Picture Show (May-Oct 1920)

4 " PICTURE SHOW" CHAT. {ContJaZe3f)om thinks that the prize of her collection is a weird headgear which she purchased from Zasu Pitts for five dollars. — — Over Here. DONALD CRISP, who gavo such a realistic character reading of the part of the pugilist in " Broken Blossoms, ' is in England, and is directing for Famous Lasky at the British studio in Islington. It is not generally known that Donald Crisp was born in England and educated in London. For the past twelve years he has been picture making in Los Angele3. EILEEN SEDGWICK JOSIE SEDGWICK. JOSIE and Eileen Sedgwick were both born in Texas. Eileen is the younger of the two. They were on the legitimate stage at the age of four with their parents and brother, when they were known as the Five Sedgwicks. On the screen Josie has played opposite Win. S. Hart, Fred Stone, Wm. Desmond, Will Rogers, and was Roy Stewart's leading lady one year in Western pictures. She also played opposite Jack Dempsey in " Daredevil Jack." She is at present with Charles Hutchison in " The Double Adventure." Eileen has starred in forty comedies anil twenty Westerns, and played with Eddy Polo in " The Lure of the Circus," and was featured in " The Great Radium Mystery." She is now being starred in a great serial, " The Queen of Diamonds," which will be her greatest work. — — Nazimova on the Stage. MADAME NAZIMOVA appeared personally in the pre-view of her next picture, " Madame Peacock," in I-os Angeles the other Saturday night. It was the first public appearance since her retirement from the speaking stage to make her own productions for •Motro. The fact that the proceeds of the box ollico were going to the wifo and family of Gene Gaudio, camera man for Nazimova productions, who has recently died, caused an audienco of notables such as is unusual even in Hollywood's colony of literary and screen stars. An Audience of Stars. WHEN the first beam of light was thrown upon the screon Douglas and Mary were seen in the centre of the hall. Mary Miles Minter, May Allison, Charles Meredith, John Ince, Colleen Moore, and Ray Smallwood, were among the familiar faces to be caught in the shadows by the most casual observer. There was a burst of applause when the unruly bobbed head of Nazimova herself was recognised on the stage. Sho told of her association with Gaudio, whoso camera work in " Out of the Fog " was probably the most notable of his productions for Nazimova, of his untimely death, of her own sense of personal loss. " And now," sho finished, " you are going to see it, 1 hope you will like it." She ran off the stage, to a scat Douglas Fairbanks had been using all bis unquestioned athletic powers to keep for her. — 1-» — Not Her Partner. 1HEAR that Mrs. Eddy Baker, wife of the comedian in the Christio comcdios, won tho dancing cup at a big cinoma ball. For tho information of those who saw Mr. Baker dancing in the latest Christio Comedy, " Tho Seaside Siren," it is said on good authority that he was not his wife's dancing partner when she won the cup. That Wouldn't Do. GENTLEMEN of colour are proverbially born tired ; and G. W. Brown, who has been employed at tho Buster Keaton studios, is no exception to the rule. Brown. " I think," he remarked, " work ought to be stopped altogether, then there wouldn't be any strikes.1' You are right," replied Buster. "' The time is coming when all work will be done by electricity. All that need be done is to press a button." A look of slow horror spread over the other's face. " That won't do at all," he said, in an alarmed way. "They're bound to pick on me to press the button." Miss Lake as a Professional Swimmer. ALICE LAKE, once professional dancer, may add new lustre to her name as a professional swimmer. Beginning to swim as a nervous amateur, Miss Lake has haunted the beaches of Los Angeles until now, with the aid of a Hawaiian girl, she has mastered every stroke in the trickbox of the professional. — — ■ What Do You Think. MANY writers have advanced the theory that the perfect photo-play would be one in which there were no " titles " or captions to explain the action. Their argument is that the perfect picture will tell itself without the aid of written language. Rupert Hughes, one of Goldwyn's eminent authors, does not agree with this view point. He believes that the screen should use' every art and device possible to heighten the effect of the story. " There can easily be too many title?,' said Mr. Hughes recently. " I am remindod of the small boy who was annoyed by an excessive number of captions and said, 1 I came hero to see a picture, and they make me read a book.' " That-sort of thing should be