The Washington times., 1915-07-01
THE BEST
Photoplay Department IN
WASHINGTON
Youngsters WhoHdve
Become Well Known
as Actors in
Photopldys

One Of the directions in which tho
photoplay has been making rapid
strides during tho past year or SO
Is In the production of plays In
which children are tho actors and
In developing. little girls and boys
into very capable actresses and
actors for use in films with grown
ups.
On tho stage tho average child
actor Is either a very self-conscious
individual or a bit too sophisticated
to be real childish. They do not
seem to be able to make that happy
medium of real juvenile innocence
and naturalness that lies between a
total lack Of assurance and entirely
too t.I, much Of 1t; w, This shi subject is in, IN,
now because. Of the production OF
that essentially children's play, The
Blue Bird" by the Poll Players. with
two unusually capable children like
Mary and Doris Eator. IN the lead
ance OF Mary Miles Minter at Gran
dali 8 in Always in the Way"
1E the photoplay there have been
developed several very capable act
ors and actresses who boast Of very
learned that children have as many
different specialties In acting as
grown people. Heretofore It has
been thought that O child could take
any sort Of child's part. But now
it is known that there are children
who are good heroes and heroines.
character actors, adventuresses, VII
iains.. ETC.. and their limitations as
to other roles are just as carefully
marked as Is the case OF artists OF
mature years.
This was learned when the first film
Of purely child's play which gained
circulation was pu: on some two or
three years ago by the Lubin COM
pany. There was q series Of films
with child actors and the dramas
that were enacted were. In the main.
duplicates of the kinds that were be-
inE shown by grown-ups. Most Of
them were Western plays, with cow
boys and Indians, etc. The children
soon adapted themselves to the work.
and the films created much comment.
Shortly after this the Universal
with little Bobby Jacobs as the hero.
This little lad. only Ave years old.
played the most serious sort of
society" plays, in which he pro-
tected innocent girlhood from the
Vaccinations of the stealthy villain
tns, tSst n,svs as the Srown people did In
were very popular. and there was
quite a series OF them.
In the American company there
was developed q child star in tho
person Of little Cathy Fischer. the
seven-year-old niece of Marguerite
Fischer. Cathy played any sort Of a
child's part that was needed In the
film She managed to get away with
either readily.
In the East there has been a very
famous child actress for some years
who has become known as the
"Thanhouser Kid" The Than
houser Kids" real name 10 Helen
Badgely and she has done some
very important bits of acting for
the Thanhouser company, Helen Is
a pretty, blue eyed, golden haired
cherub, having grown up on the
film, literally. a,
In the same company with Helen
will be found the Fairbanks twins,
Marion and Madeline. These two
young ladies will soon be wearing
long frocks and doing up their
hair. They have just attained star
dom in a drama with grown-up
actors and actresses. THE Flying
Twins" which Is to be shown at
the Strand in this city Saturday.
At the Vitagraph studios there
will be found two rather excep-
tional children in Bobby Connolly