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Show II LITTLE YARNS ABOUT m FILMS, STARS, PLAYS AND LIFE IN MOVIES ft; ! m mm m bt jambs vr, dlan. IS NEW YORK, Jan. 7 When Ernst 7tl I Lubltsch first proposed to make the f historical film dramas that have ma-v.- 'Si in tm International flfure he was "rreti-d with dcrlsiou and ridicule. ft He went ahead with the project. To- w .1.,- at 20 ho is hailed as on.- of the 5 greatest figures in the ait of the cin- H cma and M a jrreat actor H He 1 sclf-effaclns almost timid HH There In something' tragic, sad In his H make-iii' Vour interest In hlra is al- HEHI most tantamount to Hympathy. mmmmu c RjH I went to extend tno greetings of BQH the season to Mary Pick ford and 1 louglas Fairbanks just before th. Kafl left New York. Mary was surrounded E by a group of women come for belal- HH interviews. Yet they v..Tn't 9 tervle 1ng her. Mary was just one of Lwrm a Kroup of women talking over trivial , BgS things. rfl Fairbanks called my attention to, that. "You see. they're all acting like old friends." ho said. "Mary incites' RH their sympathy Thro is something I LwrnM ir. licr make-up that makes other KH women, sonic her Juniors, want to K9 mother her. l believe that quality ES which arouses sympathy In others is; Bl the real secret of her popularity." I U I -ii -' that Chaplin's! WCm "m'i 1 i' universal appeal because! pfl he backgrounds It with pathos. Tho HI story that Is told by hobo pants and E-1 run-down shoes create! sympathy the Hff b world over, ta Bt-S Arbuckle was not a great actor, but Rjs he was fat According to a popular e legend, nobody loves o tat man. His Hp9 appea was chiefly llnougn sympathy Hff2 lie created by hie obesity The same HXS holds true of Lloyd Hamilton. the other fat comeilian H Kfl Harold Llo d wean tho sort of spec- Hffl tacles that are associated with the. H&fl highly Intellectual. He has a sensitive ES face. Bubjected to slap-stick comedy,! B ho is the object of pity. BH " pHH The decline of many former stars VLH has been due to their appearance in VB roles which in no way appealed to the Uj sympathy of the audience Others. 7H cast in more t.iv.i.iM, rob-s. 'lid not jH have that element in their personal- Ity that appeal to the sympathy. tK Sympathy is a sentiment. Its ere-; IH utlou is a mutter of emotion more , ! than of thought. There are more' H emotional people than thinking peo- tKt pie. Therefore sympathy created by HB the personalil ot the player or by jH artifices for that purpose is the essen-tial essen-tial element in the success of acting. I J j prelude; to "penrod." HJjfl George Washington and Abraham RH Lincoln are Introduced in prelude to HT "Penrod" by Marshall N'eltan. He em. characterizes th lude as a tribute HJ to the greatest Institution of all time1 BB tho American lio. u js interest-, HI ing to note that Neilan states he ha Jw not tried to Improve upon Tarking-ton's Tarking-ton's story. Some film versions of RV Tarkington stories have been attempts HJ at that with doleful results. KAKIMOI I. GOING ABROAD KtK Xazlmova win go abroad to film I BA Kudorman's "Regina" after she corh- LW. pletes "Salome." Alan Hale, who Usl! n appeared on the scfeen with Pauline a Frederick in "A Woman in the Case,"; 'i wa Naslmova's hading man in "A HT J 'oil's House Gisui s MAKE OWN FILM, lr Lillian atld Dorothy Gfish are mak-' KfV ,nS a tiln. version ot 'H Fir I False Step," the first pla in whh h th( y ap- Bl reared togethei Mars Pickford be-an be-an her Amerli n career in thai They' ft v. ere all little girls' then The film will be for the entertainment of the (ilsh family and friend". Th0 best Illustration of how much a film depends upon its director for Interpretation Of a story is furnished by the two film versions of "The L.U- i tie. Minister' now current i Penrbyn Stanlaws directed on' picture pic-ture strirrlnx Betty Compson David I Smith directed tho other starring Alico , Calhoun. 