Screen Stars and Films

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 269, 10 November 1923, Page 23

Screen Stars and Films

"Bella Donna," Pola Negri's first American made picture will bo released in Auckland early in December. It will be one of the Tivoli Theatre attractions. It is one of the most artistic productions of the year, and is a faithful interpretation of the stage version. ' Theodore KoslofT, who plays the leading role in "Children of Jazz," is a Russian by birth. He went through the Russian Revolution just after the war, md came to America to star in Paramount pictures. He is famous for the Kosloff ballet. "Children of Jazz," is one of the most up-to-date pictures of the year and gives us an insight into the really high spots of New York. •i n return, Miidred gave Harold a (nrprise stag party. Pretending that they were going: to the theatre, she had him dress, and when he descended to the drawing room, about fifty men were waiting in silent glee. Mildred slipped away to tho theatre with her mother and let the men join in a real celebration of Harold' 6 birthday. Little Beth Milford, who is to play the leads in H. C. Witwer's "Fighting Blood" stories, stepped out of the Music Box Revue to play the part. She cherishes a note as a farewell souvenir. It seems that one night Bhe received a note from Frances Starr, who was sitting in a box, asking her if she would not pose for a painting for Miss Starr's husband, Haskell Coffin. She did so, and it led to a picture contract Harold Lloyd gave Mildred Davis Lloyd, his charming bride, a beautiful sapphire and diamond bracelet for her birthday. When he came home from thi studio he told Mildred he was awfully glad he'd been born so he could marry her, and if she'd go look in her room she'd find something. It was an en.imens packing case, and for an hour Mildred was unwrapping. But in the centre of a dozen boxes, like a Chin.se puzzle, waa a flat velvet case with the bracelet. H. B. Warner, leading man for Gloria Swaneon in the Paramount version of "Zaza," is strong 1 for the po.ice. He and his wife, Rita Stanwood, went to the ball game at the Yankee Stadium in New York recently and found, when they reached the gate, that they ibad no money. He remembered the old song, "Tell Your Troubles to a Policeman," and did so. Whereupon Pol.cemc.n Drescher, although he did not know Mr. Warner, lent him money enough to get into the game, and also taxi fare home. Pola Negri, who vsed to call the buffalo nickels the "money mit ,der oow," is becoming Americanised very rapidly. She has been somewhat severely criticised for her attitude towards tne help around the studio, and resents the criticism. "I understand the Americans better now," said the temperamental Pola the other day, "and I know how to treat them. In my next picture I'm going to grab the electrician around, the neck and Bay;—'Oh, what nice lights you make.'" They say that, at last, a certain European nobleman has really come — incognito—to Hollywood. The story goes that ho was found working as a 'prop" in a certain studio. Dirty overalls and everything! It was' only wfoen a cable/ gram was delivered to him that those in authority discovered that one of their labourers was Count Phillipe d'Esco, an exiled Rumanian whose ancestral estates were confiscated during the world war. We wonder how much longer they'll let him wear the overalls ? Robert Edeson, whose eyebrows have made him as famous on the swell as they did on the stage, became an actor to win a 'bet. His father was on the stage, but he put his son to work in the business end of the theatre. One day the stage director came into Edeson's office, swearing because one of his actors had broken his contract. Edeson, who was busy with a column of figures, said: "For Heaven's sake, stop kicking. If you keep on wailingabout this, 111 have to play that part myself." "Bet you a hundred dollars you're afraid to do it," said the director, and Edeson took the bet. He made his appearance, made a hit, and has been at it ever since. The independent makers of pictures— Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Mary Pickford and. one or two others —draw incomes from their pictures ranging into millions. Of the stars employed on a purely salary basis, Mabel Normand is the highest paid. She receives 70,000 dollars for each picture In which she acts. Of the stars working on a weekly contract basis, Thomas Meighan, Dorothy Dalton and Alice Brady are the highest paid, receiving 5000 dollars a week. Through long term contracts, now about ending, Miss Dalton and Miss Brady receive more each week than Pola Negri and Gloria Swanßon. Probably the most remarkable weekly contract is still held by Elsie Ferguson, calling for 10,000 dollars Per week—when she works. This also is an old contract, nearly terminated. Of the stars receiving a salary and a percentage of the returns from their pictures, Richard Barthelmess probably leads. How would you like to have a gown, to move which you had to hire a truck? Well, Gloria Swanson has one in "Zaza." It is to other gowns what the Majestic is to other liners. The gown proper is of net embroidered with pearls and diamond chips, and it has a deep fringe, embroidered in silver. But the train! Ah, there's where the truck comes in. That train is thirty feet long and six feet wide, and is made of silver net Material. On the net, in silver and diamond embroidery, are designs of stars, planets and crescents. And then the train is edged all around with a broad band of ostrich plumes—three gross having been used. There is a head piece of silver and gold, with pearl and diamond ornaments, all topped with ostrich plumes, and Miss Swanson carries & silver sta,ff, tipped with plumes. The gown weighs sixty pounds, the train accounting for fortyfive pounds of the sixty, and the headdress weighs ten pounds. It wasn't the weight that made the truck necessary, of course, but that creation had to be moved to the studio without crushing or rumpling, and the truck was the best »»y to do it.

