The Struggle (United Artists) (1931)

DW. GRIFFITH —_ aname pre-sold to (PLANT THIS NEWSPAPER FEATURE) isi edilvoge ia acetrens ballghos for CDHE TWO DECADES OF WRITING A dv ert u s et rm GJ ig een On ny Bae ae es a FOR GRIFFITH printed the title of the picture as well as Re re £ your theatre imprint. These are perfect for By ANITA Loos use for the ushers, for waiters in nearby Author of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” restaurants, and for newsboys. They are [Editor’s Note: Anita Loos was a child, thirteen years of age, when priced as follows, including theatre imprint she wrote her first motion picture scenario, which was accepted and and playdate :— produced by D. W. Griffith. In the following reminiscences the young author tells how, elated by this early success, she persevered in her 100 $7.00 literary effort and became a successful contributor to the screen in the ee T aE RES. ; early days when Griffith, the pioneer “master director”, was making BON Benicar 15.00 pictures for the old Biograph company, one of the earliest producers of PA stich ere ruth. eae 28.00 screen drama. The association between Anita Loos and Griffith has FOO. ee 50.00 continued ever since. In a series of three articles, of which this is the first, ee Loos gst interestingly vi Griffith, the man and the direc : Sie tor, and of screen history in the 14 } years. Order direct from the Advertising Cap Company, 101 Wooster ae f ae 2 : 3 OER Ae T ee ah aeeres : ast spring ad just finished getting my passport, buy Street, New York City. ing my steamer ticket, and packing my trunks to leave for Europe when I was called to the telephone. It was Mr. D. W. Griffith. He wanted to know if I would come over and see him on a matter of business; in fact he wanted Mr. Emerson and me to work on a “talkie’’—the first one of my career. Naturally I was thrilled. One always is on hearing from Mr. Griffith. We went over to his hotel and he talked to us about an idea that he had in mind for a picture, and as he talked, Europe gradually faded into the background. By the time he had finished I didn’t care whether I saw Europe that spring or not. I hurried home, cancelled everything pertaining to the trip, and started work at once on what was to me a very important and even sentimental venture. When I was a child of thirteen I had written my very first motion picture, and it had been directed by Mr. Griffith; this was in his early ~ Biograph days. At that time we were living in San Diego; my father owned a stock company there, and I used to play in it. {n those days the stock theaters showed movies between the acts, and I used to run down stairs and change my clothes on the stage so I could watch the motion picture—from the wrong side of the screen! The players in those days were Mary Pickford, Blanche Sweet, Arthur Johnson, Lionel Barrymore, Mae Marsh, the Gish girls, Bobby Harron—all of whom became world-famous stars. One day it occurred to me that before these films could be made some one had to think up a story for them. I was very busy in those days learning my lessons, going to school, playing at learning a part, and acting, all at the same time, but I found time to scratch off an idea which had been inspired by a little unknown girl called Mary Pickford. I got the address of the Biograph Company otf a can of film in the projection room, and sent the story to New York to the Biograph. About two weeks later I received a check for twenty-five dollars, which, I might add, was top price for scenarios in those days. The picture was called “The New York Hat”. Mr. Griffith, himself, directed it. Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore played the leads. It has always been my luck to have success with first attempts. I have had plenty of failures afterwards, but I have had the great good fortune to receive encouragement from first efforts. I continued to send in ideas for motion pictures at the rate of about six a month. Many of them came back, but I always could look back and say, “I did it once so I can do it again.” For two years I wrote for the Biograph Company, never seeing anyone connected with it, and not knowing who Mr. Griffith was. Names were suppressed in those days, and although he signed my checks, the writing was so bad I could never read the name! Toward the end of this period, during which I sold the Biograph Company about three ideas a month, I reached the stage where my writing was worth much more to me than my acting; so I decided to give up acting—except for occasional parts—and concentrate on writing. I was living in San Diego and although the Biograph Company in those days spent half the year in Los Angeles, which was only four hours away by train, it never entered my head to go up to that city and see the people I was working for. Finally a rival company working in Los Angeles sent for ofl me, so, with my mother, I went up to see them. At that time I was fifteen years old and was small and childish enough in appearance to be playing “Little Lord Fauntleroy.” We arrived at the studio of the company seeking my services, and were sent into the office. The manager came out and at once greeted my mother, naturally thinking she must be the writer. When I was pointed out as Anita Loos he nearly fell over. I had my hair in long curls and was wearing a sailor suit. As a matter of fact, I didn’t look much more than ten years old. Now this manager of the rival company, although he was trying to lure me away from the Biograph, was so struck by the fact that a writer who had supplied some pretty rough stories for slap-stick comedies was a more-or-less innocent child, that even at the risk of losing me he insisted that I go to see Mr. Griffith, A MAN OF STEEL ... IN A MELTING POT OF PLEASURE Temptation beckoned its finger and held in its hand a vial of venomous delight... Into a seething sea of folly he plunged... only to burn a brutal scar onthe heart of the woman he loved... His home, child, happiness, everything welded into a jumbled mass of blasted dreams... His only hope the love of a woman whose only weapon against adversity was... 34 FAITH! i The for whom I had been writing. | master of That was the first time I ever heard Mr. Griffith’s name. I didn’t suspense know who he was or anything about him. I had a tremendous feeling | for the direction which I saw in my stories when they were shown on CONES TOU the screen. I knew there was somebody adding something to my stuff ~ breathless that lifted the stories to a higher plane than they originally occupied, in his new but I didn’t know who it was. Now this man called up Mr. Griffith and told him that Anita Loos was at the studio and that he thought Mr. Griffith should see her. So Mr. Griffith said, “Tell Miss Loos to come over.” [Just what happened when the child-like young author met the great director for the first time will be told in a continuation of this series tomorrow.] TWO DECADES OF WRITING FOR GRIFFITH By ANITA Loos Author of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” [Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of three articles by WITH Anita Loos in which she tells of writing screen drama for D. W. Grif ~ fith over a period of more than twenty years. Miss Loos gives a graphic HAL KELLY eZ ITA JOHANN pen portrait of the great pioneer director in these reminiscences. | UNITED ARTISTS PICTURE As had been arranged by the rival manager, my mother and I went PERSONALEY DIRECTED: BY on the afternoon of my first visit to Los Angeles to the Biograph Studios, entered the outer office, and my mother announced that Miss Loos was there. They asked us to wait, and in a few minutes a tall THEATRE NAME angular man with a profile like that of Ptolemey, the Second, of Egypt, entered the office. He had on his head an enormous Mexican sombrero ~~ HERE e ° which was all frayed around the edges and which was tied under his Story by ANITA LOOS & JOHN EMERSON head with a shoe-lacing. Like the man in the other office he first ad dressed my atta as Beal eee nee See his mistake, and Mr. Griffith turned to me. ooked at this tall, strange figure with 13—8 Col. Ad (Mat, 20c; Cut, 7dc) wonderment and, I believe, a little awe. Ce : I want to stop here to say that from the time of this first meeting with Mr. Griffith, down through my nearly twenty years of working with him and for him, I believe I could go back and write down substantially every conversation I have ever had with him in my life— and that is saying a lot for a girl with a very bad memory, which I have. achievement! ¢-4 Eight