Variety (July 1923)

■■•?f-^, PICTUfefeS ,*».■■ /.a ..•,.<J.;u:t,JLi"^-tT3-';:Tynnr. ■;. >3K- ;:>;:• -^ ■ ^^y,'^ ?.^^x>-iTEa»^.s'. Thlirsday. July li, IHI COAST HUH NEWS •J > •> .1 r.~ '. »•>» By EBWARB 6. ERIEG /•f Los Aiigeles, July 11. No more sepataiion for Mr. and Mrs. Jack Plckford. They will make a trip to Europe this aummer, and on their return Marilynn will go back to the ' FoJliea." while Jack will make his neat picture In New York, so as he can be near his wife. John Ruel. manager of Australia's principal theatres, is in Los Angeles looking tliem over. The company which Mr. Ruel represents controls 108 theatres. -:••■ mending ThedA Bara for the prin- cipal role ill her screen slory, "Three Weeks." Shannon Day is back from New Vork and is waiting for a suitable offer before she starts work before the camera. - v Conrad Nagel will play the lead- ing role in "Masters of Men,' from the novel by HaM Calne. r- • * Chick Sale, vaudeville star, will desert the "legit" for the silver sheet. William S. Hart will return to the screen in an original story writ- ten by kim.self. The western star wrote the story during his retire- ment. As soor» as Montague Glass i« able to leave the hospital In New York he will immediately leave for his home In Pasadena. Word to that effe<*t was received by a friend here. Hereafter every Warner production will have it« •howing ig Los Angelea. Brothers premiere Virginia Valli will leave for Chi- cago, where she will , visit her mother. Elinor Olyn is strongly recom- Joseph Schildkraut. who came here from New York to play an im- portant part In "The Master of Men/' has withdrawn from the cast, claiming he wata not suited fo^ the role. '* Monte Blue has recovered from Injuries received a few w'eek.s ago and hi ready to don the greasepaint again. Donald Crisp has been selected dire^ 'Ppn jola" for ^am, Rork. to The 350-acre Mack Sennett ranch was the scene of a merry Spauisit barbecue last W€-ek. Rupert Hughes ifi busy" gathering material fof his next\Goli||Wyn pro- duction. "Lavr Against L^ijf," ?whlch he wPl personally direct. Dorothy Dalton, who is vacation- ing in Kuropc.iiH expected back at (he west .,coa«t P&ratnount sCudio^t' withinWhe next month. >A picture l8 in the waitittg Car lier reKirn. FiniH Fox is busily engaged f\lm- Ing "Bag' and BaggJige.Ti V s%i> .*.*.■ Ni{a Naldl. champimv- v.>n\p. ar- rived in L6S A-ngr<'fe« ready for Wovk T la "The Ten' Commandments.* which she has a principal rode. in Lillian Rich wm torcB^ to noat- pol^e work on acoount of a bad at- tack of "Klelc eye" di«eas«..> *i '»Lucille Riokaon. young leading woman, will play tha feminine lead in Jack Pickford's next vehicle. Holbrook Elian ta playing in the stage version of "The Bad Man." and between the acta, ia doing the same part fUr Edwin Care we for the sliver sheet. --17..-- Mrs. Richard Bret Harte, kin of Bret Harte. has joined the cast of Cecil B. De Mllle'a "The Ten Com- mandments." It ia her Anst ftlm experience. . ■ - . .:^ *. ■ ^ "The Dangeroua Maid" will be Constance Talmadge's first period- ical comedy drama. John M. Stahl completed shooting The Wanters" thia week. It is an all-star apecial. ^. Jack .Plckford w^^ atart work ahortly on a Kentucky ^m6unlain< atory. .• • Charlie Chaplin ^ shot the last scene the other day for Bdna Pur- vlance'a flfst atarring vahlcte. "Piib- iic Opiiiiutt." Chaplin ^directing »nd producing the feature. . Mabel Normand Is husy at work on "The Extra Girl." Another story Is ready for the Sennett star as soon as she completes her flrat. ./ ^ Maria Dragna, formerly with Gus Rdwards. has changed her name to Gloria Gray. She decided the new one sounded better than the originnl. Jackie Lucas, three-year-old child actor, is to be ctarred in a series of comedies by Mack Sennett =FF^ .:. ' I 'jriy m i^tt\rf:-1'^^'i^.h^^ .^Vi^v.-?*!^,;-^ '^■.- r-; * v.fl assumes the leadershi JPIRST NATIONAL cheerfully responsibility devolving on that of supplying exhibitots with a consistent output of the biggest Box-Office pictures pro- duced. We accept this responsibility with a confidence based on a thorough knowle^^ of ....» , ■• . - ■ • ■ - the audience value of the stage successes and best sellers selected as story material, and a per- fect understanding of the capabilities of the great stars, directors and producers engaged in picturizing them. ^ >•• V; :>.