There really are some States in which Mr. Volstead is taken seriously. Out in Kansas the State Board of Picture Censors has passed a rule barring any burlesque of prohibition from any film shown in the State. This includes everything, even tho news reels and topics. Also, all scenes of parties where drinking goes on are ordered out, unless such scenes are an essential part of a picture dealing 1 with the preprohibition period. Barbara La Marr lias always been a successful vamp in her former pictures, but now her vamping is of no avail. She cannot charm Pat O'Malley as the dashing young hero of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police in Reginald Barker's production of "The Master of Woman." The scenes are laid at Big Bear Lake in Canada; the struggle between the girl and man for supremacy is the central theme. The ■ picture is adapted by Monte M. Katterjohn from G. B. Lancaster's "The Law-Bringers." Earle "Williams, Renee Adoree and Wallace Beery are also in the cast. "Married Love," the book of Dr. Marie Stopes, which hag been advertised so extensively in England, has been adapted to the screen and produced at the British Super Film Studio by G. B. Samuelson. This is certainly a fine picture, whose story is a study of the happiness and the troubles of married life. The troubles are represented by the respectable number of ten children, the eldest of whom —our heroine—is afraid of marriage when she sees that it is so difficult for her poor parents to make both ends meet. Except for some few scenes, this picture is quite an interesting one and is well acted by Sydney Fairbrother, Sam Liversay, Rex Davis, and Lillian Hall Davis. Special auto express service was installed at Camp Cecil B. Do Mille, near Guadalupe, California, between the camp and Hollywood, 225 miles away, during the making of the great Paramount spectacle, "The Ten Commandments." It was necessary to see the film before the sets were torn down so that retakes could be made if needed. So three nigh-powered autos were placed in service. Every night, at seven o'clock, a ear left Camp De Mille with the film shot that day. The film reached the laboratory at midnight or a little later. It was rushed to the developing room and the driver rushed to bed. The film was developed and the driver started back for camp at two o'clock in the afternoon, arriving there about T. 30 o'clock at night so that the picture j could be shown after dinner. About I the time this driver pulled into camp, | another driver would leave for HollyI wood. Mary Alden has at last attained her ambition. She has acquired a profession and is, therefore, independent of all motion picture producers and directors. She does not intend to practLe her profession just yet and will not leave the films flat immediately. But if any producer or director gets too dictatorial hereafter, Mks Alden will express her real' opinion and quit, knowing that she can make her own way without the aid of a camera. She was out on location while making "The Eagle's Feather" for Metro, and she received individual and collective lessons from a score or more of cowpunohers in the delicate art of flipping flapjacks. The technique of the art intrigued her and she became remarkably proficient. "What do I care for pictures," she says in a lordly manner. "Anyone knows that a good flapjack flipper is always in demand for work in restaurant windows. And, besides, on that job, you have the spotlight all the time." One of the biggest puzzles of the film industry is trying to comprehend why the producers will get so wrapped up in a certain play or novel that they will spend fabulous sums to secure the screen rights and then proceed forthwith to alter the story and plot into such a mutilated shape that it is beyond all recognition and effectiveness. An example of this is the proposed treatment of Kipling's noted work "The Light That Failed." A 'weU-known scenario writer was engaged to adapt this to the screen. The tale is a man's story through aftd through, a wonderful vehicle for a male star. The scenario writer treated it as such and was amazed when half way through the scenario to find that the director wanted the 'script altered and re-written to fit a certain female star. The writer protested it would ruin tho story. The director insisted and the producer backed him up. The writer refused to do it.. He resigned and a scribbler of less ideals was assigned the job. How much of Kipling will be left when it reaches the screen? In the old days, Ben Turpin worked for a small motion picture company '!n Chicago, and his great speciality stunt was jumping off one of the bridges into the river. His 6ince-famous cross-eyes had not been exploited and that was his principal claim to consideration. A big Eastern company, one of the fir6t to take pictures seriously, came to Chicago to make some location scenes and they needed someone to make such a jump, so they sent for Turpin. T. ey discussed price and failed to come to an agreement. Later Turpin sad to someone on the lot: "Can you imagine that .cheap stiff offering mc two dollars and a half to make that jump? I told him five dollars was my lowest figure and he wouldn't pay it." And at the same time the director of the big company was remarking to his assistant: "Ti.ese comedians in pictures want terrible salaries. I offered to pay him two-fifty for the jump and he said five hundred was the least we could get him for and we can't afford that. So I guess we'll have to do without it." John D. Isaacs, reputed to be the "father of motion pictures;" has resigned his position as, consulting engineer of the Southern Pacific Company after almost fifty years of service. Mr. Isaacs won his motion picture title back in 1875 as the result of a bet between young Leland Stanford and James R. Keene. Stanford bet that a trotting horse, at one period of its stride, had all four feet off the ground. Isaacs won the bet for Stanford by showing a strip of pictures, made with a series of cameras, the shutters of which were controlled by an electromagnetic device of his own invention. The te=sts were made at Palo Alto, on Vha great Stanford stock farm, and the original pictures are still in tha Stanford University nwseurn.