avoided, but it is futile and foolish to try to eliminate captions altogether. We should use the written language when it is necessary." Fay Filmer FIVE SHILLINGS FOR A POSTCARD. Finding Faults in Films. SPLENDID NEW FEATURE. EVERY reader who makos a practice of going to picture shows is at times irritated by faults that spoil the story for them. Those faults are either caused by lack of knowledge or carelessness on the part of the producer. The only way to prevent theso mistakes is to publicly point them out. The result of this should be that they will not occur again. Hero is a chance for our readers to better tho pictures and win a money prize. A POSTCARD MAY BRING YOU 5s. For Instance. IN " Heart of tho Hills now showing, the man who plays tho part of the hero, when Mary grows up, is taken by Harold Goodwin, who has blue eyes. Allan Scars who takes the part in tho earlier part has brown eyes. Jason Honeycutt may change with tho passing years, but surely ho cannot change his eyes. This is the sort of thing that spoils an otherwise beautiful photo-play. Havo you noticed anything similar ? If so, send it to me. Address your postcard Editor, Film Faults, Picture Show, Gough House, Gough Squaro, E.C. 4. A prize of 5s. will be awarded for every postcard printed in tho Picture Show. Tho Editor's decision must be considered final, and no correspondence can * be entered into. P.S.— Don't forget No. 2 of the GIRLS' CINEMA is out to-morrow. You'll be delighted with the coloured plate ol Marguerite Clark and Richard H;! rt holiness. — FAY FILMER. Picture Show, October Z&rd, 1920. BLANCHE STANLEY, who gave us a very clever character study in " The Skin Game," on the stage, is now to make her debut on the screen, in a Harma photo-play, entitled " Brenda oi the Barge." FROM " OVER THERE." Notes and News from Los Angeles. IT is the custom of many of the big American exhibitors to arouse special interest in a new release by inviting the star of the production to make a " personal appearance " at their theatres, thus bringing the public in closer touch with their own particular idols. Tony Moreno has at last been persuaded to succumb to the prevailing craze, only his venture has been planned on a more ambitious scale than is usually attempted. He has just completed his new Vitagraph serial, " The Veiled Mystery," and is to make an extended tour of the big picture-houses of Mexico, taking tho new serial with him. Tony is sure to bo a big attraction, as his southern typo and temperament will have a special appeal for Mexican audiences, and he is the only American picture star who is able to address them in the Spanish tongue. Moreno has signed up with Vitagraph for another three years, and tells me that probably " The Veiled Mystery " will be his last serial, as his long -cherished dream is at last to bo realised, and he is to be presented by Vitagraph in a special feature production in the course of the coming winter. Ben's Eyes. BEN TURPIN says that his errant eyes were not responsible for his initial successes on the screen. He got his first engagement on the strength of a funny neck and a funny pair of legs in the character of " Happy Hooligan," and had to forco his optics to misbehave in order to get more fun out of the part. One day, when ho was juggling with them in the approved manner, they stuck, and have been that way ever Kinco. Turpin says that when he has retired from a screen career he is going to permit a skilful surgeon to make him the handsome man he once was. He also believes that his increased popularity with Mrs. Turpin will recompense him somewhat for the loss of popularity with the public which the chtuigo will necessarily entail. Bootblack as Valet. WILL ROGERS has an ardent hero, worshipper in the person of tho coloured bootblack "of tho Goldwyn Studio. Liko most cowpunchers, Rogers possesses u wonderful collection of handsome riding boots, but is otherwise not over-particular about the kind of clothes he wears. His friend, " Kid Slickinn," has now entirely on his own initiative taken charge of Mr. Kogers's wardrobe, and profits by the star's absence from lu's dressingroom to 6verhaul his garments and keep them brushed and pressed. It also sometimes happens that when Kogers is talking to a friend "on tho lot," Slickum will saunter up in a casual sort of way and squint with a critical eye at the boots ho is wearing. If there is ns much as a speck of dust to dull their brightness, he instantaneously produces polish, brushes ami duster from his person, and goes to work without saying a word or interrupting Rogers's conversation. Then lie evaporates as unobtrusively as ho has materialised Elsie Codd.