New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-09
PROXY SCENARIO
PROVED A BLESSING
How the Famous Players Made
The Eternal City" Film
i'm lt4lV.

4 stout gentleman q benevolent
aspect watched the unusual line that
coiled out from the ticket window OF
theatre IN Broadway yesterday. You
would hardly have suspected him of
being one Of those who market their
imaginations for q salary. Otherwise
put, he did not LOOK Ike rainbow
chaser
RAINBOW chaser, did you say?' OK
claimed this line watcher. 'Giant-ku-
ING Jack is 3 better way 20 designate
our troubles in getting the picture this
crowd is out 10 see. This part Is
rainbow, all right. But II all looked
more like a typhoon until that day
when. our task accomplished, We
stepped softly and swiftly out of Italy
lest authority No. 1923 should decide
al the eleventh hour TO conhScate our
films"
The speaker was Edwin s. Porter,
and he referred, Of course, to clvc
complications IN obtaining the Famous
PLAYERS film Company's superb photo
spectacle Of Hall Games THE Eternal
City" or Italian soil
1T is q book absolutely tabooed by
the Italian authorities continued MT.
Porter. They regard il as mischief
breeding propaGandIst fiction, striking
AT their faith and their ideals. II Is.
Of course. nothing Of the sort. Il -
Just a rattsuE good romance. Yet you
may be certain that when our amous
PLAYERS Company reached Rome we
kept mum about Hall Game and his
work. We told the authorities that We.
lust come over 10 get little ltaIlah
love story IN the proper setting lot the
Americans. who so loved everything
really Italian.
"'Charming.' replied the authorizes.
of course. the S.CuOr VIII wish 10
flo their complete scenario with us
that we may help them in every way we
Here was rub. My co-director,
Mr.. Ford. and myself did some OF the
hardest thinking we ever did: In Ten
DAYS time we had completed a rake
scenario that explained our soclahSLc
mob scenes and accounted for our I'D
eral need Of the Vatican and other lor-
hidden localities II was scenario IN
every respect the dramatic opposite OF
the one we meant 20 act before the
camera. II was Hall Game turned
wrong side out--Sorved with a pretty
love sauce la Bertha Clay. ~
How that faked-up scenario ola
prove a blessing, i was our refuge
our shelter in "a time a storm. Every
time a permit was W HNAaN ava 49,
-icuIar stubbornneSs we rushed back to
innermost headquarters, where they
kent our lovely scenario, and drew IRON
them tears Of sympathy at our hard
ships and our innocence.
You see. the. streetcar strike, prac-
tically a revolution. broke loose three
DAVIS after our arrival. Had Il been
known we were doing The Eternal
City' the police would then have been
after us so hard we wouldn't be BACK
IN America yet. How did we get those
.orialIstic mob scenes? We put them
Oft till the very last. Then, armed
with permit born Of our innocent
scenario. we hired our mob-the reat
tbing-ready waiting for US. one OF
our men made play-acting sociallSS'lc
speeches. Our mob took those speeches.
Seriously and gave US a fine perform,
ance. In fact, they warmed up so well
that we let no grass grow beneath Us Us
once those scenes were done. QuichIy.
we went away from there and out OF
italy. Italian authorities, you see are
mercurial and moody