Screen Stars and Films

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 162, 10 July 1926, Page 28

Screen Stars and Films

Twelve complete big-time vaudeville acts were engaged to perform for Florence Vidor's first starring feature, "Love Magic." Bebe Daniels hag began work on her new Paramount picture, "The College Flirt." She has completed "The Palm Beach Girl." Flora I-β Breton, the dainty young English actress, who will be seen in the ingenue role in "Those Who Judge," used to be called the British Mary Pickford. James Cruze spent twelve days on the Pacific Ocean searching for a storm for "Old Ironsides," a special he is making for Paramount. Making her debut in "The Torrent," the screen version of the Ibanez novel, is Greta Garbo, a pretty,-wistful Swedish girl. Ricardo Cortez plays the Spanish hero. "Mantrap," Victor Fleming's new Paramount production, has no villain in the cast. It has a leading lady—but no heroine. D. W. Griffith, the acknowledged king of film producers, has turned his attention to a simpte, appealing story in "Isn't Life Wonderful," to.be screened in Auckland Ehortly. Carol Dempster plays the leading feminine role. To Dorothy Mackaill, popular star of First National pictures, has fallen the honour of enacting the first Michael Arlen heroine to reach the silver screen. She appears as the iancer, Consuelo, in "The Dancer of Paris," presented by Robert T. Kane in this production, starring Conway Tearle. "! :ttle Dorrit," says a critic, has been ii.iiile into a delightful picture. The charm, the restraint, the familiarity of the Dickens' characters come as a welcome relief. Karma Bell makes an , appealing figure in the title role, and is delightfully suggestive of the simple pathos and spirituality of pickens -- original creation. No price can be too high for the restful charm of the settings and the superb photography. The Marsalsea prison scenes, and the Italian palace where Mr. Doritt dies, are some of the most impressive scenes ever screened. The oldest method of reproducing a human subject is by silhouette, and even in these days of photographic) achievement many striking and outstanding effects can be obtained by this form of camera work. Iv "A Broadway Butterfly," to be screened in Auckland shortly. a number of scenes are photographed in silhouette to portray more vividly the art of pantomime. "A Broadway Butterfly' , is an absorbing story of the real Broadway. New York, showing it at night under the flattering brightness of the electric si»ns, and also in the more searching light of midday. Dorothy Devon- and .John Roche head the cast. "The Reckless Lady", a Robert Kane First National production, is shortly to be released. Kane has gathered together an unusual number of celebrities to interpret the principal roles. These comprise Bele Bennett, Lois' Moran, Ben Lyon, James Kirk wood, Lowell Sherman and Charlie Murray. The story by Sir Phillip Gibbs is said to be an unusual treatment of the mother-love theme. Sada Cowan adapted the novel to the screen. The majority of the scenes are laid in Monte Carlo. Louise Brooks, last seen with Adolphe Menjou in "A Social Celebrity," and who recently completed an important part opposite XV. C. Fielde in his first Paramount starring picture, "It's the Old Army Game," Tiad been assigned the role of Clara in "The Show-Off," which Malcolm St. Clair is directing with Ford Sterling and Lois Wilson featured. Mise Brooks will play opposite Gregory Kelly, stage star, who has one of the principal parts in the film version of George Kelly's popular stage play. "Directing wolves is not so very difficult when you get the hang of it," says the director of "White Fang," Jack London's story, to be screened here shortly "We took a pack of 20 in crates to Alaska with us. We fed them regularly on the boat, of course, and tried to get friendly with them. They were regular, big timber wolves, which we obtained from a fox and wolf ranch in Northern California. Our worse difficulties were with Strongheart (the police dog who plays 'White Fang'), who was ready to fight them at any time. We had a difficult time keeping them apart, but it's all in the course of the day's work, and I think that we "got the stuff.' " "Nobody knows what the Bird Woman did, what she said, or how she acted, better than I," said Gene StrattonPorter during the filming of her famous novel, "A Girl of the Limberlost," "'because I, myself, waa the Bird Woman of the book." Gertrude Olmstead, Raymond McKee, Gloria Grey, and Cullen Landis play the leading characters in the screen versian of this delightful story. If yon like real people in a story that is very human, you will enjoy this picture. In "Triple Action" a thrilling western attraction produced by Universal, the star, Pete Morrison works with his famous horse "Lightnin'", said to be one of the most intelligent animals in pictures. The story deals with Rangers and outlaws. It contains an appealing romance and much good comedy.

