The Deadhead's Dairy

NZ Truth, 7 June 1924, Page 19

The Deadhead's Dairy

Carmel Myers, like every other selfrespecting girl, ' tries her best to emulate the Modern Venus of sylphlike proportions. Instead of reading diet books or counting calories. Miss Myers goes through her daily dozen exercises. In "Beau Brummel,". a forthcoming Master Picture, she looks moire fascinating and more alluring than ever, and everyone will agree that it would be a . pity for, those slight curves which prove so devastating, to develop into more generous proportions. , ... ■ ■ if .•. "' ii „ . tt . Ernest Lubltsch, the famous producer of this year's screen triumph, "The Marriage Circle 1 ," is anxious for Norma Shearer, the brilliant new' star, tp play the part v of Marguerite m ".Faust." Norma, 'however, still shrinks ai the memory of the* day, when Lubltsch explained to her that the climax of the picture would bo where she, aa Marguerite, "strenkled de child.". The motion picture colonies are said to be Uncle Sam's chief meal tickets.' From Los Angeles,; . the American Government collects over twenty- three million dollars Income tax; and of this, the movie people pay ,niore than four million dollars. Barbara- La Marr, the fascinating actress m "The Hero," pays a huge tax oh her income of nearly two hundred thousand dollars a yeai:. Several times Miss La Marr tried to enter the cost and maintenance of her beautiful and expensive cars as advertising, but Uncle Sam is tod wide awake. -

\ •* » •• Adolphe Menjou, the man who is the talk of mption picture circles the whole world over, Is said to have sprang to the top rung of the ladder of success by reapon of an eloquent unlifted eyebrow, incidentally, jt is his brilliant and artistic workmanship, which is eloquently demonstrated m those two outstanding Master Pictures,' "The Marriage Circle," and "Broadway After Dark." ' •^ • si,,-.-..- -it- „. -i: --^* l -tt. Reversing tiie order of thlrjgs— Ethel Shannon set a hew pace recently when she discarded the wedding costume' m which she was robed for her role m the filming of "Maytlme," a coming Master Picture, and put on plain garments. to elope to Santa Ana, where she was married to Robert J. Cary. Miss Shannon made her bow on the silversheet as leading woman to William Hart m "John Petticoats." Her most recent appearances have been m "The Hero," "The Girl "VVho Came Baok," and "Daughters of the Rich." i: :: :t William Louis has been selected by Warner Brothers to JJlay the part of George Babbitt m the Sinclair Lewis novel, "Babbitt." Mr. Louis won his laurels m the . production of "Beau Brummel," as the Prince Regent, afterwards King George the Fourth, and his Interpretation is said to bo only second to that of John Barrymore m the title part. He also registered well m "Daddies." \ :» »: Ji Since Anna Q. Nillson bobbed her luxuriant -tresses for "Ponjola," the craze for short hair, has been revived. When the girls see her m "Broadway After Dark," with the most fascinating coiltures, they will want to change their 1 minds again. Marguerite de la Motte stands faithfully to long hair, and declares that neither* the curly bob, tho sleek bob, the boy bob, nor the shingle have any attractions for nor. Miss de la Motte will appear shortly' m "Scars of Jealousy," a Master Picture, which offers excellent entertainment and a goodly number of thrills. ti It tt Hope Hampton and her new husband, Jules Brulatour, are honeymooning all over Europe, m an extended trip that includes all the big cities, alt the ruins, and everything. Constantinople will be their next stopping place. Probably when Hope shows her lovely face m Constantinople, all the Turks will be deserting their harems. Miss Hampton's next Master Picture to be screened m New ZealafcgS will be "The Gold Diggers," ti :: tt During the. last two or three years there has been very widespread and increasing unemployment among the rank and fllo of variety artists (writes "Truth's** London correspondent).' Men and women who could a few years ago contemplate with satisfaction an engagement book showing continuous employment fpr two or three years ahead must now bo content with an odd week here and there. There are several reasons for this. Tho public taste is changing or tho theatrical manager is changing It for them and variety houso after variety house Is submitting a revue m place of th'o familiar vaudeville programme — and every revue means the putting out of employment the mombors of the variety company whoso place it takes. Thon tho improvement m transport facilities enables the lover of variety to seek out the best programme m London no matter where he livos or whero the proßrammo is being given and therefore the suburban house suffers a lack of patronage. Thirdly, the old stagers aro too complncont. Thoy rely on stale material, old songs and old jokos worn threndbaro by endloss repetition not only by themselves but by tholr imitators and competitors, whllo on tho other hand the mnnngera do not display any noteworthy enterprise In 800klng out new talent It is easier to organlso a revue company and with brighter lighting better dressing and a good supply of tho Inex-' haustlblo commodity— girl— to appeal to the theatregoer In search of a lively entertainment. It Is a curious commentary on the whirligig of time thnt though conditions aro so bad In England. In Germany they are probably better than anywhere olse In the world and the English artists are flocking over there.