<■■> Depend on First National! r •A' INSIDE SniFF -»♦> »J r% :>*• .■■'V- -f^' (Mmcnntu 1 r.ft'»i* ■ ■ ■•■•<. ,v\ <i.jt.' ,... . ..■• :: '.•"■ ; '.;•<;•' Mike Connolly had a houae-warmiagt^t fcia htw placa, Melropoliia Caating Offices. 140 West 44th street, last Saturday afternoon. Mike atarted it in the afternoon, and hia intentiona were honorable, but th« gang got going, and the going was so good, beaide« t>elng wet, that they juat naturally hung around long after the afternoon had gone on its way. Mike'a casting oSces seem a popular place. They ara almoat next door the Lambs Club. The actors belonging to the club can And out easily and with decision from Mike Just what they may be able to do to get in plcturea. whili thoae who think they could be useful la pictures only have to atop in wtUla on the way to ttf^club to tell Mike they are laying off between productions. ' The Connolly ofHcea have quite a wide range of booking and casting. '"^ Tom Broadhtnrat Is In charge of Its stock department, Mr. Frledlander ia ' assisting on pictures and handling the extras, while J. Franoia O'Reilly i» ofllce, manager with M,.^!;..Connolly^ hUntelf, Im»erjion and no picture, ia. . general' factotum: ■v:-^:--; 7^; '-'^"^n^-''-^''-*''^:-'" ■■'Ul'-n ' ' :'.■'■■•::. [f^^ .■.:■'.■■—•. ' ■■ - --^ : .■'..:_■ . ■■ i:^ ■■:.'■ ''■r.^r*^ One of fhe exeeutlvea connected with the managent«nt of « bTg Broad- way theatre vPr«««ntlng pictures was summarily dismissed within the laat three week* for grafting. He had beeji associated with the manage- meat of the th^atrea since they were ope'ned and was looked upon as one of the most truated of the staff. It waa, discovered l.e waa .making arrangements on the outside with the distributors of cpnr^edy and other shopl features whereby h^ received a rake ojff on the rental price that the houses paid for the pictures. The stor>' was brought to the hotlce of the eUioi executives of the circuit, and they made an inveatigatloh, discovering that with one organisation he had an agreement that he^ received $76 a week on every occasion that one of their Corned!«.-» p* > ed the houses. Plana Were then made to "catch him with the goods." A oheck that he received for one of the transactions waa secured by hia employers aftee. he had cashed it, whereupon his dismissal took place. iijjy:4v«t;> ■>..; "l i^ '>^ The Dempsey-Gibbons fight pictures are e>xpacted. to. be .shown.through Minnesota on a Btatc^ rights basis, with Finkestein &. Ruben securing them for thr Twin Cities. It is anticipated by the pictures' owners they will be enabled to play tjliem in many of the states upon payment of the flno established of 11.000 for violation through transportltvg interstate." ■ K that should become possible the retr^n^ of Tom Oibbo'ns who has ill one«tKird interest Ini the film would be cphslderable. Otherwise Qlbbons *. must be content >yith the meagre amount allowed him for, expenifes at . Shelby and what he secured through the. gate of his training quarters., i^. Dempspy i.s no • in on the flght picture end* ' •'; « J A Times square i>coop on the Pathe pictures of the Gibbons-Dempsey \^ fight r* Shelby was scored by the Palace, New York (vau(ievllle),. Sat- ^ urday, when the pictures were exhibited. The sign out.side heraldett .■■■■? r'i 1* the pictures, and drew In quite a few, visibly disappointed 'When after fl^me shots o£ tl\e cow town and plcturea of Dempsey and Gibbons arriving at lliC arena, a caption said: "No pictures of the actual combat could be •■.; {>ho\jyn, owing to the federal law which prohibits ihterstate commerce ^ cf motion picture films of a prize fight.'' Scenes at the ringside before and*,/ after the encounter and close-ups of Dempsey ind C»ibbons were about all J that appeared. . ,2 •■■■-» - •:Hf .,•■ .^■' . ..■■■ .' v., „ .,:-.'.,•' ,. ■ \f ••" ■ "li,?^ The American Legion Is said to be on the heels of Rodolph Valentines , because of the attitude that the former screen star haa di.^ployc.i toward •• ^ the organization o: ex-service men during his tour of >\^ew T* .