01 course, Bdfrld Bingham, who 'wrote tho scenario for the Stanluws film and C. Graham Baker, who wrote the Smith version, had something some-thing to do with the evolution of plot. Yet the handling of story material ma-terial and players la more evident on tho sci-f en than the work of tho von-tinulty von-tinulty writer. Stanlaws is a painter, a student of pictorial composition 'The Little Minister" Is the third picture he- has directed. Its outstanding feature is its hifh pi' tonal quality Stanlaws has also shown great ability In the development of characters. Smith is a vc'-ran in the motion picture business. Tho outstanding feature of his film Is action The latter half of the picture is enacted in a heavy snow storm with lightning flashes lending a bixarro effect to the action. Smith disregarded Che f. t that he had in Mlfs t.'olhoun onu of tho most beautiful women of the screen He subordinated a play upon hei personality per-sonality to a play for sensationalism In action On tho other hand Stanlaws apparently appar-ently did his utmost to capitalize on the personality of Betiy Cpmpeon. In some epoxides she falls short of the specifications tor the pari. In others she performs capably. It is evident that she was more or less of an automaton in Stanlaws' hands. He has stamped his own individuality on Ihis film and on the players m . 4 I ill STORli sol R 1 s There has been much speculation as Co the film rights to "The Little Minister' since tw: versions are appearing ap-pearing simultaneously stanlaws made his for Paramount, Smith'?; was for Vitagraph. in an "omnibus" contract Paramount Para-mount bought from Charles Fi"h-tnan. Fi"h-tnan. Inc., screen rights to all Barrle plajs staged by that concern Anions them were ' Sentimental Tommy ", "Whal Every Woman Knows, Fhc Little Minister' and "Peter Pan." Vitagmph had previously purchased pur-chased screen rights to the book version ver-sion of 'The Little Minister.'' and made a film based on the story a number oi years ago I 9 M FREi kl.l.W vr.VU Wesley Barry has been out-freckled out-freckled ;,t '"st.. Tho hew freckic king is flichard "Daniels, a youngster introduued in th ViCagnaPh version of 'The Little Minister." Richard gives the best juvenile performance this writer has ever seen on the screen. It appears that he acted naturally before the camera, that ho displayed all of his emotions una hashed by his surroundings. This. n&t.uraUsm p5pbb)v should be credited i the director. It ap-i peared. to liyve been, achieved moix through the handling of I ho boy than through the bay s acting ability ki LADY t.oDiV s Kil l The fl m version of ''Lady Qodiva'1 will bo releu.se d earlv In February. Thi.i quptatlon is take;i from the an-r.ouncement an-r.ouncement of Ita release. "The story of Lady Qodiva, Who wa3 forced by iier arrogant husband to disrobe and ride B white horse through the streotf In ordei te save the townsfolk.s frcni oppression, has been delicately handled, yet retaining all Hie powei of Lord Tennyson work." The con-sora con-sora will probably decide whether It was handled with delicacy or with power It could hardly have been handled -with both. . Greater entertainment is often fur-niehed fur-niehed by new reels, comics, scenlcs and other xhort cool subjects than oy featured films on theatre programs. Therefore, I bellevo that they ate worthy of treatment similar to that clvn featured film. Those who have produced the bost of such subjects sub-jects should be accorded the reeognl-, reeognl-, tlon given producers of feature pho- todrumas. No one person can see all the film j produced In ono year. Time will not allow It even If the strain on tho eyes j did not forbid It. I see about 50 000 ; feet of film a week, 10.000 of which , made up of comedies and other short features Tho following list of what I con-sbier con-sbier the ten best short features of 1921 N limited to those films Which I have personally seen. Orrer of arranccmont i9 without regard to relative rela-tive merit. A basis of comparison Is not possible because of tho diversity of types The list - "Never Weaken" I.loyd oonicd . "The Playhouse Keaton comedy, 'The Four Sosons,' Kineto icvlcv "PUnnj FaoS Comedies ' ' Marsh Studies,'' sconir i Tony Sarg's screen murioneUes. "The Northern Trail.'' snort drama. Tathe News reel of Kuss.an famine. I "The Bashful Suitor." i Slow motion of Snowy Maker's fall. "Never Weaken" was a comedy that contained the satirical element In a 'largo measure The Playhouse" of-j of-j fered the best example of Runtor gain- ed through icehnleal and mechunical j effects "The Four Seasons" was more than ! a scenic It pi'-senled the diama of nature. Ton) 8 marionettes piosent sat- irleal comedy in unadulterated p.mto-mlme. p.mto-mlme. The mechanical figures in the "I-'unny Face" comedies do every- j thing but talk "Marsh Studies," photographed by j John Wallace Gillies, contains more color than anything 1 have ever seen m black and white "The Northern Trail" proves that ;i photodrama can be completely pro-duce pro-duce In two rtols It contained more action than Is usually put In a flve-roel flve-roel feature ' Tho Bashful Suitor" is one of the series of two-reel plays based on famous fa-mous paintings. They provide en-; en-; tertAlninetit of a h if a ordeu and edu- cation at the. sumo lliuc Tho ntws reel Is one of the greatest great-est factors of the ajte in educating I the masst s. 