John Barrymore m the part and play of "Beau Brummel," the forthcoming Master Picture, is the chief j factor m the achievement of one of the finest and most beautiful phopo-plays of this or. any other^ season. Barrymore's appearance, his natural and assumed grace of pose and gesture, his adaptability to charming costume—all add to the fascinating reality of the character he has portrayed. What is more, and what is infinitely more to the point, his performance from every angle is savoured with a sincerity, an emotional quality, and a theatrical "expertness" which cannot fail to please all, from the most to the least critical. I! it »! It cost Kenneth Harlan six weeks of rigorous training and ten pounds of flesh to get into perfect physical condition for his boxing flght with th© /•world's champion" m "April Showers " a coming Master Picture. Kid McCoy, the world famous middleweight of former years, supervised the boxing scenes. ::• :: :: Sir Ben Fuller is a stickler for office etiquette. Harry P. Muller relates the story of an actor who came- into the chiefs office with his hat on, sat down, and commenced to talk business. Hair a moment," said Sir Ben, and, rising, put his own hat on his head. "Now, be said, reseating himself, "we can talk as one gentleman to another." :: :: v Visitors at the Paramount studio on Long island recently have remarked more than once, after seeing so many children surroundirir Thomas Meighan, who is appearing m a Booth Tarkington story, "Pled Piper Malbne":"Where do you get all the children?" The question was put to Casting Director William Cohill and he almost fainted. "Where do we get all the children? he repeated. "You should see our list We have more than eight hundred potential Jackie Googans aiid Baby Peggys registered m our flies now, and every day we are visited by mothers with their progeny. The favorite? compliment to fond parents these days must be: 'What a lovely child; she ought to be m the movies. Whereupon mother gets on the nearest subway, and makes her way to Long Island to see what she can do about it They bring them m to see me at all ages, from one year to fifteen. Each child has a special talent Some have bobbed hair and others have long curls. Some can recite and some cannot, but of course that does not make any difference m the qilent drama. The mothers, however,; think that It is a mark of dramatic talent. There ought to be a movement started m the East to inform the public that the movies have enough children now, Just aa the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce started a crusade against screen-struck girls who migrate to California. Where do we get all the children? Just stand In front of the casting office here' and you will see where they come from." :: :: " . .■ Located after a country-wide search during which thousands of photographs were examined and more than one hundred actors, including a number of Broadway stars, were interviewed In person, Arthur Dewey has been selected by D. W. Griffith to portray the role of George Washington m "America," the photo-drama of the War of Independence, which he is filming'for ther Daughters of the American Revolution. De^ey was selected because he was adjudged to have. the most perfect physical resemblance to Washington. ; Before the final selection was made, Dewey and several other applicants were taken to. Washington, D.C., by Griffith, m order that he might compare their visages with pictures and statues of the first president. Although some historical authorities claim that the Father of his country was more than six feet In height, Griffith's research department unearthed an order written by Washington to his tailors In London, m which he described himself aa "Just six feet, and of medium build." It was found that Dewey was exactly six feet tall. Dewey is a descendant of an old revolutionary family, which m the last century migrated from Lexington, Mass., to the Middle West, settling m Illinois. One of his ancestors, Ashabel Smith, answered Paul Reveres summons, and fought valiantly on Lexington Green. Dewey, m addition to being an actor of long stage experience, was found to be deeply lenmed m American history. Since childhood his favorite diversion has been to read and re-read Washington Irving*s five-volume biography of George Washington. He brought to his role not only * a fine, sympathetic understanding of Washington's character, but as well a remarkable knowledge of the most intimate details of his Ideals, moods, habits, and costumes. it :: il • Curiously enough, Hugh J. .Ward's association with "Rain," the absorbing play m which Barbara Hoffe is to star m Melbourne, began before ho actually purchased it for production m one of his own theatres. While It was being rehearsed for its premiere, Mr. Ward was on one of his periodical visits to New York, and had been afforded the courtesy of office accommodation during his stay by Sam Harris, a prominent entrepreneur m whose theatre "Rain" was being prepared. The scone is laid m a tropical Island, and Mr. Harris Invited Mr. Ward to inspect the settings and make suggestions as to details of dressing and staging that would give the true local color to it. This Mr. Ward was able to do, having seen a, good deal of life at Pago Pngo arid other Pacific Island communities, and several alterations were made under his advice. j