required pictorial proportions, Ince borrowed a large and impressive ring set with a four carat Kinil erlv monolith and went to call on Adam Kessel. As they sat talking across the comer of Kessel's desk, Ince held his chin propped in his hand in a thoughtful deliberate pose, which, quite incidentally of course, exposed to Kessel's dazzled view the scintillations of the big diamond. The diamond ring, by the bye. was and probably still is the property of "Doc" Willat, who was then Imp*s technical chief. Kessel blinked at the diamond and listened respectfully to luce's impressive remarks. Kessel quite forgot that this same Ince was something of an actor as well as a director of pictures. In fact Kessel was so impressed that he did not even tap the motion picture's grapevine telegraph to find out what luce's salary might be at Imp. Instead he took another look at the diamond and murmured something about possibilities for advancement and a starting salary of a hundred dollars a week. That was just forty more than Ince was getting at Imp. But Ince stroked his new moustache with tender consideration and yawned. He was not outwardly moved. He pretended not to have heard Kessel's offer. A man with a diamond that big could hardly afford to listen to a mere hundred a week. "Oh, I'll see you again some day." Ince replied and sauntered out. This was most convincing. Kessel sent for Ince after a few days had passed. " How about $i>ca week?" Ince deliberated two or maybe three seconds before he could trust his trembling voice to say "Yes" without too much color of anxiety. Ince. accompanied by Mrs. Ince, Ethel Grandin. Ray Smallwood and Charles Weston of the Imp company, went to Los Angeles to make pictures for the X. Y. M. P. at the old Edendale studio.