Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1924)

92 Hollywood High Lights Continued from page 61 Charlie, of course, is going to appear in his accustomed make-up, which he has not worn on the screen since he made "Pay Day" about two years ago. Everybody seems quite enthusiastic about the way Lita Grey, the new leading woman for Chaplin, has been turning out. Charlie seems to like her very well personally, for she is often seen with him in public. She photographs much more attractively than we first suspected that she would. The Chaplin picture will not be released until the fall. On account of its magnitude work has not been going ahead at a very rapid pace. But then it never really does in any of Charlie's productions. New Safety Device. Some of the players in the films will no longer be individuals henceforward. They will be companies. The style of incorporating oneself has been started in Hollywood by Conway Tearle, who continues to rate as one of the most popular of actors, and many of the other busier free lancers will probably follow suit ere this is printed. All that an actor has to say under the circumstances when any one offers him a nice fat contract is "See my company," and all the business worries and troubles over salaries are lifted from his shoulders. Conway Tearle, Inc., came into existence about two months ago, with Conway himself and his wife as the principal stockholders, and his lawyer as his official representative. We were inclined to smile at the whole proceeding, because it looked so much like a publicity stunt, but really the company idea has quite distinct advantages of a commercial character. It takes a board of directors to make a decision whenever Tearle wants a certain part, and there isn't a possible chance of anybody taking him unawares and prevailing upon him to sign for less than he usually receives for a picture. Elinor Glyn, the author of "Three Weeks," has incorporated herself too, but she has done this according to British tradition, and consequently calls herself Elinor Glyn, Limited. We hope that the title is not in the nature of a confession. High Cost of Directors. High hopes are entertained for Norma Talmadge's next picture, owing to the fact that Sidney Olcott is her director. Production is just about getting under way, and the story is of the modern type. Olcott has made some of the most successful of recent films, including "The Green Goddess," "Little Old New York," and "The Humming Bird," which starred Gloria Swanson. He was engaged at a salary of thirty-seven hundred and fifty dollars a week, according" to report, to supervise Norma's destiny, this figure being almost unprecedented in the instance of directors. Trading Stars. Just to even up an old score, perhaps, foreign motion-picture companies have been creating a tremendous stir with their offers to the players in Hollywood. Several of these have been accepted, and among the absentees lately have been Mae Marsh, Irene Rich, Julanne Johnston and Eddie Burns. The latter two have gone with German companies, from whom America took not long ago such people as Pola Negri, Ernst Lubitsch, and Dimitri Buchowetzki, who has been filming Miss Negri's most recent features. Irene Rich has been appearing with an English company, as has Mae Marsh. Meanwhile the home-coming of Betty Blythe has been rather joyously celebrated. She has been wearing her new clothes, that she recently purchased in Paris, at various social functions and was quite a resplendent personality at the western premiere of D. W. Griffith's '"America." Betty Compson has also settled down in America, having signed again as a Paramount star. The picture that won her the contract was "The Enemy Sex," which James Cruze directed, and we personally feel that in this film Betty has given one of her best recent performances. Old Reliable Scenery. Old locations seem to be the best. At least, one of the most popular this season has been Catalina Island, one of southern California's chief pleasure resorts. Cecil De Mille turned this into a veritable Deauville while he was making scenes for "Feet of Clay," and in addition to the inevitable acquatic diversions that always adorn his productions, .imbued the undertaking with quite a distinct social flavor by entertaining many members of the film colony between scenes. Norma Talmadge. Pola Negri, Kathlyn Williams, and Eileen Percy were among the visitors. "The Last Man on Earth" was being made on the island practically simultaneously. Earle Foxe has the featured role in this, and the story is one of the few that has been filmed which is bid in the future. The action covers three different periods, 1924, 1940 and 1950. In one of the final episodes the world is completely dominated by women, who have gone in for harem trousers and other ultramodern sartorial effects. The "last man," a heavily bearded individual, who carries a club like that used in the stone age, hides out in a cave in the mountains, venturing forth at infrequent intervals in search of food. Eventually the women capture him, and a tremendous battle ensues over the possession of him. When Wives Leave Home. While Francis X. Bushman was abroad working in "Ben-Hur," Beverly Bayne decided that she could not afford to be idle either, and so she accepted a chance to play in "Her Marriage Vow," being made by Warner Brothers, with Monte Blue, Margaret Livingston, Allan Forrest and others prominently cast. Miss Bayne has appeared continuously with her husband in pictures so far as the recollections of most fans go. Consequently, this departure on her own has been watched with much interest. Mabel Ballin also recently decided to go out into the cold, cold world alone. She is appearing in a Fox feature, while her husband, Hugo Ballin, has been directing at the Goldwyn studio. It is several years since Mabel has played in any other productions than those directed by her husband, as filmgoers who have seen "Jane Eyre," "East Lynne," "Married People," and others that starred her will remember. The Lloyd Heir. Harold Lloyd's "right hand is just recovering from the extensive handshaking he experienced following the birth of an eight-pound daughter to his wife, Mildred Davis, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles on May twenty-first. Hospital attaches say that Harold was just as worried as any ordinary prospective father, and spent several hours pacing the corridors of the institution in the usual prenatal fashion. Mrs. Lloyd recuperated rapidly, and she and the comedian are receiving hundreds of congratulatory calls and telegrams, and trying to find a name for the baby. If it had been a boy, of course he would have been named for his famous father, but the one thing that hadn't been prepared for the new arrival was a feminine name, so at present writing it is still without one.