Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1923 - Feb 1924)

70 Hollywood High Lights be the undulating heroine, and Conrad Nagel has been selected as the Paul, principally, we judge, because of his angelic countenance and halo of blond hair. "Dust of Desire." Norma Talmadge's latest adventure among the Bedouins. It is her third film with differences this year. "Wild Oranges." Citric acid of romance and realism that King Vidor has gone clear to Florida to distill. James Kirkwood and Virginia Valli, among others, will brighten the screen. "Everyday Love." Romance a la William de Mille. Adapted from the novel, "Rita Coventry." "Hospitality." Buster Keaton busts into costumes of "befoh de wah" days. He carries his frozen face as well as usual, and Natalie Talmadge plays his lead. "The Marriage Circle." Ernst Lubitsch exploiting waltzing Vienna, with Florence Vidor, Marie Prevost, Warner Baxter, Creighton Hale, Adolphe Menjou and Harry Myers leading the dance. "The Girl Expert." Harold Lloyd as a small-town youth who thought he knew all about women, but found he had to learn about them from "her." These may be added to the list of features that we have in the past several issues submitted as worth-while plays to see. The Shrinking Vines. The list of solo stars is steadily shrinking. Even the most famous seem to be concentrating on their productions rather than their careers. The situation is growing more and1 more hopeless for any one who is bent on carrying his or her picture on the strength of reputation alone. Look at the season's slaughterings' — Reduced from individual prominence to the status of featured players: Jack Holt, Corinne Griffith and Agnes A^ rres. '. Also Walter Hiers. Concentrating on productions rather than their own personal high estate; Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Ray and even Charlie Chaplin. They are, of course, holding their luminous place the while. Hoping to have a chance to get a nice fat part: All the girls and boys who had their own companies two or three years ago. Of the list mentioned, we look for a large access of brilliance in the instance of Miss Griffith. "The Common Law" showed her talents, and she is said to be even more resplend ent in the coming release, "Six Days." There's a chance that when she begins her own production with "Lilies of the Field" she may become a super-favorite. Among the popular lights still shining by virtue of their own glory are Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Harold Lloyd, Thomas Meighan, Norma Talmadge, Constance Talmadge, William S. Hart, and the United Artists group. That is about all in the West, and one or two of these may even be wavering. The Stellar Peril. Edwin: Elza — how would you like to be a star? Elza : Star of what ? Edwin: Oh, a super-jeweli-de-luxe-diamond-spec'taclespecial-drama, with an all-star-special-supreme-featured cast, directed by a master-producer-director-genius' Eliza: Sh ! This is too much. I'd rather help write the High Lights. Titling is certainly tough. It's hard on the producers, and it keeps us busy trying to note, let alone be present at, each separate christening of the current pictures. Focus on "The Faun," for instance. First it was called "Spring Magic," and now they've decided on "The Marriage-Maker." Also "Harbor Bar," with Monte Blue, Evelyn Brent, Joan Lowell and Ralph Faulkner. It has gradually evolutionized into "Cap'n Ben." "Havoc," with Anna O. Nilsson, J. Warren Kerrigan, Tom Santschi and others, is now "The Thundering Dawn." Figure out, too, how "The Master of Women," filmed by Reginald Barker can be called "The Eternal Struggle," and "The Master of Man," directed by Victor Seastrom, "The Judge and the Woman." This may be perplexing, but it's not hard to tell why "The Magic Skin" was renamed "The Slave of Desire." It's a story of greed, but the producers were afraid somebody might have taken it for the fantasy of a beauty parlor. Drama of To-day. CHARACTERS. James Kirkwood, a well-known leading man of the movies. Lila Lee, a well-known young lady ditto. Scene i. They met. Scene 2. They married. Scene 3. They separated. Note : It is only a temporary divorce, though, because Jim had to go on location in the South, and Lila had to stay in California to appear in a Thomas Meighan production. In the next issue we'll probably tell about their deferred honeymoon. A Slick Debut. There is a new way to break into pictures. Become a press agent, but be sure to work out clever stunts. That is what Tom Reed, Goldwyn publicity man, did and: now when he isn't writing superfluous words about some star, he acts in the films. It all happened quite accidentally, this double-careering of Tom's. Several months ago in Picture-Play there appeared in an article on exploitation a picture showing Reed in a Sherlock Holmes' outfit. This' illustrated the stunts he worked out for publicizing John Barrymore in a film version of the Conan Doyle detective story when it showed at a Los Angeles theater. He donned the double-visor cap and long cape, stuck a deeply-curved pipe in his mouth, carried a huge magnifying glass, through which he peered intently, walked mysteriously through the streets of the city, madly looking for something, and got himself arresited for distracting pedestrians, or some such cause. It proved very sensational and profitable publicity for the picture. But here begins the real romance. When the cast was being selected for "Ponjola," in which Anna O. Nilsson plays the lead, the producer and his assistant were debating who to place in the part1 of a British lieutenant. Several players' were discussed and\ thrown in the discard. Finally the assistant exclaimed enthusiastically: "Ah, I've got the very man. Tom Reed." "Tom Reed? Who's he?" queried the producer. "Why' — why — Tom Reed! Don't you know? He played in 'Sherlock Holmes.' Wait, I'll show you his picture." Hollywood now has a milliondollar extra girl— Mary Louise Hartje, who is working at the F. B 0. Studios. Not that they pay her that much, oh no! She gets the title because of her father's financial rating back in Philadelphia.