Reel Life (1916-1917)

Scenes on the historical battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Tenn., from “ See America First,” Number 77. Chickamauga was the scene of an indecisive victory for the Confederates during the great Civil War. MUTUAL vm REEL LIFE MUTUAL T CMS SEE AMERICA FIRST U. S. Break with Germany Covered "Mutual Weekly" No. 111 pictures leading per¬ sonages in world war. Scenes Around Vicksburg, Miss, Beautiful and historic spots along Mississippi River are pictured. Old Heidelberg and Monte Carlo Also Monaco and Scot¬ tish Highlands shown in “World Tours/* No. 16. Diversified Subjects Shown "Reel Life," No. 42 pic¬ tures "Training Man Hunt¬ ers" and other subjects. THE resources of the GaumontMutual Weekly are so vast that little extra effort was required to cover the news of the break with Germany. This has been done ade¬ quately in Mutual Weekly No. Ill, released Feb. 14. Spectators are shown not only leading personages in the great world drama, but also places of strategic importance where trouble is anticipated should war be the result of the present situation. Count Von Bernstorff and Ambassador Gerard are first pictured, and then the “Carmania” is seen putting to sea despite the submarine warning. The vessels of the Central Powers which sought refuge in New York harbor are then shown. As these ships are said to have been damaged by their crews and and have figured largely in the news, the picture is of great news value. The special section closes with pic¬ tures of guards protecting the bridges and aqueducts, of coast defense guns, of _ President Wilson, and of the capitol dome at Washington with the Star Spangled Banner proudly waving in the breeze. Other events of interest pictured are gas explosion in Chicago ghetto, which killed and injured a score of people: men’s fashions; big fire in New York city, in which several tanks were endangered, and big blaze in St. Louis, Mo. * * * THE managers of the Keith Houses, Providence, believe in advertising Mutual productions. The Providence Sunday Journal of February 4 contained two large ad¬ vertisements of Mutual subjects which would be shown at the Keith Houses during the week. One was Mary Miles Minter in “Faith” and the other the series of six most timely subjects “Uncle Sam’s Defenders.” * * * IN “Reel Life” No. 42, released through Mutual Feb. 18, there is a picture showing how blood¬ hounds are trained to track criminals. THE memorable siege of Vicks¬ burg, Miss., by Gen. U. S. Grant, from March 29, 1863, to July 4 of the same year, is recalled upon viewing pictures of this city and the. National Military Park there which Gaumont will release through Mutual Feb. 21, as “See America First” No. 76. Co-incident with the fall of Vicksburg came the defeat of Lee at Gettysburg, these two disasters marking the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. In the National Cemetery are the graves of 16,892 Federal soldiers, 12,769 of whom are unknown. There are views of the city with its stately court house built by slave labor in 1858, of the Yazoo and Mis¬ sissippi rivers, and of the battlefield. Among the monuments pictured are the U. S. Navy Memorial, and those of Mississippi, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. On the same reel is one of the en¬ tertaining Gaumont Kartoon Komics, “Polly’s Day at Home.” It deals with the escapades of a parrot which creates havoc by answering the tele¬ phone and making itself an interloper in other directions with dire results. * * * FEBRUARY 21 Gaumont will re¬ lease its split-reel, “See America First” and the Gaumont Kar¬ toon Komic. The scenic. No. 76," is Vicksburg, Miss., and the National Military Cemetery there. The hu¬ morous contribution from the pen of Harry Palmer is “Polly’s Day at Home,” revealing chapters in the life of a mischievous parrot. On the same day the Mutual Week¬ ly is issued from the Gaumont Laboratories. These Gaumont pictures are being praised by “Better Films” Committees everywhere. They are snappy, up-tothe-minute pictures which appear to advantage on any program. M THE WORLD” No. 16 will reach the screen on February 20. In this tour the trav¬ elers are first taken on a visit to Old Heidelberg, . Germany, that famous old university town which has long been the mecca of tourists. Many beautiful and interesting scenes around the University are shown. The Scottish Highlands are next visit¬ ed and pictures are shown of the northeastern part of the highlands in County Cromarty, the home of the kilties and the bagpipes. Monaco, the World’s Smallest Principality, is next shown. There are some very beauti¬ ful scenes of this picturesque terri¬ tory along the Mediterranean and the many fashionable watering places nearby in Mentone, France. There are also views of Monte Carlo, fa¬ mous the world over as the great gambling center, where many for¬ tunes are lost and won in a single night. THE Gaumont Company opens the week of Feb. 18 with its everentertaining “Reel Life.” This issue, . No. 42, is worthy of praise for the diversity as well as the interest of the subjects it contains. There are comprehensive pictures of “Oysters on the . Mississippi Coast.” The “Properties of Water” is an amazing revelation to those unacquainted with its power and possibilities. On the same reel are “Making an Individual Dress Form,” “Training Man-Hunt¬ ers” (bloodhounds), and “Dance of the Rainbow,” an aesthetic, open-air dance. The second release of the week is “Tours Around the World” No. 16, reaching the screen Feb. 20. It pro¬ vides pictures of the Scottish High¬ landers, Heidelberg, Germany, Monte Carlo, Monaco, and the neighboring watering place, Mentone, France. The pictures from Scotland are of the northeastern part of the Highlands in County Cromarty. IT is difficult to decide which pic¬ ture should have the place. of honor in Gaumont’s “Reel Life” No. 42, the Mutual Magazine in Film which is released through Mutual Feb. 18. First on the screen is a series of views of “Oysters on the Mississippi Coast.” The spectator is shown every process from the tonging of the oysters from small boats to the sealing of the cans preparatory to shipment. The visit to the oyster cannery is illuminating. “The Properties of Water” is an exposition of the uses to which it may be put as well as pictures of water. in an unharnessed state. The separation of water into its hydrogen and oxygen elements opens the series. There are pictures of the ocean, of clouds, of ice, of cascades, and of plants in which power is generated by water. In a sense, this is a companion picture to “The Power of Water,” shown in “Reel Life” No. 16. “Making an Individual Dress Form ’ shows the method of preparing a model cast from a plaster of pans shell in which the woman desiring the dress form is encased. It is a great aid to the home dressmaker or to the woman who does not wish to pay fre¬ quent visits to her modiste. “Training Man-Hunters” is a pic¬ ture of some famous southern blood¬ hounds being trained to pursue fugi¬ tives. The manner in which the hounds are put on the trail, how they follow it, and . how they act upon catching up with the fleeing man makes this an . interesting subject. Hounds from this pack have success¬ fully trailed a man eighty miles. Advertising, Matter. Available at all Mutual Ex¬ changes, for use in connection with Gaumont one-reel “ Featur ettes / Poster, one sheet . 10c REEL LIFE — Page Seven