'J'he Pathe reccrd of the Russian famine is a fine example of : the enterprise that is evidenced in, l snowing one-htslif of the world how I tho oihr iialf live. Slow-motion photography is a great ' innovation It leaches things the eye eauuoj dlflcern. it reveals things never j fore Int bote,) in the cpmpreheinslon ol man. "he reel .showing tho fall of Snowy l laker is chosen for a place In the list because of the dramatic thrill it created b sustaining the ac- i tlon oi t),c. iticliku;. It wan 4 "Screen Snapshot." Other interesting contributions of short subjects during the past year ! wore "La Fontaine's Falty Tales." Aesop s Fables," ' Adventures of Bill and Bob.'' Marcus' "What a lattlo Hair Will Do." Hy Mayers Trav-elaughs," Trav-elaughs," Qrantland Rice's sport reels, n.auie studies Included in the, Kineto Reviews and Fa the ReMevvs and the various scenics. Fannie Hurst says an injustice was done to hor by the film called "Star Dust" and that she will spend tho 80, "00 paid he-r tor film nmy to tho lldve ;.r thiil name In lighting the exhibition ex-hibition of tin film under that title. But that's not the end of 1L The Hope Hamilton Productions company, producers of the film, has filed action ac-tion against Miss Hurst for JiifiO.OOO damages because of statemeni s she made about the film. There's a Joke in all of this to this writer. Both Miss Hurst and the (lira are getting valuable advonitting through their squabble. This article, however, us not intended intend-ed for an auv rline-nicnl. The Question Ques-tion is how fur should a producer go mi changing the printed stmy when it is converted into Dims'' Till-. TVAU mftMIQXg I base- read the novel version of "Siar pu.it, ' I arranged for a special screening of tho llim for comparison The tilio reads, "'Star Dust,' suggested sug-gested b Fannie Hoist's novel of that name." ffopn alter the introduction of character char-acter the film story departs from the novel version if you read the novel and liked It you will no,, .ike the film. It ypU dldn t rell.sli Hit) novel, you'll enjoy the itlm 1 was highly ontertaJncd by the filrn. it is not a masieroioce. but It is better than the average film of today. to-day. in the picture tho heroine leavos P i.idise, Iowa, after her marriage to un uncouth hick Her troubles accumulate ac-cumulate Her baby dies. She pians suicide. Thwarted In that, she finds life opening into more pleas.ant channels. chan-nels. Sho becomes an operatic prima donna. The husband hurrying to hare in ' her glory and her wealth Is killed m a train wreck tho most thrilling I h ive ever seen on the screen. Husband eliminated, tho girl With the houI of an .trtist finds lov and ppinese In a marriage with a tong Alitor. . The film story, compared to that of th,l novel, loaves a pleaeantcr tajrto the mouth. It is doubtful if any motion picture consor In the country iVOUld havo passed the film had It bet-n produced in strict adherence to the novel story in the novel the baby Uvea and the I mother goes on to the bitter end alav- Ing for the child. The photoplay is not the medium for the expression of literature. Some authors realize this. Others do not Thcro are fow authors today who spelt spe-lt In their contracts that thole stories are not to be changed. Most of them are glud to have them ac-spted ac-spted for the screen because thoy receive re-ceive a greater price for them than they could get upon anv other mar-, mar-, get. This may not be so with Fannie Hurst. Her writings have made hor Independent financially. However, the film ' Humorcsque" without doubt brought Ivor to the attention of tho masses more than all of luir writings combined. That film did not follow the story, "Hurnoresque." Well, should s producer change the -lory when ho converts It to tho screen? If It doe not fall within tho , limitations of the screen ana within the limitations ot censorship, hc must change it. MOPK HAMILTON'S WORK. This writer once saw a miserable film In which Hope Hamilton was starred. He thought her ease was hopeless. In "Star Dust" sho does as I fine a bit of work as any feminine star ha given to the