Motion Picture News

Gisborne Times, Volume L, Issue 5149, 15 April 1919, Page 3

Motion Picture News

By The Movie Fan

The “Fox Weekly News/’ containing all the latest happenings abroad, is now on circuit. * * *. ■ Owen Moore, husband of Mary Piekford, has been cast in an important role in the latest Goldwyn Rex Beach picture, ft * * George Randolph Chester, author of the “Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford” stories, has become editor-in-chief of Vitagraph’s scenario department. .. * * * "Captain' Robert Warwick who left the screen in the height of his career to fight for hi® country in Franc, has returned after a year at the front, and will shortly make a welcome reappearance on the “Enrico Caruso’s motion picture, My Cousin, fails to draw,” wide press. The golden note being silent, the name Caruso signifies nothing to a movie fan, which proves that A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” * * * An unusually interesting release, “Our Teddy,” is expected shortly. This will be the dramatic life story of a groat American, ex-Presidenc Theodore Roosevelt. His life should be full of excitement and interest. Lieutenant Francis He Croiset, of the Frnch Army, well known playwright and novelist, has filed a suit for £30,000 damages against the. Vita graph Company of America for alleged infringement of the motion picture rights to the screen adaptation of ‘Arsene Lupin.’ * * * The latest Nazimova production is “Out of the Fog,” which contains many sensational sea scenes, which combined with the great dramatic power of the actress makes a picture that will take rank withi Nazimova s best. This picture will be (shown here in the near Thomas H. Ince, who has been producing Paramount and Artcrart pictures for distribution throughtne Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, has signed a contract to continue the present relationship for the >eieasing year beginning September 1 next. It is said that the contract involves a big sum of money. * * * \s a result of her splendid woik in* C. B. de Mile’s Artcraft film. “Don’t 'Change Your Husband, Gloria Swanson, former Triangle star, has signed a two-years’ contract with Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, and will appear in leading roles in Paramount or Artcraft features The negative of. a comedy produced for the Fox Film Corporation by the Sunshine Comedies has disappeared m a mysterious manner. According to the Los Angeles police report the film was prepared for shipment to New York, and was m the hands of a well known express company when it was discovered that the casc t 1 j 1 “; stead of containing film, was failed with dust. * * *

JEWEL CARMEN

Apparently Florida is beginning to offer inducements against _ those ox California, as a moving-picture production centre. The latest company to go South, according to report, is Theda Bara’s, which is at work under the direction of J. Gordon Edwards at Miami. There are two other Fox companies at Miami, those header by William Farnum and George Walsh.

Many have made comparisons regarding the respective merits of Constance and Norma Talmadge, < honors appear to he about even-. Just to prove, however, that she is not in the least jealous at her .sister’s success Norma has delved into the family fold, and brought to light another sister—Natalie— and has secured for her a good start m the film world. And as Natalie is prettj Ekr shown in the Dominion soon. W * w

With a salary of 100,000dol a yeai w G McAdoo becomes .the legal adviser of the Fairbanks-Pmkford-Chaplin-Griffiths-Hart combine. . The natures of the big five are said to bring in about 15,000,000d01. a year. No man is too big to advise them legally He will not need to advise them artistically. But he has a great mind, and if he should s about working out a new national plan of distribution it would probably he workable-and the best one ever proposed. Mr McAdoo is. held m the highest esteem m the motion picture industry and his advent is regarded as an honor.

When Maeterlinck wrote his masterpiece, that allegovical story The Blue Bird,” he little dreamed that some day the moving picture camera, would convert his hook into a visualisation of -the scenes as they existed in his imagination, and that the world would view his thoughts practically through his own eyes. However, "The Blue Bird” will he shown shortly in the Dominion and the film is a masterpiece. Already . many stage presentations have heen made of “The Blue Bird” in Europe, etc., but even the limited stage version has proved too costly to send on tour. Yet the film people thought no expense too great to produce it well—and they have achieved their object. « * • Canada is going in for a big propaganda picture this year, the production being a historical record of the birth and growth of the Canadian West, with its romantic advance, red-blooded outdoor life and troublesome early days-. One of the features- of the picture will be a reulica of the North-West Rebellion of 1885, which ended witli the exemption of the rebel chief Louiu Riel. Running through the story will he a representation of the part the . S North West, Mounted Police have played in the growth of the Canadian West. Frank Spearman, a well known scenario writer, . ing paid £2400 for the scenario and its production is e?timated, ak £54, 000 P Several thousand.. Canadian soldiers are to bo used m the pic ture - * * * •. Interesting pictures of stage life are a feature in the Select Drama “The Safety Curtain,” to -be screened, here shortly. Fascinating Norma Talmadge in this is seen “at her best as Fuck: a music hall dancer. one is married! to the “strong man who is a worthy exponent of the three Bs, boozing, beating and 'blackmailing. A realistic fire scene, is shown in the Theatre and Fuck' dances - to calm the panic stricken audience,' till she isvut off by the flames, when she is rescued by an Army . officer , who marries her and takes |r*r-to India. Here enters tlie-resus-luisband, !\yho was not as:'anticipated, ;afid demands i*‘,-fiow ; tlie •’ v to

