The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, February 18, 1917, SECTION FOUR, Page 4, Image 52

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4 " THE SUNTJAY OREGONIAN, roirTXANTJ, FEBRUARY 18. 1917. " "
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i i t iL N I! . IH- .v .. A-l -A- ' W-' I awarded to Horkhelmer Brothers by
TODAY'S FILM FEATURES.
Broadway Kitty Gordon, "Vera
the Medium."
Columbia William S. Hart, "The
Gun Fighter."
Sunset Norma Talmadge, "The
"Social Secretary."
Star Charlie Chaplin, "Easy
Street": Kathlyn Williams, "Re
deeming Love."
Peoples Alice Brady, "Bought
and Paid For."
Majestic; Valeska Suratt, "The
New York Peacock."
Globe Mabel Trunnelle and Marc
MacDermott, "The Destroying
Angel."
Now that Mary Garden Is about to
3have her dramatic personality project
ed upon motion picture screens
throughout the world. Iter managers,
the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation,
Jiave determined to inviV motion pic
ture audiences everywhere to have a
voice in the selection of her photoplay
productions. Goldwyn aske all observ
ers or pictures to make knowr' the
play in which they would prefer to see
her on the screen.
Opera lovers have spent millions of
dollars In tickets and season rentals
lor the privilege of hearing and see
ing Miss Garden in "Thais," in "Sa
lome." in "Louise," In "The Juggler of
Kotre Dame." French audiences have
seen this dramatic artist achieve su
premely difficult things on their stage.
Before a motion picture camera she
Imay prove the greatest surprise
creenland has ever had. Goldwyn
could arbitrarily select some play or
opera wtih which Miss Garden has long
Ttteen identified and decide upon its
production, but it prefers to let the
public have a say in the matter.
Shall it be "Thais," a story known
to hundreds of thousands of you? or
"Salome," or yet "The Juggler of Notre
JJame"?
If you have still other plays in mind
there will no way for the Goldwyn of
licers to divine your thoughts unlees
you write to them or to Miss Garden
herself.
The final determination of her first
Goldwyn play rests with the majority
vote of photoplay audiences.
"And why shouldn't my first play be
greed on in this manner?" Miss Gar
den asks. "If I were tinging in con
cert I would have certain set numbers,
hut my encores would reflect the pref
erence of my audiences. If there is
that democracy in opera and in. con
cert, there should be, and is, an even
greater democracy in pictures.
"In opera and concert I fe'tel that I
have reached but a remnant of the
people. On the screen I shall reach
the people themselves almost all of
the people. So why shouldn't I do the
things they wish me to do? I hope the
volume of mail in response to this in
vitation is tremendous. I shall an-
Bwer every letter I receive and be un
der obligations to all who write to
Me."
Alice Brady, star of "Bought and
I'aid For," started on her public career
"with a rather small part, under the
management of the Messrs. Shubert in
. musical piece called "The Balkan
Princese."
The first-night audience voted h-er
(rxtremely pretty and attractive, with-i
. sweet voice and a charming manner.
Khe had not much to do, but the little
that fell to her lot was executed capi
tally, and William A. Brady, her father.
Wis not the only person in the house
who instantly perceived that she "had
Jt in her."
From that point Alice Brady passed
Into the big Gilbert & Sullivan opera
revivals, playing at first the secondary
or ingenue roles, and playing them so
well that- only a ehort time elapsed
"before she was a very highly success
ful prima donna singing -all the so
prano parts in the famous all-star
productions of the Gilbert & Sullivan
repertoire
After that she passed on to a widely
divergent series of dramatic charac
terizations, ranging from the lightest
of light comedy to what are known in
stage parlance as "emotional" impres
sions of the most tear-compelling de
scription. She was coming along so fast that
It was only a question of a very little
time when the moving picture mag
nates would be after her, and, surely
enough, they came.
During the filming of the latest
Chaplin two - reel comedy entitled
"Eaey Street." the inimitable Charlie
was called upon to hold a squalling in
fant for one of the big comedy scenes
of the production. As the infant was
handed out Chaplin gingerly grasped
it by the shawl enveloping it and held
it wrong side up until they, were ready
to start the camera. .