screen in months I She shows she underotands pantomime. panto-mime. She has come a long way in I tho last year and promises to go a , long way further in the next year. . It was Christmas Evo. A newsboy not yet nine, was on hie way homo. Hie day's sales had netted him HO cent?. A man stopped him. "Want to earn ft cua!ter?" he asked. "Sure!" Run over to Thltd avenue nd get my rveixoat wait a minute. How do r know you'll come back with the! enat For answer the boy gave him I his 90 cents to hold as bond. The boy couldn't find the tailor shop He returned. The man was gone. So was the 90 cents. That Christmas Eve was 43 years ago. This Christmas Eve a little man stood In an office overlooking Times Square Ho was In a building named after him. Below, on Broadway, his name was displajed to the world in electric lights. The sign read "Loow's ; State." The little newsy who was cheat ! of the returns of a long day's work in tho cold was Marcus Loew. Today To-day there's a theatro bearing the ; Locw namo on almost every Broad-way Broad-way in America, "That was my first lesson in the ways of tho world." Docw told me. ! (How similar to that of Benjamin Franklip when he paid too much for his whistle! "When I was nine I left school." he went on "I worked for 35 cents a day In a map-making plant. 1 lost that Job when I led a strike among' tho boys for -to cent' ) "When I was 11 I published a weekly newspaper. I solicited the ads and edited th paper by clipping news from the big dailies. I next went, to work in a furnish-! ing goods store for a relative I worked from six in the morning un-til un-til 10.30 ut nlgfht and midnight on! Saturdays. " left that job after 1 was given i only half in hour for lunch on the j day I was confirmed. I went to j work for a. coaoerp employing my I two older brothers 1 ne had charge i of the fur trimmings, the other of the drees trimmings wht-n I wasi 16 I was superintendent and boss of them both "I started a fur business of my i own when I vv.ts is I tailed when L was 19. I scraped together f 6,000. 1 dldn t pa so much on the dollar I paid In lull those who came to i ol-lect ol-lect that. Then I Sill! owed 1800. ; 1 worked as a salesman for $2f i week It. took me four years to pa that dobt. And all the time I vas courting I wouldn't get married, until I waa free of debt. 'That failuro was mj real start When 1 vonl into I ISlnegl atjuln I I w as known as an honest man. 1 ie--olved more credit than I was en-: titled to." Twenty-five years ago Iocw owned propertj next to some owned by David Warfleld, the ncied actor, Warfleld was a better actor than business man Docw tobl him that others were imposing im-posing on him. Before long Marcus' had assumed a control over Warfleid's property so compleu that he wouldu t, allow Dave to go near It That pigrked the beginning ot (,n, of he most unusual friendships in the United! State-. Warfleld and Loew tat lunch together every day that both are In town They are so much togother that they arc often referred to as Damon nd Pythias It was Warfleld who induced Loew! to enter tho show business. Ixew i started with a penny arcade in New York. That was 16 years ago. Then, ho bought one on Fountain Square 1 Cincinnati. One day Loew went across the Ohio River to Covington. Ky He saw his first niovlc there. U was in a private house. A;, or the owner! had filled the house with children he I locked tho doors so none could sneak in and none could have escaped in i a so. of fire. Tho owner operated tho projector and lectured as tho film unrolled "There, he hit hirn. Ah, the vlllun is dead " lie told what had happened after the audience had I already seen it. Loew telegraphed to New York for :t machine and some film. Ho partitioned parti-tioned off 2f foet of his penny arcade and rentod chairs from an undertaker. under-taker. His first theatre cost him J 1 60. Almost 5000 attended the first dgy. Loggf built 7 theatres the past year They cost from ono to six millions eucli. "How many theatres do you own now " I asked him. "One hundred and thirty odd." he answered Ton t you know exactly?" "It's cither 183 or 134." A gTav fringe around a shining pate Eyes a bit bleary through big glasses A gray brush above the lip und above each eye More nose than chin Scarcely more than five feet till, he is almost lost behind a cluttered dc-sk. The office is paneled in mahogany Looks like a feudal cattle. Voice rouKh, but not strong A drab suit and a dull gray tie empha-sl'se empha-sl'se an almost