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Show ILITTLE YARNS ABOUT f! II FILMS, STARS, PLAYS li AND UFE IN MOVIES I Bv JAMES V. DEAN. NEW YORK. Feb. 4 Harohl Lloyd's now contract with Pat he 18 Mid to cull for $300,000 tor tach picture pic-ture and thf production of six pictures year. That would make htH Income $1 800.000 a year. That is more ihnn the fixed sum called for by Chaplin s contract. However, Lloyd Will have to pay ih ost ( production of his pictures, i And Chaplin is paid a percentage ;bove D certain gross on his pictures. 1 Therefore, it Is highly probable that Chaplin's salury la greater than Lloyds. But $1,800,000 sounds big, stupefj-Ing, stupefj-Ing, In ihes dny. when many In the, industry thut admissions must come down and that the (tret tdep ' toward that end Is the reduction otj star salaries. Yet when one considers the merit of the entertainment offered by Chap lln, Lloyd and Keaton as compared to that offered by stars r screen! dramas. It appears that they should receive much larger salaries The comedian Is an Individual Ni- j tertainer. He is constantly In the ac-1 tlon in every picture In which he ap- I pears. His own acting is the criterion ! of his films. Few stars of the dramas can "hog" picture after picture without hecom- I ing bore::ome. The story is still the thing In drama while the star is paramount para-mount In comics. That Is because the comic star is recognized in his own individuality . If the dramatic star were thus recognized the drama would be marred. COMING PICTURES. An interesting list of new productions produc-tions has Just been announced by Paramount. Thia writer believes It to be the most significant announcement made by American producers in many months. It points to the growing grow-ing perception of the producers that the average American audience possesses pos-sesses Intelligence that demands something more than sugary romances ro-mances or blood-curdling thrill, ra "If Winter Comes," A. S. II. Hutchinson's Hut-chinson's best seller Is to be filmed in Europe by John S Robertson with James Klrkwood in the leading role. William DeMUle's next production is to be Rachel Crother's "Nice People' Peo-ple' with an all-star cast. June Mathls is now writing the scenario of Ibane::'s stage play, Blood and Sand," In which Otis Sklpner Is now appearing. Rudolph Valentino will play Skinner's role and Bcbe Daniels Dan-iels and May McAvoy will support him. The two that hold the most promise prom-ise of being meritorious pictures are "If Winter Comes" and "Nice People." Peo-ple." Robertson who will direct the former, for-mer, was responsible for 'Sentimental 'Sentimen-tal Tommy" and 'Footlights," two alms which retained the atmo.sph-r? and spirit of their story sources. "If Winter Comes" Is truly a great book "Nice People" does not hold the wealth of material contained In the Hutchinsoe story but William Dc-Mllle Dc-Mllle proved In 'Miss Lulu B. tt an.; "What Every Woman Knuws" that h has a keen appreciation of an author's viewpoint and that he Is the peer of directors in character development The one note In the list that jars upon this wrltf-r's nerva is the selection selec-tion of Rudolph Valentino to play a rolq that has been graced by tls Skinner. In "Camlllo" and "Tne Sheik" Valentino did no inor thnn look, handsome. He must roturn to the form he displayed In 'The 1 Horsemen" If "Blood and Sand" is to be effectively done ORIENTAL CUSTOMS. In Japan movie theatres thoee who can read English read subtitles aloud, j translating them for those sitting in nearby seats All Chinese houses change programs three tlrrifs a trees 1TLMOSOPHY. The Touchdown." Lee Moran's iext comed. V German company is filming tCfcrle Antoinette." Rudolph Cameron will be Anita Stewart's leading man in 'Ruse o' the Sea." Agnes Ayres is to uo starred In ' The urdtal ' by Somersr-t Maugham! author of "The Circle ' Emll .Tanning., central figure of "Deception" 'and Paul Wegener, who played The Golem." arc co-eta i red In Lubitsch'a Ttif Wife of Pharaoh." Pcnrhyn Stanlaws' next will b an adaptation of Sir Gilbert Parker s "She of the Triple Chevron" with Betty Compson and Tom Moore In the leading roles. This Is a treatise on slncerlt. the noblest attribute of man It Is to prove that sincerity, like all virtues, can be capitalized. When "Hall the Woman" was firt exhibited in New Yoru at th Strand I received a wire from Thos. H. Inco, the producer It read: "I have put Into this picture the best that la In me in a sincere attempt to satisfy the insistent, though rather Indefinite, demand de-mand on the part of the picture-goer