Reel Life (1916-1917)

ANNOUNCING MARIE CAHILL Noted actress soon to appear in series of two part Mutual comedies PRESIDENT JOHN R. FREULER of the Mutual Film Corporation announces the closing of a contract with Miss Marie Cahill, under the terms of which that brilliant young actress will appear in a series of twopart comedies to be released every two weeks. The date of the first release has not yet been set, but studio operations are already under way in New York where the Mardan Photoplay Company, under contract with the Mutual Film Corporation is preparing for immediate work in connection with Miss Cahill’s engage¬ ment. Miss Cahill is the latest among many distinguished stars, including Marjorie Rambeau, Nance O’Neil, Gail Kane and Edna Goodrich, with whom contracts have been recently an¬ nounced by Mr. Freuler, and the engagement of the clever comedienne is renewed evidence of the Mutual’s determin¬ ation to live up to Mr. Freuler’s announced policy “only big stars for the Mutual.” Miss Cahill and her associate stars added to the already strong array of talent in the Mutual forces, including Mary Miles Minter, Richard Bennett, Margarita Fischer, and Charlie Chaplin — the world’s greatest comedian. Other contracts with equally famous artists are now in process of negotiation and these will be announced from time to time as they are brought to completion. Marie Cahill is known from one end of the country to the other as one of the cleverest comediennes on the Ameri¬ can stage. Before signing a contract with the Mutual Miss Cahill had appeared but once in films, when her most suc¬ cessful comedy, “Judy Forgot,” was screened. Miss Cahill is to be surrounded by a thoroughly capable company of actors and actresses, Mr. Freuler having de¬ clared an intention to give personal attention to the selec¬ tion of her support. Because it is Miss Cahill’s idea that a comedy, to be effec¬ tive must be short and snappy, two part productions will be the limit of any picture in which she appears under the pres¬ ent contract. “La Belle Marie,” as she is known among her friends of the profession, has a way of dispensing original comedy business that is distinctively her own and just as distinctively popular with a fun-loving public. The first of the Cahill comedies will be “Flirting with Romance,” and this is said to be one of the screamingest things in which the young actress ever has appeared. Among Miss Cahill’s most pronounced successes on the speaking stage in recent years were “Molly Moonshine,” “Nancy Brown,” “Marrying Mary,” “The Boys and Betty,” “The Opera Ball,” and “Flirts.” As a comedienne she has probably a larger following throughout the country than any other laughmaker. Miss Cahill is a native of Brooklyn, N. Y. She made her first stage appearance in that city in “Kathleen Mavourneen” and later her regular professional debut at Poole’s Eighth Street Theatre in “C. O. D.” Her next appearance was as “Patsy” in Charles Hoyt’s “A Tin Soldier,” and after that she appeared at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in “Morocco Bound.” Later productions in which Miss Cahill scored successes were “Sporting Life,” “A Runaway Girl,” “Monte Carlo,” and “Three Little Lambs.” Miss Cahill is one of the many famous artists who have Marie Cahill, new Mutual star. gone for inspiration and study to Madame Ada Dow Currier, the gifted woman to whom Julia Marlowe owes her begin¬ nings in her dramatic career. Madame Currier was a stock actress who attained distinc¬ tion under the name of Ada Dow during the days of Barrett and Booth, and later became a producer and a teacher. It was she who first saw the talents in Julia Marlowe, then a young girl of an English family in Cincinnati, and who took the famous Shakespearian actress into her home and trained her for several years, before she actually presented Miss Marlowe at her debut in New York City. To Madame Ada Dow Currier’s doors have come many of the stage’s most successful women, including Maude Adams, Maud Hoffman and Agnes Miller. REEL LIFE — Page One