There may be doubts in some quarters that motion pictures are growing better, but they are certainly grow ng bigger. Goldwyn ia building at Culver Oity what is said to be the world's largest motion picture stage. 'Ihe structure covers a city block, being approximately 300 feet long and 175 feet wide. It will hold fifty sets at the same time. It covers 52,500 square feet, more than an acre of groud. Mrs. Oliver Harriman, one of the shining lights of Xew York society, has gone into the movies. No, not as an actress, but us a producer. She is in Europe looking for material suitable for the Film Giiild, which, organised by four college men, aims to do for the screen what the Theatre Guild ha 3 done for the stage. Mrs. Harriman's son. Borden, has a role in a Fibn Guild adaptation of a Scott Fitzgerald story. Dorothy Gish does a Spanish danca in the Richard Barthelmess picture, "The Bright Shawl" which is one of the most delightful features of this fascinating romance of the days of Spanish domination in Cuba. It is a revelation of the versatility of this very talented young actress who, in a perfumed atmosphere of old Havana, gives the dancing number with a grace and charm that captivates all who see it. She is seen in the tremendously emotional role of La Clavel, who has all Havana worshipping at her feet. And she figures in a most poignant and tragic romance with a young American (Richard Barthelmess) who is adventuring in Ouba on the side of the patriots conspiring against the Spanish crown.