Variety (October 1922)

HP*"**?^ '^■^' •'■'^^'.'^'i'V" ^''''.''^•^'C'.'^T': **'■'"' " ■ y. PICTURES • _^,w. ■■•■'•j-if 5' •"1P'.'.''''^'V '■'?^-' r, >n ENGLISH FILM NOTES l.ondon. Sept. 22. Storlos of agents "cutting up" •onnmission with producers are rife ftnd have been for a long time, but with 75 per cent, of the players out of work evidence is hard to get. Those who could tell are afraid of Joining the unemployed and cling to the army adage "No names, no pack-drill." Agents are said to offer the producers a gratuity in con- sideration of all artists being got from them. This is covered by an Increased fee on their part. One well known player on being told to go to an agent to fix up the engage- ment promptly demanded £40 more because the agent would extract that amount. She was able to en- force her demand, being a star, but the small part people reckon it will be taken out of them. Another ex- a^ent frankly confessed that when engaging people for an Anperican producer who bragged about his money, that he promptly doubled the usual salaries of the people he sent. In this case only the pro- ducer complained. The new Invention. "Cineojour." which is intended to revolutionize the klnema and enable perfect pic- tures to be shown In daylight and in any weather, is very like all other things of Its type. Privately shown the other morning, its work was not helped by the films chosen. These were old toplcals and the •ub-titlea were the clearest parts of the pictures. The apl>aratu8 It- self consists of a stage about 18 feet deep with a black cloth lining after the fashion of a folding camera bellows. This is connected up by a 20-foot tunnel, at the end of which is the propectlon room, beyond that again is the dynamo. The whole Is the Invention of a Frenchman, Erno.<^t Bertdn. and la being spon- sored here by the Lionel Phillips firm. Tom Terriss started work on the Ideal picturlzation of (Jeorge R. Sims' drama "T'he Harbour Lights" on the very day the author died. The contrast was only signed three days previously. The cast includes Tom Moore, who will play the William Terriss part, Percy Stand- ing. Gerald McCarthy, Isobel Elsom. Mary Uorke, and Annette Benson. By special permission of the Ad- miralty, H. M. S. Revenge, together with her officers and crew will play an important part in the production. will give a series of performances at the Costanzi Theatre. Rome. Among other playH she will prodsro a new tragedy by U'Annunzio enlitlod "La Citta Forta." CJaumont (French) Is about to make nn authentic life of Napoleon Bonaparte. They will be assisted In the work by members of the Napoleonic Research Society. This production will lake several months to complete. - — Captain C. C. Calvert's next pic- ture for Gaumont (British) will be called "The Spiritualist." Casting is not complete, but Marjorie Hume has been engaged for the leading woman's part. Fred le Roy Granville is finishing "Shifting Sands" for his own com- pany. The exterior scenes for this were made in Tripoli.* Peggy Hy- land id the star and the camera man is William lilakeley. :-^-S. Friday, October 6, 1922 Tliomas Bentley is making "Green Sea Island" for Ideal. Flora le Breton and Clive Brook are the leading people. Donald Crisp will .start work on a now production. "God's Prodigal." This will be for his own company, the Donald Crisp Productions. Fred Paul Is at work on "Castles In the Air" for British Super. This company's next work will be a screen version of the labor play. "The Right to Strike." FRENCH FILM NOTES Paris. Sept. 23. Th* Soclets ClnenkatographlQue Parislenne. In which the Gaumont company is Interested, with Louis Gaumont as president, to follow the business of exhibiting, has taken over the Splendid Palace, Paris. The French Gaumont Co. Is iUm- ing the good old melodrama, "La Bouquetlere des Innocents." which at present holds the stage of tlte Porte St. Martin. It is being pro- duced by JacQues Robert, with Henri Baudin, Decoeur. Gaston Mo- dot, Jacques Gullhene, do Kerdec, Vouthier, Mmes. Celine James, 81- monne Vaudry, Claude M'&relle, etc. During the week ended Septem- ber 23 there were 33,570 metres of iilms trade-shown In Paris (com- pared with 26.680 metres the pre- vious week). Released by l^nlversal Film Mfg. Co.'s new French renting department. 8,000; Select Distribu- tion (now through Gaumont), 2.000; Aubert, S.OOO; Agence Generale Cin- ema. 2.595; Jupiter, 3.080; Phocea, 2.000; Gaumont, 6.655; Pathe, 2.700; Fox. 2,070; Paramount. 3,170; Vita- graph. 