rolorless personality, v. here H the Napoleonic spark in .his man7 'in his deck aro three photographs. Twp arc of his twin sons Arthur and David. The other of David's little daughter. You call attention to them Then you see tho spark Percentages, theaters, the-aters, businesses are gone Ho hitches up to tho desk. "Tho finest hoys In tho world' Their foot set square Thoy live wlthtu llieir incomes. Not foolish frills for them. No father could bo prouder of his boys than 1 am of thern " "What is your formula for success?" I asked Loew ' Be ambitious. If you sell papers try to sell more than tho fellow who sells the most Always have someone In mind whoae record you want to beat. "Bo honest. Olve the other fellow moro than ho asks you to give. You'll get It back later on. "And make every failure a gain, rnnko It serv as a lesson for future action." SOS Ernest Lubltsch may be the great-German great-German moving director and he may not. However, I am convinced after one hour's session with him that the is the greatest Gorman diplomat who has landed upon our fair shores in many a moon. I asked him seven limes in seven various ways whether ho thought American pictures measured up to I German pictures In story worth, and I know no more of what ho thinks on that score than I did before except from deduction. I deduco from his ovasion of direct answer to that question that ho thinks well, you make your own deductions. Lubltsch speaks nary a word of English. I understand not a word of Ocrman except ' Verboten" and a few i cjther words that w ere generously tieed I in war propaganda. Our meeting was nothing like a kaf fee-klotsch. Verbal intercourse was through the medium Of an interpreter. LUBITSCH'S VIEWS Having no direct quotations i present pre-sent here Luhltsch's views on the movies as he rovealed them in answers an-swers through the Interpreter Germany pictures provide entertainment enter-tainment In America because they are different from the American pictures. pic-tures. American pictures provide entertainment in Germany because they are different from Germany pictures. pic-tures. If Germany continue.! to muke iho same kind of pictures and America keeps on with its present kind, entertainment will be provided for everybody. (That sounds reasonable.) reason-able.) Chaplin Is the greatest comedian In the world iGrrmuny has just Found this out. ) The remarkable thing about American Amer-ican .pictures is the attention psid to I detail. in "Forbidden Fruit" tho entire story was summed up in the situation in which the heroine looked to one side and saw beautiful flowers and looking to the other side saw tho worn coat and sloppy hat of her husband "Broken Blossoms' impressed Lubltsch Lu-bltsch more than any other American Ameri-can film. (It was a tragedy.) The only film Lubltsch has seen since coming to American U "A Sailor-Made Sailor-Made Man, ' starring Harold Lloyd. He laughed at that until his sides ached. Although Germans consider music their national art they aro far behind be-hind America in the matter of musical musi-cal presentation of pictures. Lubltsch bejleves that some day a picture will be made which will not, even require a title or subtitle to tell j Its story, that In the next generation some person will evolve a method oft I picture presentation . that will give ! I him equal rank in history with I Shakespeare, that the true medium I Of cinema expression is something apart from literature, drama or por- j tralture, that the main element in photoplays as they are made today is j drama. Those last views of Lubltsch wcre in response to very specific questions ques-tions When he perceived that his 1 questioner was In accord with hlm he waved his onus, poured fonth al mass of guttural vowels and thick consonants The Interpreter Interpreted Lu-j bjtsch smiled. I smiled We shook hands and parted very good friends. ' THIS MAN LUBITSCH Black hair brushed compactly against a low. long cranium. Ele- phantino ears Joined far back on the head. Dark eyes In dark circles. An olive cast to the skin. Aquiline nose Lips that would be a cupld's bow were they not compressed so tlghtl Except for tho size nnd position of tho ears that head would be out of place on a Teuton body. It belongs on the frame of a Sicilian tragedian. A flowered starched collar and shirt. Purple tie in untidy fonr-ln-hand. Rough gray suit of severely plain cut. Thick hands and wrists Thighs and calves that bulge the trousers. Shoes, about size six. plat h and tho upper half laced through hooks. The body, except for the feet, that of a wrestler. And that man Is an actor aa well aa a director, a protege of Max Reln-hardt. Reln-hardt. Ho is master of pantonine off the screen as well as on it. An Interview with him would not be uiitiroly for naught If not one or.l w re understood. He talks with his hands, his features and hla body, "FOOLISH WIVES' Ki; DY At last a date bus been si for the release Ot Eric Von Slrohelm's "Foolish Wives." That will be January Jan-uary 11 and Universal i In hopes that it will be a big box office success suc-cess It will have to be if It is not I a groat loss, for the film cost $1,103.