Photoplay (Jan 1921)

commonplaces. Bob was first to break the chaias. "I've heard a silly rumor about you, Julian, but you mustn't let it upset you. Your friends won't believe it." "No," Daisy said, in a suddenly sharp voice. "We'll forget it. Let's have some music. Margaret, won't you and Julian sing some of those duets that you used to when you visited us — at the hunting lodge." "Daisy," Margaret cried, "I know what you mean — but it's not true." "You have betrayed yourself a dozen times inight," Daisy replied coldly. "You are the woman." "Julian brought me home at half past one," Margaret insisted. "And took you to the lodge afterward,'' Daisy added. "What I did after I left Margaret here is my own business." Julian interposed sullenly. "You're lying, to shield her,-' Daisy stormed. Bob had been looking from one to the other, bewildered by the charges and by Julian's tacit confession. His legal mind, searching tor unbiased evidence, found a way out. "It's humiliating to bring servants into this," he said, "but Mary Miller is hardly a servant, and she was here. We'll ask her." And when Mary was summoned she realized in what grave danger her mistress stood. To her it mattered not whether or not Margaret was guilty, but only that she must be saved. Margaret had befriended her when she was homeless and Margaret was the mother of the dear little Peggy. "What time did Mrs. Meredith come home, the night of the Country Club dance?" Bob asked. "Half past one," Mary answered. "Didnt she leave the house again?" Daisy demanded. Midsummer Madness (Concluded from page 82) Mary was silent. "Answer her, Mary, please," Bob urged. "No. It was I — I went out — with Mr. Osborn," the girl murmured, hesitating and hanging her head. There was a long silence. Margaret started to laugh, hysterically, and smothered the sound with her handkerchief. Bob turned to the girl. Midsummer Madness NARRATED, by permission, from the Paramount Artcraft photoplay adapted by Olga Printzlau from Cosmo Hamilton's story, "His Friend and His Wife." Directed by William C. deMille with the following cast: Bob Meredith Jack Holt Margaret Meredit h Lois Wilson Julian Osborn Conrad Nagel Daisy Osborn Lila Lee Mary Miller Betty Francisco Mrs. Osborn Claire McDowell \y Meredith Charlotte Jackson "Of course, you understand, we can't leave our child in your charge after this." he said, sternly. "You will leave at once." Mary turned away without a word, but Margaret cried out : "Stop. I can't let her take the blame. It was I — but we did no wrong." Again silence, broken only by the sobbing of Mary, who had dropped into a chair, grief-stricken because she could not save the one who was so dear to her. Bob walked away to the door of his den, opened it, and motioned for Julian to follow him. They went in and Bob closed the door. 93 "Bob, I swear to you, on my honor — I was mad — I tempted her — but she did not yield," Julian pleaded. "On your honor," Bob repeated cynically "Wouldn't you say the same thing if she had yielded?" He opened a drawer of his writing desk, took out a revolver and placed it on the table, with a significant glance at Julian Then he turned as if to leave the room. "If my death will make you believe, I will give you that proof," Julian said, with the calmness of a' man, innately strong, approaching a crisis in his life. "She was unhappy because you had stopped making love to her. She wanted romance, and I wa< swept away by all that is worst in us. But I have not done you the wrong that cannot be forgiven — that cannot be wiped out even by — this," and he picked up the revolver. Bob turned and the two men looked at each other steadily. "If you won't believe me, you destroy two homes," Julian said, in the same calm, even tones. Bob turned to the side of his friend, took the gun from him and put it back in the drawer. "I do believe you, Julian," he said. "It may take us a little while to forget — but we will forget — and we will remain friends." When Daisy saw the door close on the two men, and realized how ominous was the silence, she realized in a rush upon what slender evidence she had based her condemnation. The erring friend had admitted her fault, but only to save Mary. If she had been guilty of the ultimate wrong, would she have confessed? But, more than everything else, Daisy understood in this flash, that she loved Julian and trusted him, and wanted him to come back to her — right away. So when the door opened again, she sprang into his arms with a happy little cry. A LEADER of one of Manhattan's smart sets recently paid a visit to the New Rochelle studio where Earle Metcalfe was working under Edward Jose's direction. After having been on a personally conducted tour of the film foundry, she proceeded to her limousine, chancing to drop her scented handkerchief en route. Metcalfe, who happened to be standing by, picked up the handkerchief and presented it. The lady tendered him a shining silver quarter. "I — I beg your pardon," stammered Metcalfe, "but you see — the fact is — I'm the leading man in this picture." "Oh, are you?" said madame, "well, I'm sorry, but that's all the change I have!" GLORIA SWANSON has the cutest baby girl you. ever saw in your life. In fact, Gloria No. 2 in her bath lives up to everything you might expect of her mother's daughter. The fair Gloria is a fond and doting mamma, and interested in nothing but "baby." Gloria's husband is Herbert K. Somborn, and the baby was born at the Somborn's Hollywood home on October 10th. Miss Swanson will return to Paramount as a star about the first of the year. DAVID POWELL is back again in his dear London. He has long wanted to go back to England and when Paramount opened their studio near London he saw a Plays and Players (Continued from page 89) ray of hope. His pleadings prevailed, and he sailed to join the British stock company of Famous Players. He is not lost to our screens, Imogene: we'll see him as regularly as ever. IN the city of Dundee. Scotland, there are twenty theaters — and every one of them is showing motion pictures! The legitimate drama has tried in vain to secure a theater there in which to exhibit its wares, but in vain. There are 200.000 inhabitants in Dundee and they like movies so well that it will soon be necessary to erect several new picture houses, according to report. WHISPER hath it that all is not well with the "happy family" on the Ince lot. In fact, quite a bit of grief has been floating about to mar the serenity of Thomas H. himself, and his entire professional family, as 'twere. House Peters, so 'tis said, is the disrupting factor, the discordant note, the fermenting element, almost, one might say, the seething volcano upon which the whole studio has been forced to sit. Mr. Peters, it would appear, has temperament. He got a lot of experience in the Boer war and the shindy of 1014 with the British, and he's agin' peace at any price. Every few minutes he breaks out in a new place. If there's anything 'round the little ole studio he's content with, he's managed to keep it from the staff in general. And Mr. Peters, being one of the best actors on the screen and a large and generally husky guy in the bargain, has been getting away with it — calling Thomas H. up in the middle of the night to report that he's been insulted by the head propertyman or that the director is an ass of sorts. He seems such a nice man. too. But then I knew a guy once who — BILLIE RHODES PARSONS married William Jobelman,a theatrical press agent, in San Francisco recently. She is the widow of Smiling Bill Parsons, who besides acting in his own comedies, managed his wife's screen career. Billie was originally a Christie comedienne; when she married Parsons he planned to make her a dramatic star. Plans to advance her serious career were under way when death claimed Parsons Now Billie is going back to comedy aeain as the star of a series of two-reelers. IF all reports be true, we shall soon see Marguerite Clark in a film version of "Scrambled Wives." It will be Marguerite's first picture after months of retirement as Mrs. H. Palmerson Williams.