2.700. The Societe anonyme des Alms Loew-Metro. with a capital of 250,000 francs (a little over $20,000 at present rate of exchange)^ has l>een registered at 124 Avenue de la Republique. Paris, for the purpose of renting Metro pictures in France. Thos. Salter and Pollock-Barr, of Paris, and J. G. Brocklias. of Lon- don, are the directors. The films will be released here thruu^li Aubert. Fay Compton will play lead for Ideal in "This Freedom" by A. S. M. Hutchinson. Denison Clift will produce. The next W. W. Jacobs story to be done by ArtistlQ is "Dilston Lane." The production will pe di- rected by Manning Haynes. Mae Marsh has arrived back here to play the title role in "Paddy, the Kext Best Thing," for Astra. Sup- porting her will be Nina Boucicault, Haidee Wright. Marie Wright, Lil- ian Douglas. Marie Ault, Sir Simeon Stuart. Darby Foster and George K. Arthur. Graham Cutts will pro- duce. Astra has taken over the studios and technical staff of the Famous-Lasky company at Isling- ton. Yet another sporting drama from the Granger-Davidson company. This is "The Sporting Instinct." which Arthur Rooke has completed. Films in Covent Garden. London. Sept; 24. Greville Brothers have taken over Covent Garden for a picture season, and are showing "The Prince of Wales Jn Japan" and "Treasure- land." The former is the official record. The Cinema de Montrouge, Paris, is changing its policy and will pre- sent legitimate instead of pictures. It will commence thi.s week with the Vienna operetta "Waltz Dream," which recently attracted at the Ba- Ta-Clan. In a like manner the Montmartre theatre, devoted to pic- tures for the past five years, will revert to melodrama, with M. Dullin as house manager. ., BERLIN FILM NEWS Bj C. HOOP££ TBASK \' "L'ArlesUnne," the work of Al- phonse Daudet (for which Bizet supplied music), is being screened by the Societe d'Edltion Cinemato- graphic and will be released through Pathe In November. Fabrls and Mile. Luclenne Bpeval are the prin- cipal protagonists. Special musiv Is being composed to supplement that of Bizet. Berlin, Sept. 22. At the Marmor Haus was given the fk-st showing of the Efa film. "Duke Ferrante's End" (Hersog Iferrantes Knde), and the mere fact that this small theatre was chosen Instead of the much larger Ufa Palast, which usually houses big spectacular features, shows that the company was afraid of the picture. And rightly so, for although from an artistic standpoint this is per- haps the most Interesting venture of the year commercially it is worthless. The chief reason is an utterly incompetent scenario. It Is a costume film laid in the Renaissance. Not enough actual plot material Is present to pad out five reels, not to say the seven Into which the film Is actually divided. The only really original Idea used is that of tyrannical dulce who has the corpses of his defeated enemies mummified. These he berates nightly. A youth, whose brotber occupies one of these niches, gets Into the castle and. taking his brother's place, kills the villain. Everything else is merely padding. l*aul Wegener (of "Golem" fame) Is extraordinary when impersonating the duke, and one forgets and forgives. Wegener admits tde scenario and direction, which latter is the usual expected from the actor-director; he pays little attention to his support, and allows Ernst Deutsch and Walter Janssen. his opponents, to register close-up after close-up in which they express feebly. Wegener's wife does the ingenue, but, really, family feeling can go much too far in some cases. The person deserving of the big- gest credit is the scenic designer, Hoehrich. Ifere again he repeats the effects aclileved in "I>r. Call- gari" In a more conservative form. His exteriors, all studio stuff, are masterpieces of atmosphere. By the mere tilt of a wall he create.s the thrill of horror and suspense. He Is responsible for many of the groupings and mass mcf^erhcnts which give the film Its distinctive quality. As this picture Was a commercial failure in Germany it can hardly be a buy for America. Directors and designers should have a look at it, however. piece has a tried and true sob ap- peal. Whatever chances it had were ruined by the futile casting and Inadequate direction by Carl Froeltch. The suspense Is sacrificed time and again to Insert a pleasing pictorial effect. The chief casting error la the choice of Paul Hart- mann for Ferdinand, far too old for such a youthful role. Walter Janssen as the Count looks more like a woman In man's clothing, and Lll Dagovor in the title part re- mains always the dancer who Is try- ing to pantomime rather than to act. Gertrud Welker and Relnhold Schuenzel did well enough when sure Just what to register." Werner Krauss. as usual, this time In the minor role of Wurm, gave moments of perfection. As the film was hardly a success in Germany It Is not worthy of consideration f9r