Tumbleweeds (United Artists) (1925)

Publicity Stories about “Bill” Hart , Good any Time BILL HART TELLS LOVE OF ANIMALS “Maybe There is a Dog Heaven,” Says Star of “Tumble¬ weeds” Western Drama Love of animals is one of the well- known characteristics of William S. (Bill) Hart, whose new production, “Tumbleweeds,” a United Artists Cor¬ poration picture, will be at the. theatre next .,and he has not only given substantial aid in this direction but maintains quite a collec¬ tion of pets at his Newhall, Cal., ranch. Among these is the famous Pinto pony; Elizabeth, the giant mule; several other horses, numerous dogs and cats. And every last one of these loves Bill as much as he is beloved by the pub¬ lic. In a recent letter to the Los Angeles S. P. C. A., after visiting their rescued animal pens, Bill Hart said: “The more I travel the trail the more I hesitate at coming in contact with these poor, deserted little creat¬ ures, (stray animals). It hurts. And somehow I am not ashamed to say— it hurts. The poor, little fellows try, oh, so hard to please and they cannot understand why they cannot do so— for they have done no wrong. ‘ Their eyes look so appealingly, so entreatingly that it leaves a sort of ‘gone’ feeling that I cannot help or overcome. “If there is a dog heaven—and who shall say there is not—all those home¬ less little fellows that we humans can¬ not succor will surely go there.” HART PICTURIZES BIG SELLING NOVEL “Tumbleweeds,” Screened by Star, Popular as Serial and Also in Book Form Millions read “Tumbleweeds” by Hal G. Evarts, when it ran as a Saturday Evening Post serial; many more read it in book-form and now, with Wil¬ liam S. Hart in the role of Don Car¬ ver, it has reached the motion picture screen. A William S. Hart production, re¬ leased by United Artists Corporation— the same firm that releases the pictures of Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, etc.—this picture offers Bill Hart at his very best, with a competent cast of characters. Bar¬ bara Bedford has the feminine lead. C. Gardner Sullivan adapted the book to the new medium. Mr. Sulli¬ van has many scenarios to his credit and has long been regarded as one of the most brilliant screen authors. King Baggot, himself a former screen star of real magnitude, directed “Tumbleweeds,” and now it will be seen at the . theatre on “Tumbleweeds” is a midwestern epic, dealing with the settlement of the Cherokee Land Strip between Kansas and Oklahoma. It is full of thrills, hard riding, quick shooting, comedy and romance. BILL HART TELLS HIS MIDDLE NAME It is “Surrey,” But Nobody Seems to Know Why He Was So Christened The question of what the “S” stands for in William S. Hart’s name, has long been debated by his fan friends and even his intimate acquaintances, for he has never told it until recently he revealed the secret to a newspaper writer. It is “Surrey.” People have guessed that it might be “Silent” or “Shakes¬ peare” but they were wrong. This is how the name was given him, by his own statement: His father, Nicholas Hart, had a favorite brother who was killed in an accident. His name was William. When Bill was born, he was named Wil¬ liam for the brother and this was fol¬ lowed up with “Surrey” which had been William’s pet name for Nicholas Hart. Why his brother called him this, Bill’s father never knew. Bill Hart—“Two-Gun Bill”—is to be seen shortly at the . the¬ atre in his own production, “Tumble¬ weeds,” released by United Artists Corporation. It was directed by King Baggot. Barbara Bedford has the fem¬ inine lead and there is a strong sup¬ porting cast. It is a tale of the land rush of 1889, when the Cherokee Strip was opened to homesteaders. This strip lay between Kansas and Okla¬ homa. An exciting story has been woven about this episode in history, with strong love interest and much comedy as well as thrills. Bill plays a typical cowboy of the period. BILL HART LOVES HORSES. DOGS. BOOKS Creator of Title Role in “Tumbleweeds” New Western Drama, Has Splendid Film In private life, William S. Hart, who appears this week at the . theatre in “Tumbleweeds,” his produc¬ tion for United Artists Corporation re¬ lease, is a studious man. He has a well-used library and likes the classics and all books pertaining to his beloved west, another of the great affections of his life. Brought up in Dakota and Minnesota, he learned to love the west and the ways of the In¬ dians and white folk with whom he came into contact—most of them, that is! A strong passion of Bill Hart’s is his love of animals. He has a never- failing sympathy for all dumb brutes, especially horses and dogs. His affec¬ tion for the Pinto pony is already a byword. He never sees a poor, stray dog but his heart goes out to it, in its helplessness. Therefore he has aided substantially the organizations caring for these helpless creatures. “Tumbleweeds” shows Hart at his best in a clean-cut drama wherein he plays a cowboy with high ideals and all the bravery that his life demands of him if he is to be successful. It is a thrilling picture, a picture to com¬ mand respect and to entertain to the Nth degree. BILL HART’S MAIL OF STRANGE NATURE Fan Letters Oddly Different From That of Most Screen Stars Testifying to the popularity of Bill Hart, screen star, his fan mail is com¬ ing in as regularly as it has been do¬ ing for years and in as large quantities. But it is largely of a character dif¬ ferent than the usual star’s mail. Wil¬ liam