Picture-Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1921)

isht Off the Grill The man who said that a prophet was without honor in his own country must have foreseen the tremendous volume of objections to our recent film forecast for 1921. Answers to some of these objections are served hot, together with some timely personal observations about this and that, and him and her, in motion pictures. By Herbert Howe THE editor of this smart journal du beau monde referred in the last issue to my "biting pen" in a caption beneath the spreading grin of Miss Juanita Hansen. He stated that Miss Hansen was thus displaying her beautiful smile not because of enjoying the snow, in which she skied, but because she had escaped my omnivorous nonleak. Now I have lost as many fountain spurters as any normal boob, and I've wielded all sorts of scratchers, including a peacock quill from one of my host of feminine admirers, as a star would put it, but not even on Christmas has any one handed me a "biting" one. However, I admit that I often have prayed passionately for an invisible brick. My prayer has been answered with this; I'm endowed with a cootie-pointed self-feeder. I shall prepare to use it on the birds that bit chunks out of my forecast. I received numerous retorts courteous and otherwise to my inspired utterance as to Who'll Be Who in 1921. Well have I learned the error of my ways. To the courteous first, by all means : Mr. Robert A. Jordan, president of the Fan Club of Boston, remarks the omission from "the book of fame" of names belonging to Mr. Thomas Holding and Mr. Albert Roscoe. I make the correction at once with — the peacock quill. My friend, Miss Mahnke, of Chicago, reminds me of Mr. Darrell Foss' worthiness. Mr. Foss, of "Red Lantern" activity, certainly belongs among the leading leading men. We all envy him — he has kissed Nazimova. Miss Lola K., of New York, points out my astigmatism in foreseeing Mary Pickford as leader of the stellar femmes. Miss Norma Talmadge, I'm informed, won the popularity contest conducted by a New York paper. In reply would say: 1. That contests are not criteria, because every one does not vote. A larger percentage of Miss Talmadge's admirers might have cast ballots than of Miss Pickford's or Miss Louise Fazenda's. 2. I protected myself by stating cautiously that it was beyond my vision to foresee the favorite fair in the exact order of their popularity. I named Miss Talmadge among the big ten. Another person hurls whole books of scripture at me in his denunciation of a popular star. He signed himself, "A father and a decent man," otherwise I gladly would have forwarded the letter to the lady's husband. Mr. George Tucker declares Mr. Wallace Reid leads in popularity over Mr. Charles Ray and Mr. Charles Chaplin. He delicately accuses me of being bribed. Far be it from me to say I wouldn't take a bribe of the proper amount. But how Mr. Tucker does misjudge Mr. Chaplin ! As for personal preferences, I Chicago. assure you I longed to place Mr. Joseph Martin at the head of the list. Mr. Tucker is correct in one statement : Candidate Reid, I believe, would win the majority of popularity contests fairly conducted at the present time. But as I said Popularity Contests. There is a very large class of people which never indulges in popularity bouts. This class might poll an overwhelming majority for Mr. John Barrymore, Mr. Hobart Bosworth, Miss Lillian Gish, Madame Nazimova, or Miss Norma Talmadge. There is no way of determining popular favor except by a vote of all the people. I speak of fairly conducted contests. Then there is the common variety, properly conducted perhaps, but with ballot boxes stuffed nevertheless. Some years ago there was such a contest in A certain male star, now defunct, was purchasing truckloads of the newspapers containing the voting blanks. Another male player, still popular, was giving him a close < run and was not buying votes. On the last day of the tourney, this nonpurchasing star informed the other by telephone to lay off or be exposed. Although Mr. X. Y. Z. was eager, and able, to buy enough to carry him to victory, he quietly requested the paper to give first place to his rival. The amusing sequel was that the star who withdrew subsequently received enough unsolicited and unpurchased votes to have won the contest, had he not been forced to withdraw. A more recent contest conducted, I believe, in the same city ran along with apparent sanity, when suddenly right over the heads of Nazimova, the Talmadges, Bar, thelmess, and Reid flew two performers scarcely known even in the film colony, to say nothing of the world at large, the explanation being that the young man in question was the son of a local police captain, and the lady his wrife. To the credit of the paper conducting the contest, the editor, seeing the absurdity of giving this couple a higher popular rating than that of some of the most famous stars, removed them from the contest, and listed them and their votes separately, as "local favorites." Address Your Congressman! Instead of banning foreign-made pictures we suggest that congress ban American films committing the following offenses : 1. Showing courtrooms where people arise as a man and cheer. As a substitute, we suggest that they sing: "On Wisconsin" or "Boola Boola." Critics may pompously take their pens in hand, but Zena Keefe can make them all look silly with her caricaturing pencil.