Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1919)

4S Photoplay Magazine inspiration to character. To make the most of our roles we must Ik true to them.' In his life Keenan has essayed perhaps as wide a range of character portraitures as any hislrion. Hence, my cjuery on the diflerence between the two arts, silent and spoken. The stage, he retorted, has the advantage of giving the artist a chance to illuminate the thesis of a character through voice expression — intonation. It is far easier to make one cry by talking to him than pantomiming in front of him, he says, although the screen is at all times a medium for the visualization of every subtlety. "The liner the art of the stage actor and the more natural he becomes to the author's intent through pantomime, the more likely he is to jeopardize his performance to a large majority of the audience because of the impossibility of seeing and thoroughly understanding the facial expressions. And after all is said and done, it is the things that men do, not what they say, that will eventually make the greatest impression upon theatergoers of the future." Keenan is what professionals call a regular "trouper;" in other words, one who has trod the boards behind the footlights for lo! these many years. He has tasted every flavor of stage work, from stock to vaudeville, with repertoire in between. He started in the good old days with Joseph Proctor, played a long series of stock engagements, and went into comedy with the well-known Sol Smith Russell, .\fter a tour with him. there followed an engagement with the Boston Museum company, and another with Charles Hoyt, probably one of the greatest character comedians in the history of the American stage. Keenan at length succeeded James A. Heme in "Hearts of Oak" under Beiasco's management, and toured extensively in the piece. His screen career commenced with Universal in "The Long Chance." Later, he went into the Thomas H. Ince fold, doing "The Thoroughbred," "The Coward" — a milestone in the cinema — "The Crab" and others, in which he, the character actor, was starred. Closing with Ince, Keenan signed with Pathe, and did "Loaded Dice," "The Bells," Henry Irving's masterpiece; "The Night Stage," "Todd of the Times," and "The Defender." A short time ago he went into business for himself, and his stationery now bears the crest, "Frank Keenan Productions," and announces him as the president. "This talking about myself is dry stuff," Keenan concluded. "The fight's far more interesting. These gladiators look like thirty cents. There aren't many good fighters left in the world." Something behind him suddenly caused the Keenan fur to rise. He looked around angrily, snorted, and directed a knowing remark to a very anaemic looking little man who had a cold in his head. "Say. young fellow." he snorted gladiator-like, "didn't your mother teach you better manners than to sneeze down somebody's collar?" -*-.'S^ Stills'' By Frank V. Bruner Wll\T is it around a movie studio that the actors and press agent worship, the star ''-^. tolerates boredly, the director loathes, '^^'i^* the extra girls beg for. the magazine editors knock, the motion picture camera man sniffs at, and the snap shot camera man takes? Stills! What is this thing? A still is a photograph taken for publicity, advertising, and job-getting purposes during the making of a motion picture. The director, star, actors and electricians all have to stop at certain points in the action and the players stand in a pose so that the still camera man can take them. Hence the word "still " as opposed to "moving" picture. The press agent loves the still because it helps to illustrate his articles and takes up space that he does not have to fill from his typewriter, and because it is hard to get. The only other person who has any affection for the still is the minor player and the extra. Stand or sit some day in the casting director's office of some studio. Note Miss Toodles Pazalot enter and prance up to the casting director. She rattles off a lot of pictures she has appeared in and in finis deposits a bunch of stills on the desk. They are her sales catalogue — her Exhibit A. There is the proof n black and white, taken by he always-truthful camera, that she really did work in mentioned pictures, lave an interest in their productions now that the still is invaluable for advertising and publicity purposes. So they consent to posing for them even though it be a bore. In tracking the wild still to its lair we cross the path of the director quite frequently. Were it not for him there could be no such beast for unless he uttered that magic word "cut" and thus stopped the action of the mo\nng picture the still could never spring info being. The director is just as fond of a still as General Ludendorf was of a Belgian church. It interrupts his chain of thought as he is mapping out his picture and feeling his way ahead of the shifting actors. He allows them because even higher powers ha\-e decreed that stills must be taken. But as for caring for the still — your average director could be arrested for what he thinks of them. He Understood Perfectly MoXROE S.^LISBURV. Universal star, recently found it necessary to explain to his hopelessly British valet that his great grandfather was killed by a bison on the plains of the West. "Of course you know what a bison is?" Salisbury said. "Ho yes. Sir!" answered the man, "Hi wish hi only 'ad a quid for e\ery time hive washed my 'ands in one."