The Washington times., 1915-11-19
PHOTOPLAYS AND
PHOTOPLAYERS
Mary Pickford Fails
Victim To Demand
For Fidelity To
Detail in Film
BY GARDNER MACK.

Motion picture fidelity to detail Is
not without its pains. Actors and
actresses who cndeavor to give
complete character pictures are fire.
quently made to suffer thereto,
This does not refer to the hair
breadth escapes and dangerous feats
that are performed for the beneflt
OF picture patrons by that class Of
0lm artists" to whom the word act
D simply the first syllable for aero
battles. 1t does refer to the men
and women who are trying to show
character studies on the screen and
who go. to all sorts OF trouble. that
Is not always apparent In their work.
to make themselves exact dupli-
Gates of the characters they por-
tray.
When one thinks Of Dorothy
Bernard and her poison oak ex-
perience, and Billie Farnum and his
black and bruised countenance after
. film fight. one acquires a certain
sympathy for tho stars who risk
all sorts of things to be realistic.
Mary Pickford is the newest victim
VI "uthNy W MN uttd1l. ne NOuHS
star walked with a limp for days
after her first rehearsal OF the part
OF Cho-Cho San In Madame But
terfiy"-which. by the way, Is be-
Ing shown at Loew's Columbia this
week, 1t all came from trying to
be a real japanese girl and wear
Japanese sandals In a japanese way.
The matter OF Cho-Cho Sans cos
tune was a trying thing for Miss
Pickford, according to her account
of II.
They are a perfect riot OF color.
those Japanese costumes"'-Mis
Pickford declares. IN discussing the
troubles OF Cho-Cho San. which
John Luther Long did not think to
write about. but which she expert
enccd. Il have never seen such m
genuity in combining shades and
tones into a harmonious blending.
And the weird designs that they
trace all over the kimonos. | won
der II the, originators OF some OF
those figures are victims of the NOR
phine habit. There must he some
tting abnormal In mind that
would conceive them.
'Still, IL one OF these artists
should happen to stroll down Filtb,
avenue and see some OF our alleged
styles, they might be tempted to say
tho same oc us.
"There Is another thing that
ar-azes me about Japanese customs.
vhv on earth do the girls-the
smallest in the world-ins'st upon
piling great masses of hair and
huge hair orna ments on the top OF
their heads? They all look as "
they would topDle over !" strong
WIND. they seem So top-heavv. And
deliver me from their wooden SAN
dals. would rather learn TO skate
on ice all over again than learn TO
raninulate those awful sandnls.
Nv feet were covered with blisters
after nv first dav as the screen In
carnatlon OF Cho-Cho San.
But that part of the perfornn-
snce Ia bv no means the only ele-
ment witch has bean given great AZ.
tention IN detaN You remamher or
course that p bahv Ia born - Ch"-
cho-San aftor hnr husband sails
back home. o. course u is Japan
ese-American infant and would nof
have the marked Oriental f""tur"s
Of A fu'J-hIooded Ianonese child. So
wc snent davs In fi"d'ng reel law
American bahv. WHICH w"s f'nanv
located through the effo"'s ~ the
Jpnarese who was engaged to suner-
intend all the properties and cos
tures
so rar as know tho Ia tho f'rst
time thnt this small role has ernr
hcen flnd hv IN "ctor who came
un 10 al, tho srocif'co tions ~ N"
story. And thouoh ! have hPnd'ed
NAVY smpll n" Mos ~ various r,otio,
ricturns. tho lI't'n chnn wns without
cxcontion the host behaved infant
have ever soon. We wPs - husv
r,a-vo,ing at the no'se and tn" huge
''rhts in tho studio that he nrobah hly
forgot to hc had-for he was too
Ecod tn he true.
"As w" did tho ecnrr T., which 7
r|~inistpr a scruhhirg 70 him. 7 near
" burst out Inuphino -s the thought
occurred tn me thn' n no were to soc
tfat rirtnre on two srrnn~ twenty
vcp~s f-o-, now. he would 10 the
maddcst man in tho world" G. NJ