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Show ; Kitty- Gokden v e:d hour; nTSIbSI OW5"5 IKSfP 'fWwiJ very clever ln lnakIn6 ovor and alter- II I h " BY A. H. GIEBLER. Jy; A VISITOR to Movloland, who 1 liac been, accorded tho rare privilogo of seeing the players i actually at -work ln a scene, compll-j compll-j mented. the leading woman on the richness and beauty of her costume. ; "I love it myself," said tho star, '' "and I would give anything If I could wear it In my big scene of the play." ; "Why can't you?" asked the -visitor, i "I should think that would he the one place where you could wear It" "Because," replied the actress, re-! re-! gretfully, "tho big scene is emotional stuff. Mr. Allon, that kind-faced man J over there playing with the child, is tho heavy, or. villain, and ho musses me up most dreadfully in. the scene. ! He is supposed to be my divorced hus-; hus-; band, and comes to take my child i away from me. I am so overcome by 1 , my' emotions that I gink to the floor j and hobble half way across the room f on my knees. Then I get furious and ; fight him, and it ends by his dragging nie around the room and flinging me i onto a couch, where I lie face up, with my golden hair touching the floor ' on one side and my feet one the other "Can you imagine what that sort of action would do to this costume? The j seams would all be strained; in fact, I J would just about come to pieces, and the gown would be utterly ruined." ' In other words, conservation in costumes cos-tumes has struck tho movies! A few, years ago, when lavish- expenditures ex-penditures was the rule in picture , making, the star would have worn the expensive gown and the thought of whether or not it was demolished would not have given any one great concern. f Thrills at Any Cost. That was in the days when trains were wrecked, houses burned, automobiles automo-biles dumped from bridges to give audiences a thrill, no matter whether ' such action was. essential to the story In the. play in which the leading lady la-dy deplored the fact that she could not be mussed up in a $400 gown, it was very important for the star to wear handsome clothes to accentuate the poverty which overtakes her later. In the play Itself, which came to the studio in synopsis or story form, tho writer did not bother himself with de tails or cost of production. According to the way ho wrote tho story the big scene would have occurred in a. drawing draw-ing room with tho star and the villain In evening clothes; but when the "continuity "con-tinuity writer" a wise, and Ingenious porsou, whose duty it Is to arrange the play Into scenes that will caYry the story along In perfect sequence got hold of the story, he manufactured action ac-tion and scenes that would take the star out of the drawing room, aiid into another house and give her an excuse ex-cuse for appearing In different clothes for tho strenuous action. He saved money for the studio and saved a beautiful and artistic gown that will no doubt adorn some other heroine in another play after it has been re-made. Since conservation and efficiency in production has been appted to the movies, the cost of everything is considered con-sidered and all tho details of a play, are figured out before the scenario Is put In the hands of the director. This cost counting does not -mean that tho movies are poverty stricken or that the producers arc trying to give the people less for their money. It simply means that the sane regulation regula-tion and system that has always been the rule in all well-organized business of all kinds is being applied to an artistic ar-tistic profession. , The old days of reckless and extravagant extrav-agant expenditure of money is a thing nf I ho nast If a playwright puts a train wreck in his story that is not absolutely necessary, it is deleted. If a scene where some one upsets a bottle of ink on a carpet is called for, It Is arranged that a carpet that will not set the studio back more than a' few dollars is used. Tho day when the director could spend ?30,000 or $40,000 an a picture without having something else besides be-sides ruined clothes and busted automobiles auto-mobiles to show for it is past. Tho producers are spending as much money In fact, a great deal more than they did in the wasteful days, but thoyaro spending it for real effects, and every dollar Is made to count, no matter whether used for 'costuming or what not. Naturul Wear and Tear. Costume departments that are complete com-plete in every detail are maintained in MAE" (JABDtN in, "TMAIS" " ' "BY AMATOLE TPAHCF.. each of the studios. These departments are under the charge of a skilled cos-tumcr, cos-tumcr, who has a largo corps of assistants, as-sistants, and anything in the way of a costume, from a queen's coronation robe to a housewife's bungalow apron, can be turned out on the shortest of short notice. When an actress is assigned a part she is sent to the costuhie department, where she is measured and fitted for the costumes she will need in tho scenes she will work in. She is required to sign a book for each costume as It Is taken out, which must be returned to the department In as good shape as she got it. Of course, allowances are made for wear and tear, and the wear and tear of costumes in the movies is considerable consider-able when an actress is liable to be called on to fall out of an automobile, allow a milk wagon to run over her, a mnd bull to chase her up a tree or a slap-stick comedian to souse her In a lake or a mud hole at any