^xd. In ■ one of the towns the local paper took It upon Itself to give #*»tino a «"* fevere panning calling hhn the champ tightwad of the countij. *1 The American Legion Is being stirred to action by the post situated in' ^ Waterbury. Conn., where the Sheik refused to contribute a doilar to the cause of establishing a home for the Legion members. ,., .... Julius Stegor reported no longer director-general of the Fox Film studio, but has been assigned the direction of a feature. He annexed the title ." when Charles A. Bird resigned the genei'al managership at the Coast soma weeks ago, moving up originally when Sam Kingston left Fox to hecomo general representative for Flo Zlegfeld. It la stated that WlnneM Shee- han has taken over Steger's duties In addition to his own. A series of argument* which Steger figured In with otber workers in the plant Is said to have resulted in Sheehan stepping In and-Steger receiving a different assignment. ■'"'i- i:'--.''^' ■ ■■_, ,.\ ■■■''-■■ ;--;:V^ ''" ■■"■■>■•'", Indications are that the picture house circuits will feature many song- writers* acts this coming fall, paralleling the vaudeville situation two or three years ago, when any songwriter with a number of hits to hia credit could frama a piano act around his medley of pop numbers. Al Piantadosl. who haa been touring the coaat film, theatrea, has fceen excep- tionally well received, and a number of writer-actors have been ap^ proachcd with the Idea of reframlng a new routine. The daily change policy, with the double features once or twice #eeklv, may be a business-getter on the dally change, but the double feature dava see no Increase of business. The clientele of the dally change house ap- pears to know that the two pictures In ofle day will not measure up to the f-ne good picture any other day. f • Th^/il°»7.'*".f"* I^® efflclenc; man is going the rounds of the studios. This latest adventurer received Instruction from his emplover to engage a certain leadlng man for a contemplated picture. He refused to obev orders for the reason he did not think the Heading man In question suited the role. Xo limit to the efficiency of the efficiency man! . . .. r J,^t\''"?^-^Vr''"f ^"^ *^® ^^^^'^^ '*'''"' °' *»^« t^o Loew houses on tha coa.^t by the West Coast Co. were attended to last week when Harry C. Arthur and Dave Bershon of the West Coast, reached New Tork to consummate the transaction. ■ ^•w .iufk lo W. REMINGTON WELCH ORGANIST JONES, LINICK & SCHAEFER'S McVICKERS THE.\TRE, CHICAGO ■".,',■■• <u »Nfc ♦-*.>. ^. _ _,_* ■; t, ... * ,» . - I ■ ,ti ' ' ''_ ' . -. ■ . ■ * .--->.■ '">■-,:_.'. , «, _ '_^ . w... ' *A Success from Broadway to the Loop* •*Th« playing of W. IlemiriKlon Wei h who waa at tho cunsolc of the ki^""' WurlilKT organ, was hailed a» niii«torly unl won enthUHlaatic applouHe 1»nd cheers." (M. P N*w», Tl-ll'21.) ,, "Promptly at 7:15 p. m. W. Remington Welch strurk the flr«t notet on the huge •rgan console. The crowdH rose, ^una: :ind cheered • (American. l«-27-'2i ) "W. neiiiing'on W<»lrh wrilea Itts owri •»»(• ait<l pt^yj tliiMii to populai' i»f.x it tunen t .* . mij goes on to npiing aome' Kood Jewt.i ia the woeds while adapting ifi hinoji Hum<.ienlT>* ramlTlar to ttje audi- ^-nie tv> be recognized by thi.- regulars. . . He playa 'Silver Threads,' ualay a single line of Xhf original song and then a coU(*le (»f linen of interpolated < omedy which turns the me.ining of the originqil KoiiK lopsy 4urvy jn tuiu- with the tiiTien. . . There weio ^ie>iu«)n( burfit^ O' ap- plaute during <li>' ren<tk^lot) of: ;!ia num- ber ntid a NOlid roun<i at jke npi'^hVj (\ irielr. S^SJo'l.l.l I •.,*'■ >■.• t RE-ENGAGED FOR jf •The very tkliiful organlat pL-iyed a cleyer and wholly huinoroua Imitation of a 'Hicksv^le' concert and won imni<>n8c applause."- (Chicago Mugie News > "W. Henungton Welch of I he .New Mo Vickers. It mutt be confested. is th« pre*- f-nt critic's present favorite. . . . Ma f^l, I asK y(ni, why should Mr v. . Irh A^Orty" llo \x»i inade himaelf w.-ll l»e- lo^i'd by an appreolativ* ( iru':i;;.i ii« a SECOND SEASON very short llin<». and the critic loved hU 'Alda,' and wilt look forward to ne«t we«U • aoio with riMii MgerneM. ' (Anier icsn. 12-9-" J2.) ' ■ -'...,. ' '■ ■•' '" '.v " ■ "W. nenilngfon Welrh put bl-4 great organ thru ](» ^aics nnd deitshte:j the nudionet wiih il» tricks." (Toet, lO-'J- » "AjLjargan. naeij>llx I.v W. noinin';l<>:i ^V.•Jl•h cr-sted a Ifurore." (Nwrietv. II- 1- 2i ) ■ ' .