Several members of the all-»tar cast of "Under Western Skies" travelled almost 10,000 miles to act out their roles before the camera. The picture was made at Universal City, California, then at Pendleton, Oregon, and finally in New York City, all of whk. necessitated a tremendous amount of travelling. As Jerry Naughton, the understanding bachelor who fascinates a flapper in "Dancing Mothers," Conway Tearle has his second role of that type with Clara Bow in the role of the flapper. Mies Bow plays the part of Kittens in this new Paramount picture. Their first picture together was "Black Oxen," in which both distinguished themselves. in "What Happened to Jones," the latest Universal-Jewel to be released in New Zealand shortly, Reginald Denny, impersonates a woman for several important sequences Being a master of all the manly sports., an athlete, yachtsman and expert racing driver, the star had an awful time in trying to perfect his characterisation. But Marian Nixon his leading lady came to the rescue and gave him several hours instruction, in the manly art' oi 'being a woman.

The sets at Universal City where Edward Sloman directed "His People," wereythe moat popular spots in Hollywood during the making of the picture. The attraction was Rudolph Schildkraut, the famous New York and Continental stage star, who played the featured character role in the picture. It was the first visit of the dean of stage stars to the western movie capital, and so anxious were the members of the film colony to see Schildkraut perform, that "dozens of them visited Universal City especially to see him. Among the celebrated visitoro who watchea the actor work were May McAvoy, Reginald Denny, House Peters, Pat O'Malley, Neil Hamilton, Eugene O'Brien, John Gilbert, Norman Kerry, and many others. All pronounced Schildkraut the greatest actor they, had ever seen. Many famous Irish landmarks are to be seen in Thomas Meighan'e latest Paramount picture, "Irish Luck," which was made in Ireland. One is Queen's Cottage at Killarney, where Queen Victoria spent much of her time. Another is the famous Blarney Castle, and Slane Castle, the site of the Battle of the Boyne, while the scenes round the Lakes of Killarney will make Irishmen homesick. Lois Wilson is the leading lady. Anyone who has wandered into picture theatres in the backblocks of the Dominions has a vivid recollection of the jaded and worn film which is banished to these parts when it is reaching senile decay (writes our London correspondent). It is good, therefore, to know that a new chemical process which 13 said to make "The Hundred-Year-Old Film" a possibility of the near future, has been patented by Herr Stock, a Munich chemist. This invention, which has been tried out and approved by experts, renews the celluloid so completely that all scratches and other defacements disappear, and the film is to all intents and purposes as youthful, if not more so, than a woman's face after a beauty treatment. The method dissolves the celluloid substances ol which the film is composed, and adds a new ingredient. The same proces3 applied .to the films in the making wil' ensure a practically constant youthfulness, or, at deast, so preserve them that after many years screen and ordinary pictures may be shown as new. A fur ther advantage is said to be a heightened sensitiveness to light, so that photographs taken this way are in every sense an improvement on the same subject taken on ordinary untreated films. Lois Moran, who plays opposite Richard Bathelmess in "Just Suppose" a First National Picture scheduled for early release, is just sixteen. She is said to be the youngest leading woman in ' motion' pictures. Miss Moran was born in Pittsburgh, and, until twelve years of age was educated at a private school. At twelve with her mother, the little etar went to Paris to complete -her education. At fourteen she passed her French entrance examinations. Later she was admitted to the ballet of the Paris Opera upon her first application.