The child evidently thought that it
was being very ill-treated, as it let out
l most unearthly yell and screwed its
face into the worst possible contor
tions. Nothing daunted, Chaplin kept
n. firm hold on the babe and finally
Sfot it in a comfortable position.
The baby kept on crying, but finally
at light seemed to light the little tear
dtalned face and the howls ceased-. Sud
denly a tiny hand shot out fro; under
the shawl, Chaplin jerked back, but
New York Peacock." ..VV XZ V,.t T'.. "l ' - - I I ' in AVf
not in time, the fuzzy adornment on
his upper lip came off and also a part
of the said lip.
Finally in order to go on with the
filming of the scene, Chaplin had to re
pair to tthe dressing-room to get a new
mustache. The babe held tightly onto
his new possession and even went to
the extent of insisting in a way all
his own on taking it home with him.
Many are the people who would give
a great deal to have gotten a hold of
Chaplin's mustache.
The career of Kitty Gordon, star of
"Vera the Medium," has been as spec
tacular as her beauty. Beginning in
the London Musio Halls, she quickly
won the attention of the British public
and became one of the most popular
musical stars in this country. Her mar
riage with the Hon. H. H. Beresford,
the youngest son of a noble British
family, gave her a distinctive position
in aristocratic society.
In America Miss Gordon has been
seen as a star in a number of highly
successful musical comedies and light
operas as well as in the principal
vaudeville theaters. Last year she suc
cumbed tothe lure of the moving pic
ture camera, ana although hampered
by inferiority of scenarios and produc
tions, her first film appearances proved
her exceptionally equipped to become
one of the greatest screen stars in the
world-. i
'
Though William S. Hart's name never
appears in print as author or co-author
of any of the stories in which he ap
pears, he could rightly assume part
authorship of many of his vehicles.
This is especially true of "The Gun
Fighter," written by Monte M. Katter
john. an Ince-Triangle author, who
iays:
"When I am put to it for a Hart idea
I hunt up the screen's foremost 'two
gunman' and talk Just talk. I never
suggest stories or ask about parts. We
chat about border characters of the
past, incidents r.f their checkered ca
reers, and the like. Bill Hart knew
many of them. He has read about every
gun bully who ever gained reputation
enough in that line to preserve his
name for notorious mention. He likes
to tell about them, and his way of de
tailing events and incidents Just nat
urally suggests a story. '
" 'The Gun Fighter' is the result of
one of these conversations. Mr. Hart
realized it and told me so the instant
he read my scenario. This method of
working, I have learned, arouses the
star's personal interest and in every
case, assures a good rendition of the
feature role. And I have other Hart
stories coming, in which the chief char
acter had a silent hand."
Marie Doro has begun to see the
light and now realizes the real mean
ing of tie words "'moving pictures."
Atiss Doro has discovered that the word
"moving" refers not to the pictures
but to the stars. Since becoming a
photoplay star, she has traveled over
12.000 miles in search of settings for
her productions.
Beginning her motion picture career
at the Famous Players studio in New
York, she went to the Pacific Coast for
one picture and then returned to New
York to do "Diplomacy." Then she was
transferred to the Lasky studio in
Hollywood, where she remained for
several n.onths, starring in "Oliver
Twist" end several other notable pro
ductions. Now she is back in New
York at, the Famous Players studio,
having completed a circuit of 12,000
miles, exclusive of a Journey to Florida
and many phorter trips up and down
the east and west' coasts in search of
locations for her pictures.
When Mis3 Doro first became a bird
of passage she used to destroy her
stationery every time she moved from
one coast to the other. Now she Just
packs her California writing paper
away when she comes Cast, because
she- feels sure in her heart that she
will need it again.
The experience of Miss Doro since
becoming ,a star on the Paramount
programme should prove an awful
warning to those stage folk who dream
of becoming photoplayers because it
does away with the necessity for trav
eling. Olga Grey is a graduate of one of
the big European universities for
women, and since affiliating with the
Triangle-Fine Arts studio as a leading
woman has Interested herself actively
in the conduct of the studio school for
Juveniles that is run undar the aus
pices of the Los Angeles sPliool board.