S. Hart, whose production, “Tumbleweeds” for United Artists Corporation release will be seen next . at the . the¬ atre, is recognized as an exponent of the west and his characterizations have always rung true. He does not go in for wild exagger¬ ations, in dress or action. He knows that the true westerner, be he pioneer, cowboy, ranchman, bad man or peace officer, is first of all a human being, not a side show. Life is serious or humorous to him, according to his temperament, but he doesn’t dress fantastically or act like a zany. If his attire seems different and queer to those of the cities far re¬ moved from the cow country—so does the dress of the average tourist, no doubt, to the eyes of the native of Zam¬ besi or Timbuctu. And it is worn for a purpose—the dark shirt to reflect as little as possible the sun’s rays, the big loose handkerchief about the neck to slip over the nose and keep out dust when riding close in; the “chaps” to protect the legs against the thorny undergrowth—these are not ornaments —they are needed attire. But this is a bit off the track—what we started to say was that Bill Hart is recognized for the genuineness of his portrayals. This is pleasing to those who know the west, especially so since the fan mail is frequently filled with letters of congratulation from old tim¬ ers who are familiar with the types and who laugh immoderately at some of the supposed cowboy stunts and charac¬ ters which occasionally reach the screen, and praise Mr. Hart for his faithful¬ ness to the real thing. Odd curios—a Maori lucky piece from New Zealand; a doll, dressed and ac¬ coutred like a westerner; souvenirs from odd corners of the globe—pic¬ tures, folders, booklets—all these things reach Mr. Hart daily in his fan mail. Of course, many are simple requests for photographs. These are promptly sent and a secretary is kept busy with this detail. But most of the writers ask when Bill Hart will next be seen on the screen and if there are any of his innumerable fans in .they will have a chance to see him in “Tumbleweeds.” King Baggot directed this picture, a truly thrilling tale of the last frontier—with Mr. Hart in his most famous role—an American cowboy. William S. Hart, the noted, western star, who will be seen at the .. theatre next . in “Tumble¬ weeds” his latest production for United Artists Corporation release, recently made a trip to New York expressly to appear at the public Gambol of the Lambs Club in the Metropolitan Opera House. He was one of the big hits of a bill on which were such notables as General Pershing, John Phillip Sousa, A1 Jolson, etc., etc. HISTORY’S GREATEST LAND RUSH FILMED Bill Hart Depicts Cherokee Strip Homestead Stampede in “Tumbleweeds” The last dash of the homesteaders for the purpose of staking claims on the old Cherokee Land Strip between Kansas and Oklahoma, is depicted for the first time on the screen in William S. Hart’s new screen production, “Tumbleweeds,” a United Artists Cor¬ poration release, coming to the. theatre next . The Cherokee Strip, so-called because it was set aside as neutral ground be¬ tween the Indians and early white set¬ tlers, was thrown open in 1889 by the Government for homestead purposes and as soon as the word went out, thou¬ sands upon thousands of home seekers flocked to Caldwell, Kan., to be ready lor the starter’s word. It was virgin prairie soil, in the midst of a fine agricultural region and the land was valuable. Some homestead land is not so valuable, as many persons have learned by experience. The big ranches which were rented from the Indians by cattlemen, had to be vacated; the great herds removed. This made bitterness between the cow¬ men and the homesteaders. Then there were the “sooners” to worry with—men who tried to sneak in ahead of the opening and grab land. They were promptly jailed when caught. This is the historical state of affairs around which “Tumbleweeds” is built. Hal G. Evarts wrote the story and it was adapted for the screen by C. Gard¬ ner Sullivan. The truly tremendous scenes of the mad dash for land, the moving of the enormous herds of cattle, the episodes around Caldwell, which grew to a raw metropolis almost overnight, the love, laughter, grim determination, pathos, tragedy and drama of those stirring days in our own land, will all be seen in Mr. Hart’s picture—the biggest and best he has made to date. A fine cast surrounds the star—-in¬ cluding Barbara Bedford as leading woman—and King Baggot was the di¬ rector. VEHICLES OF ALL SORTS FOR MOVIE Curley Eagles, dubbed’ “horse opera impresario of the West,” who knows where all the horses, cattle, wagons and every sort of rolling stock in California are located, was engaged to gather the equipment for William S. Hart’s pro¬ duction, “Tumbleweeds.” He recently moved the great accum¬ ulation of supplies of this nature from his Silver Lake stables in Edendale to Burbank, where forty acres had been leased by Mr. Eagles to accommodate the stuff. In the great scenes of this picture, which is now showing at the . theatre, many horses, all kinds of wagons and other equipages, were employed, especially in the epi¬ sodes showing the great rush to locate homesites on the Cherokee Land Strip, opened by the government in 1889 to homesteaders. Southern California and points north, east and west, were scoured for vehicles of all sorts and it is prob¬ able that never before has so vast an accumulation of rolling stock been brought together for one picture.