-736.38. $1,103.-736.38. The 38 cents is reported to have been reimbursement to an extra who lost that much w lil)--working In a scene DEAL FOR "MAIN STREET" More negotiations have been started start-ed by producers to buy the film rights to "Main Street from the ! Shuberts, who aro producing the 'stage version of Sinclair Lewis' be I seller, a screen version may not be made until road and stmk companies have established a wider reputation for the play. Th most artistic development Ol the motion picture In the yeai Just drawing to a close Is tho period of two-reel dramas bicswd on f'.mous paintings This, because portraiture Is the basic ba-sic element of tho photoplay. Those who believe literature tho basic element ele-ment of the motion picture may disagree. dis-agree. However, a masterpiece of brush and paint tolls its story largely by suggestion. It calls upon tho Imagination Imag-ination of the beholder tQ supplement supple-ment action and make the ..-lory complete com-plete to interpret the motivo and tho spirit of the hand that created the work of art. Thus a painting calls upon the Imagination probably more than any other form of art. Tho best photoplays yet made are the ojiwi that hav. ommandod the imagination of the audience i Imagination is a latent factor In the make-up of man..' movie patrons. They don't bellevo there's any Santi riaus, or that communication Willi Mars will ever be effected, or that ihe gun's loaded. These photoplays IwLsed on famous paintings are graphic lessons in imagining. If you don't know howl to Imagine, go and see one of them. Then you'll know why some persphs stop In an art galle-ry to look at ono painting for many loug moments they've set heir imaginations to work and are fascinated by the pastime. pas-time. The first of the series, "The Beggar Beg-gar Maid." was a beautiful adaptation adapta-tion of the Burns-Jones painting rej, resented the adaptation ot u' written story to ' portraiture and: thenoe to motion pictures. The second of tho series has Just! been released It is "The Bashful Suitor." based on the famous paint-' Ing of Josef Israels which hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of An This writer believes it Is u more1 artistic production than 'The Beg-j gar Maid' ' That muy be because it; has been transferred but once from; the original expression of theme and: the photoplay js. simply the addition! of action to portraiture. Israels painted q Dutch hoy and girl stopping in tho middle of a pasture, pas-ture, the boy to the rear of the irl. He called this work "The Bashful Tuitur" and left the other details ot p iho story to the imagination of the aeholdcr. Thus Herbert Blache. the director. md Lejaren a Hillcr, the urt direc-lor, direc-lor, 111 making a photoplay baaed on If I e j.ory are simply telling the audi- If nee what they imagined when they P beheld the painting. Thei Irpaglnad a very good job o' t. it. And whoever selected Mar'. lir.mdon as The Ulrl. Pierre Gen-as Gen-as The Boy and W. A. Otten as the painter did another good Job. This writer has never seen any of the three In pictures before and It has been a long time since he ha-seen ha-seen three players as good in one ggfl Ben Turpin has been asked to dls-continue dls-continue the use of crossed eyes in his comedies. The Stringtown Op-thalmll Op-thalmll society protests that his use ol 1 ox'sed-focus orbs suggests The In-efflcacy In-efflcacy of eye surgeons. This causes deep despair among all cross-eyed persons. Also among the eye sur- 1 1L.M 1 UlKSi; AT COLIMBIA. The course in motion picture pro-ductlon pro-ductlon at Columbia university has 1 proven so popular that it will be con- j tinned another term. The original plan was to hold the course for one I I 110 of three months. The Fox stu- 4io is used for practical instruction I |