While she was a student Miss Grey
took a special course under Madam
Montessori. originator of new methods
of educating children, and recently she
obtained the permission of the school
authorities to inaugurate in her studio
school ft course of Montessori study.
George Stone and the Burns children
are now receiving instruction in this
course and are said to be making ex
cellent progress. Miss Grey is also
tutoring the youngsters in French and
Italian and hopes to give them at least
a vi orking knowledge of these lan
guages. And now that Mary Piekford has
completed her work on her newest pic
ture to be released in March by Art
craft, "A Poor Little Rich Girl," the
matter of shipping her many pets
s 1 HCuium, nao vwn as spec l ; v ,-.y r ff 7f Z . .rySl7' S-sLa! i-. ?
across the continent- to Los Angeles,
where she will produce her next photo
Play, is occupying much of her time.
"Hulda," the famous duck that swam
all' the way from Chicago to New York
in a Pullman wash-basin, expects to
break this record by swimming from
New York to Los Angeles in a tub
like arrangement, especially built for
her, and in which she will have plenty
of room to display her aquatic talents.
"MacTavish." the truculent parrot who
recently lost his Scotch accent on which
account he was about to be executed by
his master when Mary saved him, will
make the trip to Los Angeles in a
brand new cage. Various other mem
bers of Miss Pickford's large family.
including "Sneeze," the pet white rat;
his mortal enemy "Fritz," the big black
cat, "Jack" and "Jiil," the two descrip
tlonless little mongrels found homeless
by Miss Piekford some months ago and
several other quadrupeds are to be
made comfortable. It is expected that
George Pardy, the well-known veteri
.or
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NEW
The dizzy, swirling;, ruinous white light
life of New York you can live it for one
night with safety.
NEWS
narian, will have immediate charge of
the animals during the long trip West.
"Adam." the prize camel, who ap
peared in "Less Than the Dust," and re
cently prevented a Hula act from go
ing on at a Bronx theater when he ate
the straw dress of one of the perform
ers, has rebelled, it is said, ovy the
fact that he is to be left behind.. For
many months the camel has been re
ceiving the kind attention of Miss
Piekford at her Fort Lee studio, where
he lived in a big. stall, and it is little
wonder that he should be broken
hearted on parting with his benefac
tress. We love nature Just as much as the
next fellow, but enough is more than a
sufficient plenty. We hereby want to
register our mild protest - against the
over-abundance of "back to nature"
close-ups dragged into almost every
one of the later dramatic subjects. Most
directors seem to think that unless
they phow us anywhere from 10 to B0
Special Foxf ilm Comedy Feature in Three Acts
"THERE'S MANY A FOOL"
A BCRLESdUE OX A FOOL THERE WAS."
ii Him in i jumiwim iiniiWJ ii iiiuliiiii I in n I 1 1 i . 11 n u
I
feet of the star feeding a kitten or
lisping sweetly to a canary w won't
get the Idea that the girl Is the sweet
est. most home-loving thing in the
world. There is some appeal, of course,
in these touches of homeliness, but
when they are dragged in by the heels
time and time again we do get sort of
tired of them.
Within the past week we have not
seen only kittens and puppies a la
closeup, but also suckling pigs, calves
birdlets. calflets. horselets and almost
every other kind of "lets." After hours
and hours of painful figuring we have
reached the solution that if every ani
mal closeup now lying In a dramatic
subject were clipped therefrom and
placed ent to end, the result would
be a high-class educational equal in
length to 13H times the height of the
Woolworth Tower and capable of
reaching from here to there and back.
Motion Picture Mews. .
A million dollar contract has been
, ?t .
JHL
A woman with 1000 wonderful gowns
and the only actress who really knows
how to wear them.
11 A. M. to
11P.M.
j the General Film Company for 63 fea
ture pnoiopiays Ol mur reels eauu. a ma
Is said to be the largest order ever
placed In the film world for photo
plays. They are to be produced at the
Horkhelmer studio, in Long Beach,
Cal.. during 1917.