for 'bigger pictures." " The picture left these Impressions with me: it did not play to the box office. No extraneous bunk was put Into it to supply thrills that inijcht be lacking lack-ing in a simple screen recital of a story. Delicate moments were handled with a deep sincerity that made them Impressive. The same situations in other pictures have appeared tawdry because they were over-etched. Florence Vidor and Madge Bellamy h are two Deautuui womtn, yet no cam- H era tricks were employed to Impress B that beauty upon spectators of the plc- H The girl becomes a mother out of Bi wedlock. She is driven from home ftefore she dies she gives the child HL to the sister of its father. He, a min- HBpBpBS lstcr, was not allowed to marry her because that marriage might Jeopar- his career. His sister returns to the old home town with his child He acknowl- edges it publicly. All of this trouble I was due to the bigotry of an old J That sort of a story is a bit camera- worn, but Incc's telling of It has great merit because he is sincere. He ac-(ompllshes ac-(ompllshes what few screen or stage playwrights do and that Is, he shows that human dramas occur most often HBpBpBa in quiet moments, In common sltua- llono Often life's bitterest moments BBbBbBK are experienced when one Is trying to go along as though nothing had hap- !' j Thus with the minister trying to HBpBpBB stifle his conscience when he really j loved the girl wbo died In bearing ) h :m a ' And there was no tearing of hair, Jj raving and ranting, when the dy- ing girl gave her babe to the other woman. Here was grim tragedy settled set-tled upon One woman through her sacrifice foi Iter lover and another woman sitting In when the laat losing los-ing card was dealt, performing the age-old duly of woman to be where trouble is lnce makes you fenl something of this with this picture of familiar plot. Its sincerity carries it through where emotional outbursts on the part of one player would ruin It, make it like all the other cheap clotures revolving re-volving about the same plot. Thus lnce capitalizes his sincerity He did not make u masterpiece, but he did make a bigger picture." And It will pay at the box office. OH, ii IR! EH DOLPH! Rudolph Valentino announced several sev-eral flays ago thai B number of people peo-ple named Valentino wen- claiming Iclnehlp to him and he wanted It known that "Rudolph Valentino" was not his real name. Just a screen name. And now he bus changed Rudolph to Rudolf! That's so humorously Inconsequential Incon-sequential that It s worth priming. NORMA'S STORIES, Five months ago this writer observed ob-served that unless Norma TalmadgC were given stories of u ty.pe different than The Branded Woman" and other oth-er hectic drama-" her popularity would wane that even then she was dropping drop-ping from the ranks Of the most popular pop-ular stars. Here's comment recently made by n writer In "The Film Daily." a trad-paper: trad-paper: "How long do you think Norma Tulmadgo will hold her place as one of the greatest box office bets In this country If story material continues like "Love's Redemption"? Vou shoulda hoard Mister an' Missus Pub-lick Pub-lick as they left Th Strand Then mebbe the answer would hao been simple." a e s I ROM THE SOT DIOS Tom Mix has started work on "L"p and Going." He and Lnn Reynolds, his director, wrote it. Eva Novak plays the lead. "A Fool There Was." in which Theda Bara and Edward Jose co-starred co-starred seeral years ago. will be re-fllmed. re-fllmed. , Theodore Kosloff plays the part of an "apache" with a disabled arm In "The Green Temptation." He was a man with a deformed bark In "The Lane That Had No Turning. " News dispatches of a few days ago told of the suicides of an heiress and her chauffeur. A proud parent had refus'-d to sanction their rr.arrlape because be-cause the girl's soelal position would suffer. In "Saturday Night." Cecil DeMllle's De-Mllle's latest photographic concoction, concoc-tion, an heiress marries her chauffeur. She loses her social position and is very unhappy. The mission of this film, written by Jcanle MacPherson. Is to prove that Cinderella and The Prince did not live happily over after. She furnisher double proof by having hav-ing the millionaire fiance of tho heiress marry a laundry girl. That romance Is blighted, too. In the end the chauffeur and laundry girl marry and the rich couple mend their broken engagement. And thus It is proven to the satisfaction satis-faction of the scenario w riter th it oil and water cannot be mixed. The proof i-eemed rather shallow to mo. The oil was loo tlilek and the water