time. In some instances the leading players play-ers furnish their own costumes. When this is done it Is-nlwnys a matter of agreement between tho player and tho management, and is specified in the contract that tho player signs when she begins Work at the studio. Some of the stars will not work unless they are allowed to'nuy or rent their own gowns from somo pet dressmaker dress-maker or costumer. An amusing incident connected with renting costumes happened to Alice Brady a short time ago when she went to an exclusive Fifth avenue shop that specialized in mourning costumes for an outfit of widow's weeds to be worn in a photoplay. The shop was very exclusive and catered only to tho highest 'class of trade. An especially-mado door kept all sounds of the street from the place, and everything about the shop (except (ex-cept tho prices) was low and quiet In tone. Miss Brady tried on a widow's outfit out-fit that fitted hor perfectly. Sho observed ob-served herself in a mirror; tho effect was good, she mado a charming widow. Miss Brady Is naturally buoyant and high spirited, and tho somewhat depressing de-pressing atmosphere of the place not affecting her In the least, sho began to hum a little tune. Then she walked out in the display room where a largo number of customers wore being waited wait-ed upon by sombre-robed salesgirls who slipped about ln soft-soled shoes and did not speak above a whisper. The little song Miss Brady was singing sing-ing sounded surprisingly loud in the stillness of tho room, but she went over to a tall mirror and turned this way and that to get the general effect of tho outfit Then the little song coming to an end, she began to whistle softly. The actress, up to this time, was' not aware of tho shocking fining sho had been doing, but the dignified manager of the shop and the astonished customers cus-tomers were. v When Miss Brady realized that tho people In the place did not know but sho was a bona fide widow, whistling and singing ln her grief, she fled the place as quickly as she could, after bogging the woman in charge to make some kind of explanation to the scandalized scan-dalized customers. Tho studios used to be a rich harvest har-vest field for the dressmakers and costumers before they took to making and altering a great many of tho ood-tumes ood-tumes at the plants. Dozens of dresses would bo ordered, and after they were used they would be returned to the costumer who, after charging almost as much as they could have been bought for outright, would have them to sell or rent out again. Quick Action. Now tho movie people buy the costumes, cos-tumes, and after they aro used in one nig muir costumes. Ruth Stonehouse, when she was with Universal, was starred in a dance picture, which needed two or three dozen filmy dresses for the dancers' in a hurry. A costumer made a bid on the outfit thawas staggering. Miss Stonehouse, who wanted the play to be a success from a financial standpoint as well as from an artistic standpoint, and is .somewhat of a dressmaker herself, knew that most of the dancers could sew. She sent out for the material, stormed the altering al-tering department, captured a dozen sewing machines, did the cutting herself, her-self, put the girls to work on the sewing and the dance dresses were finished in half the time the costumer would have produced them in, and at half the cost, and the studio still had tho dresses to be used ln other plays after the picture was finished. The costume of the male player is not as much of a problemas the feminine fem-inine dress. Unless an actor appears in a character -part, he wears Just an ordinary dress, or business suit, usually usual-ly his own poperty. All of the male stars have extensive wardrobes, and hardly ever appear twice ln the same suit This was not the rule, however, In the days of the one-reel" pictures, where the actor sometimes worked in two plays a week. There was ono of theso actors who got hold of a suit he was particularly fond of. It was mado of somo rough material, and had a rather striking check pattern. He used that suit as a business man, a banker, a lawyer, a doctor, a burglar, or whatever he was cast for in eight or ten plays, and there is no telling how many more naxtB it might have appeared in had not a woman written in to the studio gpd. asked: "When In tho world Is Mr. going go-ing to retire that fuzzy suit of clothes?" Colors Do Jiot Count, Oreat ingenuity is displayed by tho performers in remaking eostumes. A player from tho regular stage who came over to the movies not long ago and was not "wise" to the tricks of tho trado in movie land, was astonished to see another actress in the same scene with her who was noted as a careful and fastidious dresser, wearing a most bewildering outfit. She had on a blouse of deep purple, with a green skirt and yellow sIUq panniers. 'H "Heavens!" exclaimed tho stago ll player. "You are not playing a char- jJ actcr part You surely do not mean to jH wear that awful "combination of colors H in tho scene?" JH "I most assuredly do mean to wear It," said the rainbow-hucd player. 'H "The fit and cut of this outfit 1b per- feet, because I made it myself out of ll a number of pieces and scraps, and t as all colors are ono to the camera, no ll one that ever sees tho picturo will ever know that I had on a dress that ordinarily I would not wear to a dog? I W JlftsWBiPP 1$? to whom wo owe money and Who can't WML KvSwRl I I J lWii f4lklli be persuaded to Increase the obliga- WW8 rati " " ' 7 ' " m w I Br 1 in- .a B |