The plays will all be screen versions
of the strongest stories appearing re
cently in such magazines as Alnslee's.
the Peoples, the Popular and other
Street & Smith publications. One fea
ture is to be released a. week. These
productions are being produced by some
of the best known directors in the
film world. ' Bertram Bracken has Just
returned to the Horkhelmer fold again,
after a season tn the East, where he
directed Theda Bara and other notable
Fox stars. Cdgar Jones, late of the
Metro forces, is another director who
has' been enlisted by the Long Beach
studio. The two other companies are
charge of Harry Harvey and II-
liam Bertram. The productions are to
be of the highest dramatic quality.
Some of the foremost screenplay ers of
the newer generation have been en
gaged for them. Among the women are
Kathleen Klrkham, Vola Vale, Winnl
fred Greenwood, Louise Sothern, Mar
garet Land I a, Gloria Payton, Ethel
Ritchie, Mignon LeBrun-i Male leads
will be taken by Arthur Shirley. Clif
ford Gray. Melvin -Mayo, Cullen Lan-
dls. R. Henry Grey. Lewis King and
James Warner.
Max Linder. the screen funster, was
born in Bordeaux, France, in -1883. At
12 years of age he was sent to an art
school to learn sketching. After two
years he told his parents It was not
his calling and they sent him to a
musical school. He decided this also
was not his career and asked his par
ents to train him for the stage. Al
though the elder Linders were actors
they flatly refused. Max pretended to
attend the musical conservatory, but
instead registered in a conservatory
to learn the srt of acting. In one year
VlTAGRAPHf
Excitement grows still more intense,
action swifter, interest more ab
sorbing, and the story stronger as
you watch the unfolding of each
episode of
The Secret Kingdom
THE SUPER-SERIAL OF THE, SCREEN
In this week's episode you see
the Prince of Alania in desperate
plight fighting for life, the sealed
packet and the winsome princess.
All the secret emissaries of the
bold usurper are arrayed against
the rightful heir. Sirens beckon
bim, spies trail him, in their re
lentless efforts to encompass bis
destruction.
Charles Richman, Dorothy
Kelly and Arline Pretty are the
stars of eThe Secret Kingdom."
Read the synopsis'of each epi
sode published weekly in this
newspaper. Then see the great
super-serial at your favorite motion
, picture theatre. Don't miss this
, week's thrilling episode.
he won first prize tor his work, con
fessed to his parents and they per
mitted him to go on the stage. He
first appeared at the age of 19 in the
Classic Theater. Bordeaux, in plays
by Moliere and other French play
wrights. Later he went to Paris,
where he played In the Ambigu. Begins,
and Varieties theaters. He played in
"Romanesque," "Cyrano de Berserac."
and other dramas by Rostand and later
in variety. At the same time he was
working for' Pathe in motion pictures.
When 27 years, old he quit the staga
altogether for pictures, playing only
with Pathe. The "Cinema Max Lin
der," the theater named after him, now
Is being rebuilt in the heart of Paris,
on the Boulevard Poissonlere. He en
tered the army as a volunteer when tho
broke out and for some time was an, '
automobile scout, using his own ma
chine, under the special direction of
General Gallleni. After his automo
bile was blown up by a shell, he en
listed in the - artillery service. In tbe
battle of the Aisne he was shot through .
the lung Just above the heart. When
recovered he Joined the aeroplane serv
ice, but his lungs could not stand the
change of air in rising to the neces
sary heights. He was honorably dis
charged. Thousands of suggestions are being
received in the contest which is being
held Jointly by the Lasky Film Com
pany and the Los Antrelcs Times to
select a fitting role for the next picture
In which Geraldine Farrar is to appear,"
According to Miss Grace Kingsley, of
the Times, one of the Judges in the,
contest, history is being covered with a
microscope to secure the best charac
ter for Miss Farrar in her next Lasky
production. The suggestions range all
the way from a portrayal of the life of
Mary Baker Eddy to a discussion in
pictures of certain phases of the ques
tion of birth control. ,The Judges in
this contest, which closes this week,
are Cecil B. D Mille. who will pro-
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