Screenland (Apr–Sept 1923)

S GREENLAND Milton Sills scored a great hit when he made a personal appearance at a Los Angeles theatre recently. He made a sincere little speech, telling what the film folk were doing to make pictures better, and was loudly applauded. the drug evil, was kept. The beast is now wearing a muzzle which discourages midnight laughter. BILL FARNUM WANTS SOCIETY ROLES Big Bill Farnum, who in many a picture past had deemed it but child's play to run an army out of gas, is leaving the he-man roles. He's going to leave Fox and will produce for himself, and by Jove, he's going to do society dramas only, don't you know. No more horny-handed sons of toil nor fighting roles for him. lie wants to don the soup-and-fish and juggle a mean tea-cup. BABY PEGGIE AND JACKIE COOGAN Why has no enterprising publicity man thought to announce the engagement of Baby Peggy and Jackie Coogan? It is the fashion for Hollywood stars to lie engaged to somebody just now, and the youth of the participating parties should be no detriment, as — like most engagements— they are made but to be broken. WHY DO THEY? We are interested to learn that Paul Bern is supervising the preparation of a film to be called, "Why Men Leave Home." We are holding our breath in suspense lest the film really tell why. If it does, we hope to see it before Will Hays does. AUTHOR, AUTHOR! Ouida Bergere is writing a story and Elinor Glyn will get the credit for it. The name of the story is Six Days. This is the way it happened. The versatile Elinor outlined one little situation on the back of an envelope, and sold it to Goldwyn for we wouldn't dare to say how many hundreds of dollars. Goldwyn turned it over to Ouida Bergere to develop. It's quite a stunt to make a whole story out of one little situation. And probably when the story is screened, this is the way the screen credit will be apportioned. Six Days, by ELINOR GLYN, adapted by Ouida Bergere. JUNE MATHIS LENDS A HAND Who will be the next director that June Mathis helps to fame? Rex Ingram is a very talented director, but June Mathis' aid was a great help in making The Four Horsemen what it was. Her assistance didn't hamper Fred Niblo, any, either, in putting over Blood and Sand. Hollywood is looking on with great interest at the filming of In the Palace of the King, directed by Emmett Flynn. All the directors out at the Goldwyn studio would give some of their hearts' blood to have the vivacious June adapt their vehicles. The success or failure of the Flynn picture will decide the question that some critics have put, whether the Mathis success is due in part to the Ibanez-Valentino-Mathis combination. Her greatest successes, you know, have been the Ibanez novels starring Valentino. WE'RE FOR YOU, VIOLA Viola Dana has got a brand-new contract which provides for some special productions. We're glad. We hope with all our heart that Viola for once is going to get a real story, something that will give her a chance to show whether she can act, or merely look cute. Such pictures as June Madness would cramp the style of a Bernhardt. AN INTRIGUING COMBINATION The Russian Soviet is going in for picture-making, and their choice of their first two stones is an engag ing one : Tolstoy's Resurrection and Decameron Nights. Ach du lieber, when we think of what our Pennsylvania Dutch censors would do to those films here ! THOSE TEMPERAMENTAL STARS Here's a new excuse for not working, recently given by a Schulberg actress. Miss Callista Riddell, aged five months, takes a day off for teething ever so often. Louis Gasnier signed up Callista on a six weeks' contract, teething days excepted. HOW TO GET INTO THE MOVIES If you are ambitious and want to get into the movies, marry a film star. John Gunnerson,' Anna O. Nilsson's shoe-manufacturing bridegroom, has been married only a month and has already been offered a picture contract. But he evidently considers that one screen star is plenty in one family, for he has decided to stick to his last. It's the simple life after this for Gladys Walton. The little Universal star is "off" motoring, because the nasty old judge sentenced her to three days in jail, during the recent speeders' war. But Gladys had plenty of company ! 74