loo thin. It would seem from this picture that poverty is marked by the chew ing of gum, over-participation In wine. tho wearing of suspender, horrible table manners, and an aversion aver-sion to personal ablutions at any time except Saturday night The hall marks of wealth are tho smoklnc of clgarets by women, self-coptlnenoe self-coptlnenoe In the matter of alcohol, the wearing of double-trained dressi s On ordinary occasions, the Inability to buy oT cook a good steak. The truth of the matter Is that Tillle. the Sewing Machine Girl, can be men in any metropolitan restaurant restau-rant smoking clgarets not for effect, but because she enjoys It. Young ladles who become tipsy with wine these days usually belong to the wealthier class. It 'is reported on good authority that John D. Rockefeller, Rocke-feller, the richest man In the world, wears suspenders. Certainly, the days and the numbers of a man's bath are .i matter of Individual preference pref-erence Independent of his bank balance, bal-ance, And the best steak 1 ever a:j was cooked by a young lady of considerable con-siderable wealth who had been taught how to buy and prepare dishes in the domestic 0nce course of a ery exclusive achool for girls Th- Ix-st table manners I ever wi:-neaeed wi:-neaeed were those displayed by kn 11 -year-old hoy who supported a widowed wid-owed mothed by selling candy to the soldiers of Camp Sheridan, Ala And the people who have the mo.it fun at Coney Island on Saturday night are tho wealthy sightseers who can afford to participate In all the frolics. "Saturday Night" falls to prove that Cinderella and The Prluce could not live happily tver after because It fails to distinguish between wealth and culture. between poverty ana rowdyism And f.iillng In that, it fails In realism "FOOLISH WIVES" RE-EDITED. "Foolish Wives" has been reduced -.".00 feot from Its original exhibition length The foolish episode In Which the consul's wife surprised him with an Infant has been eliminated. That was tho most Illogical sequence this writer has ever seen In a picture "FAUST" TO BE FILMED. Ferdinand P. Earl? announces that his next production for the screen will be Faust." D. YV. Griffith has abandoned his plans for filming that P 1 a y STAR GAZING. Cecil DeMlllo"s "Saturday Night" was edited and titled in 12 days. Tom Mix will be starred In "Fr o Range Lannlng," by George Owen Baxter. 9mm Wanda Hawley and Milton Sills will support Dorothy Dalton in "Tho Cat That Walked Alone " Claire Windsor, Richard Dix and Claude Glllingwater are In the cas: of "Fools First," Marshall Kalian's next. Wallle Rcld's next picture, after he completes "Across the Continent " will be "The Dictator," by Richard Harding Davis. "A stage Romance," William F.-n-num s first picture since his return from Europe, Is based on an Incident in the life of Edmund Ivnn famon Bnglleh actor. It will be released In March Picture George Arllss without his nvono. le and wearing coveralls and a dilapidated slouch hat. That in itself sounds comical. Well, Ai lls appears that way In his 1 it. -1 i llm. The Ruling Passion " And It takes Arllss back to lh kind Of performance in w hich he was fa- i mous 20 years ago. lie was one of i he most famous of satirical comedians comed-ians until Iav!d BelaSOO induced him to assume sinister character roles. t The Ruling Passion ' is a satire on the retired business man. A wealthy auto engine manufne- mrer Is ordered to retire by his phy-I phy-I slclan. Rest, complete rest, was the prescription. But the obituary columns were full K Of notices of deaths of retired men So Arllss, incognito, buys half Interest In-terest in a garage Ha learns thnt he :md l)s youthful partner have hecn swindled He uses his wits rather than his wealth to triumph over unfair competition. com-petition. After a year of tinkering with engines and tilling gasoline tanks he Is restored to perfect health and the physician attributes It to his complete pest. His youthful partner falls In low with his daughter. This romance la also a sour. ni interest to the old man. for his daughter knows nothing noth-ing of his life in iir gdrag and his partner Is not aware that he is tho girl's father. Here Is o picture off the beaten I path of movie oomedlea, Ailiss Is Arllss, as he was In "Disraeli." but he s a different Aril.-.. Horn Ken yon makes n very pleasing heroine' and tho other players fit their characters! ss natuially as an old shoe fits u tender foot. The picture Is horribly over-lighted. The lighting effects In a measure meas-ure destroy the note of naturalism that is otherwise predominant In the I film. |