THE DEADHEAD'S DIARY

NZ Truth, Issue 882, 21 October 1922, Page 15

THE DEADHEAD'S DIARY

GEORGE WARD, PRINCIPAL COME DIAN, AND CURLY SHERWOOD, OF FULLERS' AMERICAN REVUE.

Penrhyn Stanlaws, the well-known American artist, commenced recently on the production of "Pink Gods," from the book "Pink Gods and Blue Demons," "by Cynthia Stockley. It is understood that i-n-na, Q. Nilsson is m the leading role. ; , . Pola Negri has the paradoxical distinction of being one of the most famous yet at*the same time one of the least known of motion picture stars. , Announcement made recently that she is coming to this country m September under contract to star m a big Paramount picture has aroused widespread curiosity as to the details of her life and career. About all that Is loiown about her over here except that she is an actress of remarkable activity and during- the past two or three years, l^as given some of the most vivid chracterisations on the screen that have ever been seen m this country, is that she is Polish and now makes her home m Berlin. Pola Negri's right name is Apollonia Chalnpez. She was born m Brom-bt-rg-,.Poland. Her father, who had a g-ood fabric business, died m 1805 during the . Russian- Polish revolutlqri, when she.. was six years old. Miss ISfegji speaks Polish, Russian, German, French, . and has for the last few TTwm^hfi ■ bea English.

The filming -of the famous stage play "Ktuit is West" is at present m progress m Los Angeles. Constance TaJmsulffe Is In the leading- role, . Since Messrs. John Fuller, jun. (governing director of John Puller and Sons) and David Frankel (controller of assets tor tho firm) came over from Australia a fortnight or so ago rumors have been flying round, and there is not a town m the cduntry from the Bluff upwards that was not to be handed a. hundred- thousand theatre, others of them two m the city, and four m the suburbs. Still, some of them will be* disappointed, but' the fact certainly is that a valuable site has been purchased for a brand- new theatre m Christchurch — not before ita .time— and when that theatre is built Christcnurcli will have the laugh on quite quite a few other places. It is going to be some theatre. Messrs Fuller and Frankel did more than that, and the result of their 'works will be shown m the still further brightening up of circuit arrangements. „ «i :: st A new thrill for the screen is registered m "Hurricanes Gal," with Dorothy Phillips, to be released at Auck-. land soon. Allen Holubar, famous for the "l&ari Woman Marriage production, has made m this picture a melodrama masterpiece. He has caught the romarice of the blue Pacific and the colour of life aUoardi a smuggling schooner where, Lola., the girl captain, rules by right of will. J ir\

"Manslaughter" is the biggest thing that Cecil de Mille has staged^ and that is saying a lot. Several hundred employed m variou s technical and able pageant, hundreds more were persons took part m what is a veritartistic capacities. The costumes were gorgeous, the hangings rich, and the set itself colossal m size — a massive interior of a structure m Rome before the fall of the empire. Thomas Meighan, Beatrice Joy, Lois Wilson and many other prominent members of the Paramount Stock Company interpret the roles m the story, which Jeanie Macpherson adapted from the novel by Alice Duer Miller. Many big scenes have been filmed at the Paramount studios since Mr. de Mille first showed these things to be possible m "Joan the Woman,", but this is believed to set a new mark m motion ipicturue splendor. "The prison cell farewell scene %m "Forever" (Peter Ibbetson) between Wallace Reid and Elsie Ferguson I consider the strongest scene I ever directed," says George Fitzmaurice, the Paramount . producer, yarning ■ to an American paper man. "It was the culmination of a tremendous series of dramatic events, it was human, it stirred the heart. Pictoriflly it was a gem and the acting superbi"

"Orphans of the Storm," the stupendous D. W. Griffith feature, drew forth the following comment from the English "Morning Post" :—"lt Is a stupendous production besides being a work of genius! It is a story of the French Revolution, and the Gish sisters play the parts of two orphans left m Paris and condemned to death by the guillotine. Danton intervenes at the crucial moment, and the two orphans are saved.- The rioting and guillotine scenes are tremendous. All historical details of Danton and Robespierre are admirably portrayed by Sidney Herbert and Monte Blue."' : : :: :: "Wet Gold," due In Auckland next week, is one of the most thrilling stories of a hunt for treasure that has ever come to the screen. The traij skims down the Atlantic seaboard,. pauses at an exciting race down . the iHrivanna track, -dips to. a lost island m the South Atlantic, and plunges to the very floor of the ocean, where men m grotesque diving suits come to grips fighting to the death for the treasure., . x . ■ ' "No Defence," with William 'Duncan, will, be screened next woek. This is a story of the Canadian North-west, and the star plays the lole of a westerner who is accused of shooting his partner. He is a man's man m the production, and fights his way to a finish. A leap over a cliff on horseback, a perilous .trip down a\ precipice, and several thrilling fight scenes are among the big features.

