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Show jit Inspecting the Ince Picture Plant and Its Players I ffSjtf BY A. H. GIEBLEB, uYi3f , P YOU didn't know anything about 1. llc Hm business if one name in ! tlio Industry didn't mean anything . 1 more to you than another, and you wcro J5 glcn tho opportunity of visiting one oC the many moving-picture studios of Los Angeles and your chauffeur should stop FAE ) tho macn,nc in front of tho Thomas H. ' CAP 1 InC P'ant on Georgia and Glrai-d streets, in tho above-named city, you - ' would lake just one look at the placo " j and say, "Drive on, James; we will acek "V 3 a more likely looking place." - J And by allowing yourself to be misled ll by first appearances you would miss sce- Sv 'M m& no of the most Interesting and one I of the most Important ot all the pic- 7. turo plants on tho "West Coast, as well l as meeting some of tho most celebrated i flgurc3 of the films faco to face. I x 3ou havo heard of the house that was ovjL $ Queen Anno in front and Mary Ann in 1 tho back? Thc k,nd o nlaco whero all L. w tho money was spent to make an out-ffigff out-ffigff f ard show? jjgBM Well, the Inco plant is Just thc rcverso g of that The placo is very much Mary '. Ann in front and very much Queen it Anne in the back. Not from an archl- fBfa tccturnl standpoint, however. Tho a buildings that aro found farther back $ n the lot after you havo passed I through the front olllce aro Just as Mary Ann-y as those that faco tho ... street. gr""iH ! Thc Queen Anno simile refers to tho Jj people employed at tho studio, and thc fl J'; Pictures turned out there. In this re- H fpect things are Queen Anne quality 2 a" t,Jo way through, and, so far as the I fO Mary Ann buildings are oocotr'ned, that Tjj tSm j 's only temporary. -mflWi Interest Usually h9 Centers on Actors M9E! THE Inco organization has outgrown its present quarters, and as soon a3 I a nw studio that is being built in iNlP f Culvc'r City, a suburb of Los Angeles. Jy y ? J3 completed, tho whole establishment kX ! W1'l be moved to tho now plant. Mflp Tho new placo will cost In the nolgh- jByi borhood of lialf a million dcjlars and jKHH! !; w'1 cover about eleven acres of ground. "jjHn 11 will bo the last word In atudlo cor.- 5SjB) ' Btructlon and will be built according to fcBf Ir Inco's own ideas of how a modorn WsSK Picture plant should bo built. 'VgH Ground was broken for tho new bulld- ajH ? lngs Just a few weeks ago, and tho eev- yEsBgr crftl companies hope to bo I'X work in ?QJH '"t thc new quarters before the first of BH Most people who visit a studio aro ln- BR, tcresled in no one but tho players and dSBK 1 Erectors, 'and In most Instances this Ja jEV 1 as U should be. As a general thing, no mtfm matter how big a. man may exow as a. j?'-om - Producer, exhibitor or osploiter of iuov- A ing pictures, ho Is not half as lntorcst- i; Ing to tho public as tho numblcst actor r u 0r actress on his pay roll. t Thomas H. Inco is ono of the few x- - captions to this general rule. Inco, or ..-CQ T. H. I., as he is called by numy of his N employes, Ie easily one of t'Jo hip pcr- Bonalltics o tho ccrecn, and although ho dees not appear In pcrso.i In any picture, pic-ture, his name is as faniillur to tho army of film fans ns thc names of his players, because of tho '-wind of films that are made under hio "jurervlslon. Thc name of Ince has come to be a sort o Inllucnce, a mark of quality, an 1 this Is because Inco is an actor of raro ability as well as a director and supervisor super-visor of almost extraordinary ability and his supervision covers everything that goes out of the plant. Ince Influence Over Everything OF COURSE Ince does not personally direct all of the pictures that aro made under his brand. That would b2 impossible. But the ability to direct and act himself enabled him to choose a corpa of directors who know how to make pictures of the Inco kind, and, while each director does his own work In his own way, the Ince supervision and the Ince influence is over everything. Thomas H. Inco comes from a theatrical theat-rical family. IIi& father was the famous comedian, John E. inco, and Ills two brothers. Ralph and John Ince, arc well and favorably known to both the stage and screen. T. H I. began his theatrical career very early In life. His first part was a song and dance In "Poets and Puppets" on the regular stage. He played an important part In "Shoro Acres" with the late James A. Heme, was with Edwin Ardnn in "The Ninety and Nine,' starred in "For Love's Sweet Sake" ami toured thc best circuits In vaudevlllo for a time. Incc's ability as a director was recognized recog-nized soon after he took up motion-picture work, and he was made director general for thc New York Motion-Picture Company, thc famous NYMP Company, Com-pany, in 1909. nc was also the moving flguro behind tho Triangle studios at Culver City, Cal., and the famous Ince-vllle, Ince-vllle, a placo that has produced somo of thc best films ever screened, was named after him. He produced "Civilization," thought by many people, both Inside as well as outside out-side of thc Industry, to be tho greatest plcturo ever mado. He was likewise rc-Kponsiblc rc-Kponsiblc for "Thc Wrath of tho Gods." "The Coward,' thc picture that brought Charles Ray to tho notice of tho public. "On tho Night Stage." "Thc Darkening Trail." "Tho Devil's Double," "Tho Pinch Hitter"' and many others. Personally, Ince, like all of the really big folks of the screen. Is plain, unassuming unas-suming and unaffected. Tho Inco plant Is a busy place, and sovcral productions were "on the flro" the day I visited there. 