PLAYS AND PLAYERS ON THE SCREEN

Jewel Carmen, who was recently seen here in “The Conqueror” with William Farnum, was born in Danville, Kentucky, in 1897. She says that her earliest ambition was to be an actress. She was educated in the grammar schools and the Convent of St. Mary’s in Portland, Oregon. As a girl she was fond of sports particularly tennis and golf, and she is an expert at these games to-day. She got her first theatrical engage, ment in a strange way. • .She nas standing in a drug store when the wife of a well known theatrical manager attracted by her beauty asked her to join a company. Miss Carmen is literary, and can readily quote the best authors. She kas wntte several scenarios. Miss Carmen. has appeared in the productions Cities' 7 ” !l “American Methods,” “To Honor and Obey/; jrStove^S^LeUlise^,'-

CHAPLIN IN' REAL LIFE

Metro is to pictures “The Triumph of Death,” by Gabriele d’Annunzio, with Dolores Cassinelli, the oharming Italian actress in the principal role. D’Annunzio was the author of “Cabiria.” * * * Yet another return to the movie fold. Mollie King, who appeared in a number of Rathe and World productions, recently received a very tempting offer to return to the f screen, which she accepted. \ * * * The recently organised Selzniok Pictures Corporation! announces that it has closed a contract with Cosmo Hamilton by which Mr Hamilton will supply the company with at least three original in 1919. Work on the company’s "first picture, “Upstairs and Down,” with Olive Thomas in the leading role, has been begun at the Brunton Studios at Los Angeles and the photoplay, it is-expected, will be ready for release in March. It is the intention of the company to have one production ready for release every six weeks thereafter. ■* » * Those who were delighted by the book called “Peck’s Bad Girl” which attained such .immediate popularity, will look forward eagerly to the screen version which is issued under the same name by the Goldwyn Corporation with- no less a bundle of mischief than Mabel Normand as the bad gir] in question. She is said to be simply perfect in the role. In fact it would seem that the character had been invented especially for her. As everyone remembers the Bad Girl is not too had to have a love affair and Earle Fox attends to thib part of the performance with his usual efficiency. There is just sufficient of the serious element to make this delightful drama totally convincing.

Four years ago Charlie Chaplin was unknown on the films, or Y where else for that matter, (says The Daily Express). Probably no one in the history of mankind has acquired short. *a teXT Thphapl In. boots ertheless, comparatively fc v F g know anything about Charlie Ch..phn apart from the cinema. o the yst Sority he to just China Chaplin, BecTand immutable. , . Few, for instance, know that h famous moustache was the subject qf a solemn Aimv order about two years ago, to wear moustaches of the Chapl tvne is a decoration that he Vea only’ for the films. Charlie m real life is a clean shaven,, blue-eyed young man of twenty-nine. His stage career began when he was six veara old, as a cbincer. . Latei he became one of the dancing troupe known as the eight Lancashire bads and from that he migrated to Fied Kamo’s company. It was during * visit to America With Kamo that he was discovered by Mack Sennett, who was so convinced that a HUU reenius had arrived unawares that lie mad.i him a star straight away at a slrv of £36 a week. From Tiis earliest days Chaplin go 3at burlesque. He imitated anybody and . everybody, and his gift in this respect is probably the secret of his amazing success on the him. Except in the early days, lie has always invented his own stories for the screen. His method is to develop the whole story round one central comic idea. He works slowly, and, before he built his own studio at Los Angeles—it cost him £IO,OO0 — he was the despair of his employers. . It has happened that streets were built and special scenery prepared for a new film- and then .when everything was ready h e had anew inspiration, and everything had to be scrapped for something different. Charlie Chaplin hates the idea of being lionised', yet there is hardly a celebrity-—statesman, political?., V or poet—who visits the. West who does not call on the earnest little comedian. A recent visitor was Mr. John Masefield.