American buyers. ' Jacques de Baroncelll. having terminated a short comedy, "Amour" (Love), is now proilucing in Bel- glum "Le Carillon de Mlnult" (Mid- night Chimes), with Eric Barclay, Sovet and Maggy Thery, for the Belga Film Co. ' ji-- "You Shall Not Covet." the U picture of some years back, has been showing at the Alhambra. It created a stir, as the leading role is played by Eric von Strohheim under the pseudonym of Frank Mayo. Strohheim is an Austrian, and dur- ing the war played in numerous anti-German films in America. In- deed, in the present picture he bur- lesqued the typical German officer. This has become known in Ger- manv, and much propaganda has been made against the showing of his films. They claim in Austria he is not a "von" (the sign of nobility) and was never an officer, as he claim.s. But they have to admit he hits the type oft to a T. At the Ufa Palast am Zoo Is a picturlzation of Schiller's "Cabale und Llebe" under the title, "Lulse Millerln." The piece Is a popular German classic and was doubtlessly hoped to get benefit from this. The William Fox has been In Be<i'lln. accompanied by his director. J. Gor- don Edwards, and Julius Steger. At the Alhambra, which was closed to the public for three days, he showed films afternoon and evening to an invited trade audience. He showed "The Queen of Sheba." "Over the Hill," "Tbe Count of Monte Cristo," 'Nero.** and less known works. In- cluding comedies. "Over the Hill" was well received; its evident good points were recog- nized and its ending laughed at. The others were not taken seriously, however. The badly-painted flats which make up the scenery of "Monte Cristo," the amateurishness of the direction in all the pictures except "Over the Hill," and the act- ing In "Nero" (for example that of the Italian who Impersonated the emperor( could only be forgiven an opera singer. ^ Alfonso Carreraa and Enrique Carreras were recently publicly examined In bankruptcy. Their statement showed liabilities amount- ing to £47.221, of which £20.606 was expected to rank for dividend against not assqts valued at £2,450. In i;^12 they helped to form a klne- ma company called Blue Halls, Ltd. In February, 1922, they so^d out for £27,000. Walter Forde, English screen comedian. Is about to shake the dust of tho island from his feet and proceed to America. Hts reason is that he is disgusted at the slowness of things in Wardour street. His first half dozen films made for Zodiac are going strong, but his backers are waiting to see how things go, and the comedian is Idle. THE BIGGEST AND TIMELIEST SCOOP IN NEWS REEL HISTORY! ^ NEWS Following a run In the principal provincial cinema houses in the country, "From Manger to Cross" will be revived In London. This will be preceded by the publication of a book about the making of the film which will be written by the English actor, K. Henderson Bland, who played the Chri.stus. A preface to the book will be written by the Bishop of London. Complaints are being m.ide about the treatment of artists by the Master Film Company, specialist.^ in tense moment "shorts." now mak- ing a series of little pictures with stories written round sports. Tho other day one of the companies was kept playing Rugby football from 11 o'clock In the morning until dusk without the slightest rcfre.'^hment. V announces in issue No. 79, now showing, tre- mendously vivid pictures by a staff cameraman ''■■■■■■''•'■■'' of the •>-;' '.''. '•v-i^: ■/■•'■<"^'"'■'''■[''•^^^ /■'^'■■/'■'"/'■•i-'' BURNING OF SMYRNA and its \,- '^X CAPTURE BY THE TURKS HOW IT WAS DONE, AS TOLD BY CABLEGRAMS Wyndtinra Standing and Mar- guerite Marsh have arrived to play in a now fSrangcr-P.inger produc- tion. Ilex Davis, Mary Odette, and Juliette Compton are also In tho cast. The picture will be made in the Atiglo - Ilollandla studios at Ha-'-rlem. - 'Sev/n h.is arrived here lli.it Rleo- V, ^x Dust' and her new company July 30—Ercole, Vienna. Leave for Constantinople immediately. Cover Turkish-Greek war. Situation looks serious. Cohen. July 31—Leaving for Constainople today. Ercols. Aug. 3—Ercole, Constantinople. Follow Turkish National army advance. Cohyi. Aug. 7—Ercole. Watch Greek advance, Smyrna. Clash seems imminent. Cohen. Sept. 5—Ercole, Smyrna. Cover Greek retreat, Cohen« Sept. 15—Rush all pictures Smyrna fire. Cohen. ^ Sept. 15—Sozio, Rome. Leave immediately Smyrna^ Relieve Ercole, bringing first films fire. Sept. 21—Rome. Shipping Saturday Smyrna. Covered exclusively. Smyrna burning 900 feet. Ercole. —FIRST, AS ALWAYS, WITH THE FIRST-PAGE NEWS— We know our customers join us in congratulating the Pathe News on their remarkable accomplishment. . Pathe Kxchange, Inc. ,. "v.- '.;.V;