"It's a Great Life," adapted from the story "Empire Builders;" by Mary Roberts Rhinehardt, will be screened next week. - This is a rare comedy of boy life m a preparation school. Its mischief and. dreams of adventure will bring back to every man memories of a delightful day-:. Miss Vera Mitchell has evidently ciimbed to heights on the Continent, using her 'cello m place of an alpenstock to help her on the way- Word has come out that she was to give a recital m Brussels, and one has to be a. long way up to get away with that. When Miss Mitchell left New Zealand she went first to London to the Royal Academy, of Music, and. after a course there crossed to Brussels to learn^ what Professor Galliard, of the Bruxelles Conservatorie, had to teach her m notes and art and music. "The Silent Call""" a powerful drama of the great North-west, centred about ] Strongheart, a wonder dog, will be I seen soon. Strongheart, by the way, is a Belgian police dog which Wpu distinction m the war when serving m the Red Cross. Betty Balfour, that delightful little English star, will be seen m Auckland , m "Mary Find the Gold" next week. This is a picture -with a theme of eternal truth; youth calls to youth, and ! the characters are a few simple folk who laugh and cry and love, and the camera has caught them m the living out of their lives. They -do some quaint things at time& m Dannevirke. One of these occurred the other day, when a well-known Hebrew member of the community, brimming over with enthusiasm m connection with, a surprise' packet he was running to raise money for. a soldiers' memorial, allowed himself to be -wheeled m a ibarrow through the main street providing the person doing the pushing purchased, a quid's worth of tickets: The compact was kept, the funereal Mayor haying quite an afternoon but. The person who thus did m his ,<pound on a worthy cause has been m the limelight a good deal of late for unexpected little stunts. As he is a big personage m the picture world it is surmised that he is deriving his precocity from a surfeit of screen exploits. :: :: :: The long-heralded, "lron Trail," from the famous story by Rex* Beach, is billed for screening at the King's this week. The picture has been screened to record houses m the North, and it is generally the opinion that it is the best interpretation of Rex Beach's stories since "The Auction Blocks" :: :: :: "The Turn of a Card," with Wan-fen Kerrigan, is a red-r blooded romance of the Calif ornian oilfields, m which the popular star plays the role of a young man who goes west and strikes it rich, both m 'the oilfields and at the card table. The staffs of the King's, Empress, and Everybody's Theatres, together with representatives of "Film House" gathered, at the King's Theatre last week to bid farewell to Mr. L. H. Wilson (Tip), who has t>e,en associated with the firm for the last ten years as supervisor of the E. & E. Company Theatres. Mr. Wilaon was the recipient of a handsome portable gramaphone, presented by the several staffs connected with "Film House." Valedictory references were made on behalf of Mr. Wilson by Mr. Walter Fuller, Mr. p. N. Gillespie (Film Manager), and Mr. H. Y. C. Cameron (the company secretary). Mr. Wilson replied feelingly to the good wishes accorded him. The visitors were served with a light supper, and an excellent musical programme was presented -by £he combined orchestras. — * :: :: :: \ "One Clear Call" Is among the big features listed for screening next week. This is a powerful eternal triangle romance, wind-ing up with a tremendous climax. One of the big thrills of the picture features a thrilling^rlde by a hundred members of that formidable league the Klu Klux Klan, reminiscent of D- W. Griffith's great.production "The Birth of a Nation" of 1914. :: :: !: • . Richard Barthelmess, star of many screen masterpieces, is featured m "Sonny," his latest starring attraction at the Empress next week. Simple, sincere, genuine, Dick has never done .anything more gripping m its emotional appeal than this drama of motherless manhood-. i : : : : t Peter B. Kyne's novel "Brothers Under the Skin," is being adapted for the screen. It is understood that Pat O'Mally, who played the reporter m "Go andi Get It," will be m the leading role. \ :: :: s: "Oliver Twist" is being picturised • m America at present. Jackie Coogan is m the leading role. When tile J. C. Williamson Company with "The Bat" booked up at their hotels at Taihape. a few days ago, the township — beg pardon, the town — decided that it was certainly up to it, for that was the first occasion on which a J.C.W. company had pulled up. there, except foir the passing cup of tea and the railway scone and sandwich that everyone eats to help time pass on a dreary run. They did riot stick at brass band effects, but did the really proud thing by inviting the whole crowd along to the Town Hall to a ! civic reception, at which the Mayor, m 1 his beat good humor, tol-d them what thundering good sorts they really were. He said some more about how good.' the J.C.W. management had always been In the. way of quality, and expressed the very fervent wish that Taihape would see a lot more of the same. Johnnie Farrell was there, naturally, and he thanked the Mayor and other speakers mso many words. He knew all' about civic receptions to t>ig artists m the musical world, but the idea of such a reception to a whole company was brand new to him. Miss Temple answered the Mayor back m very pleasant terms, and when she had done, Miss Elizabeth Dunn took up the running', and later on 'the ladies of the company were run along* by the Mayoress to,the Ladies' Club. "Truth" did not hear exactly where the men got to, but they would 'be looked after without a doubt, within , reason, of course, for Taihape would not have spoiled the 1 evening's work for anything. It is high time that the typical big business story of to-day should have a little good-humored fun poked at it, and Earl Der Biggers, who has written several stories of the kind, was just the man to do it. ".Too Much Business," screening m Wellington this week, is a brilliant comedy-satire on modern business methods, chockful of . entertaining features which will help the business man to get rid of that tired feeling. :: :t :j Cave-man love against the, recognised methods of modern courtship is the theme of "The Primitive LoVer," Constance Talmadire's .next picture. This forms a most interesting subject for this star, and m it she' throws considerable light on the modern girl's thought and her ideas of lovemaking. t: t: it Mary Pickford's age has been a cause of much discussion among movie fans. They will be interested to know that she celebrated her 27th birthday recently m San Francisco. :: :: :•. "The Son of the Wolf," Jack London's great story ( is undergoing transmission to the screen. Wheeler Oakman heads a big cast, i