Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-06
TWO-D0LLAR MOVIES
INVADE PHILADELPHIA
The Grihith-Ince-Sennett Fea-
lures Open a Redecorated
Chestnut Street Opera House
Rv the Photoplay Editor


rost night philadelphia saw a 50 pro-
ram Of feature photoplays for the first
,,rrs II was prepared for something un-
u,ual. and, with one exception, II got II.
e,nce the Triangle's inception every
,,ove Of the Grifiith-Ince-Sennett forces.
v,reraicd by II. e. Aitken. has been mas
,.y,v. from advertising campaigns to the
..deooration of theatres. Philadelphia
%. proof enough of their minute care
,.s, night in the refurblshng of the
chestnut street Opera House. Every
ming was a pleasant neutral gray. except
,be red of the seats. The seats. be 1t
,emarked, we're new and plump. and the
rows far enough apart to make passage
easier than in any other Philadelphia
,heatre. The ushers. though they dlsap-
nonted the audience over the LAiglon
business, had on an odd and pretty cos
,ume There was an excellent orchestra
behind gray hangings and a gray cur
tain effectively set of by the red and
green triangles.
Everything, up to the moment the lights
vent out and reels began to turn was
veil nigh perfect After that there was
inst one blemish on the evening-the Ince
t.ature. ''The Iron Strain" 1t proved TO
Ne nothing more than the most COMMON
mace of films, not at all the work Ince
has proved he can do by such dramas as
.aThe Battle of Gettysburg" and "The
Might Stage" It's story-Petruchio stun
on the order of 1.-THE Misleading Lady
hadn't a single appealing emotion to
make I'D for a plot without striking or
original incident. Excellent photography
and good ensemble hardly compensated
FOR this or for the heaviness Of Dustin
Farnum and the doll-baby triteness of
Enid Markey. Louise Glaum was the one
satisfaction.
The rest of the program retrieved a
had start. MY Valet" was all that a
keystone Comedy ought to be. The fact
that Raymond Hitchcock changed places
with his valet to avoid a prospective
hancee wasn't half so important as the
fact that Mack Sennett was the valet
and put the whole cast through some
typIcally Sennettian adventures. They
poured goldfish bowls into their hats,
got swept away by the SURF bumped each
other with golf bags, broke all the china
and ran into a few dozen trolleys and
automobilesS One particularly well-staged
and shaken to bits on a fast express.
Mabel Normand was quite her old self
The third and final feature had the
stamp of Griffith on 1t, though the pro-
gram honestly admitted w. Christy Ca
banne as the producer. 1t took Douglas
Fairbanks and his character, THE
Lamb out Of the revival of "The Hem
rietta" and showed them into some most
exciting battles with Yaqui Indians in
sw-bn A-4t..
original and vigorous gymnastics, such
as Jumping on an assailant from a house.
top. But Mr.. Grifith's part was the
battle on the cactus-tufted desert, with
Yaquis crawling through the underbrush
and Fairbanks pumping a machine gun
into them until the cavalry arrived.
Accidents will happen, and it's a fore
gone conclusion that future programs
will improve on THE Iron Strain" 1t
Is only to be hoped that they can keep
to the pace of my Valet" and "The
Lamb" That, plainly enough, is the
excellent intention of the creators Of
= 9 movies.
Makeup came off early, scripts were
folded up hurriedly and nearly the entire
acting force at the Lubin Plants at Betz-
wood Indiana avenue and Glenwood ave-
nue., ran over to the Broad Street Station
70 bid pleasant Journey" to Director
Edgar Lewis and his group of 16 when
they left for the Grand Canyon of
Arizona to begin work on the 'exteriors"
of The Great Divide"
special car was attached to the
through Chicago train and every detail for
ne comfort of the players was looked
after under instructions from Messrs.
elnghi and Lowry. Miss Clayton's state
room was bower of American beauty
roses While In Mr. House Peters room
was much of the Peters brand tobaccos
and an abC-dance of first aid tonic"
IN addition to Director Lewis, Miss
ylayton and Mr.. Peters, there was Mary
Moore, Marie Sterling. Warner p Rich
mono, HAYDEN Stevenson, Ray Chamber
laln and Ford Obeck, four camera men,
Two carpenters and a scenic artist.
Tne company expects TO b. gone about
uree weeks, then to return to Philadelphia
.. complete the interiors of the play
which Mr. Lewis says will ''be there,