7Tcnry 13. "Walthall was deep In a pic-turization pic-turization of Louis Joseph Vance's "Falso Faces," under tho direction of U. VilIlam NcllL Putting Sure-Enough Spirit on Screen DOROTHY DALTON and Edward Coxen were working out a story that as yet had no title that la. no title for Iho public-but every play has what is known ns a working title that s used In the studio, but very often this H''H mmm S . ' $0 lis P;FRANK1E LEE I name Is changed before the play Is released. re-leased. Victor Schortzlngcr was directing Miss Dalton and Mr. Coxen and little Frankle Lcc, the G-year-old child wonder, In a scene, and they let me get right up closo and sco how It was done. The set was an humble room, supposed sup-posed to be tho home of Coxcn and Miss Dalton, who were supposed to be husband and wife In the play. The husband, hus-band, who looked like a clerk that might have been paid a poor to aver-ago aver-ago salary, was going to work, and Miss Dalton was fussing with him and telling him not to forget to i-ay a bill, and all the tlnio shs had a clothes brush In her hand and was brushing him off here and there and Insisting on him wearing an overcoat Just llko sure-enough wives do sure-enough husbands hus-bands little things that arc put Into every well-made Him. After tho husband finally left his home and thc wife turned back Into tho room, little Frankie had to run Jn tho scene from the bedroom that adjoined in his night suit and complain bitterly that ho wanted his breakfast. It took Just one rehearsal for the boy to get It right. He went back to tho bedroom, camo In the sccno and wont through his part llko a veteran trouper and stormed around llko a kid that was really hungry and wanted his breakfast break-fast thc worst way. All of which was very good, but tho best of tho boy's cloverncss camo a few minutes later. After Miss Dalton had left tho scene thc director wanted to make another scene, a closo-up that would show no ono but thc child demanding de-manding his breakfast, THE camera wa3 moved from tho outside out-side of thc room, where It had been shooting through the door, to the middle mid-dle of the room. Franklo went back to - the -bedroom ,!;,;v '(f NOVAK) and at Schertzingcr's command camo running Into thc scene again. "Say! I'm hungry!" ho stormed. "When do I get something to cat?" There wcro more linos for tho child to speak, words that wcro supposed to ,bc spoken to his mother, but no mother was there. A situation like this would have puzzled many an older actor, but this Juvenile hesitated only about tho thousandth of a second, then ho put out his little hands, turned his eyes up toward to-ward Director Schortzlngcr, who stood alongsldo of the camera, in an appealing appeal-ing manner and said, vlth the utmost pathos: "Please, mother, can't I havo something to cat?" And the queer part of It was that noltlior the director, tho camera man nor Hie people standing near seemed to sec anything out of the ordinary in the child's work. It was Just a part of. tho dally routine. Place Boiling Over with Notables "iHAULES RAY was not working the day I visited thc Ince plant, ' for which I was properly sorry. Rny Is ono of tho spectacular success of fho c.recn. He first gained public approval through hla work in "The Coward." He had been doing good worlc boforc that, but this particular play gave him :t cl.anco to show his romarkablo ability for a sympathetic interpretation of a part, and immediately people all ovr the country began talking about him and "wanting to seo more of him. Ray's work Is popular for two bg reasons; one Is that ho is a vyry conscientious -actor, who depicts a part with absolute fidelity and truthfulness, and tho other roason Is that his plays aro true to life, and all American. Charles Ray's plays of country and small town Hfo are to tho films what Mary E. Wilkins' stories of New England Eng-land llfo aro to literature. Enid Bennett, another Ince star of International In-ternational Importance, was there. In fact, the whole place was Just boiling oyer with notables. I saw heroines, heroes, villains, character actors everything every-thing In tho movie actor line. Robert McKlni, the premier bad man of tho screen, together with Milton R033 and Donald MacDotlald. also villains. vil-lains. Thurston Hall and Jack Holt, leading men ot groat ability and roputi-tlon, roputi-tlon, and Doris Leo, leading lady to Charles Ray. And Jane Novak, about whom everybody says. "Oh, isn't ahe lovoly?" ovory time her name is mentioned. men-tioned. Miss Novak comes from St. Louis and tho great Mlddlo West, that has produced pro-duced so many players for the films. The staff of writers and directors at tho Inco plant aro also un institution. Five of tho biggest writers for thc films aro employed hero, including Julian' Josephson. R. Cecil Smith. John Lynch, J. G. Hawks and C. Gardner Sulllva. thc editor-ln-chlcf, and the highest priced scenario writer In tho country. Tho directorial staff Is no less distinguished. dis-tinguished. In addition to Victor Schcrtzlnger who Is tho same Victor Schertzlngor who used to be m:d still Is, for that matter, tho well known composer com-poser of music thero are "rred Nlblo, Jerome Storm, Irvln R. WiHot, R. William Wil-liam Nolll, and of course, T. H. . I. - himself. |