Omaha daily bee., 1918-12-08
CHINESE WAYS
Z
ON THE SCREEN
d
ISITIE'RE ready" announced
wv Pi5eitG5 ~ Sidney Sidney, "a 4:

TAG NcW OTk library studying
Chinese customs and several weeks
in vain attempts by himself and
finally the calling in the aid of three
Chinese experts had resulted in the
successful making of the necessary
scenes and costumes for Miss Tai
madge's latest story, The Forbid
den City," in which she is appearing
at the Strand theater this week.
For in the day and age of ad-
vanced ideas in film fans, the making
OF a Chinese play calls for more than
few pigtails, a couple of red dra-
gons and some chop sticks. Modern
n photoplays, to be successful, mean
Nthat every foot of the 5000 feet of
film must be built upon essential
facts.
China, so the experts declared, and
the directors found out, is the orig
inal land Of topsyturvydom. 1t is the
land where the bridegroom sees the
face of his bride only after he has
become entirely tied'to her; where a
man greets you by clasping his own
hands instead of yours; where he
shaves the front part Of his head and
grows a pigtail down his back;
where white is worn for mourning
and the head is covered as mark
of respect; where the left is the
place OF honor; where books are
read backward and their titles print
ed on the bottom OF the back cover;
where women wear trousers and the
! men skirts; where the women smoke
and the men use fans; where men
iAy kites and the boys look on;
where they talk of a place being
weytnorth and the wind in the east
softh.
Into this maze OF folklore and
labyrinth the queer customs Norma
Taimadge and her corps of direc-
tors plunged with their three
Chinese experts. 1t was the biggest
Job they had ever tackled, and meant
task little short of transplanting
old China and her queer customs to
the shores of our own United States.
George D. Wright. having comv
pleted assembling for the Educa-
tional Films corporation his "Mexi-
can Topicals," will return to Mexico
next month to put before the ad-
ministration the draft of a law for
the proper protection of American
film products in the country south
of the Rio Grande.
The Importance of this step may
be gagged from the fact that hlther..
to Mexico has been the customer OF
European film houses almost exclu-
sively or else of duping thieves who
stole the American product out
right. Mr.. Wright says:
The only American stars whoaare
at all well-known in Mexico are
Charley Chaplin and Pearl White,
tie former a film comedian of world
wide vogue and the latter because OF
( tae French Pathe, of which the
American Pathe is a branch, dis
tributes her releases. On the other
hand, the names and histories of
leading French and Italian stars are
known to all Mexican fans. The
reputation of the American films in |
Mexico has been ruined by the prac-
Mr.. Wright is carrying back
the draft of a law which will pro-
tect the legitimate exhibitor and
bring better films to Mexico at q
reasonable price.
Tom Moore, the first Goldwyn
star to move to the west coast, was
on the Santa FEES California limited.
For the firstfew days of the journey
the barber looked at him askance.
Obviously, something was worrying
him. Finally, when he could stand
It no longer, he approached Tom
and said: "Say, mister, if you haven't
got your razor with you, I'm the
barber. I don't want to be fresh
or anything, but l thought you
might want . shave" Moore did
want to be shaved, but, the wish was
as far as he got, for at the end Of
his journey he had the five days
growth of beard required for the
completion of his newest picture,
Go West, Young Man." Tom is
appearing this week at the Muse
theater in the second of the pictures
he has made at the head of his own
company Thirty a Week"
The $4,000 Wurlitzer Hope Jones
pipe organ, now being installed in
the Empress theater, is the master
work OF Robert Hope Jones, who
built organs in England as far back
as 1892. Among these are the great
organ in Worcester cathedral, War
wick Collegiate church, St. Georges
church. Hanover Square, London,
etc.
Robert Hope-Jones was born in
England and at the age Of Is
he was appointed organist and
choirmaster in his native town. He
was apprenticed to a well-known
firm Of engineers and shipbuilders,
and after a thorough practical train
ing in the various workshops and
drawing offices, was appointed chief
electrician to the National Tele-
phone company OF England. A num-
Der of his inventions, in connection
with telephony, are in universal use
today. Gradually his hobby, organs,
demanded so much of his atten-
ton that he eventually resigned his
position to devote the whole of his
time to the imp rovement of the Or
gan. It was in 1908 that he came
10 this country, and, after being
connected with two prominent or
go. h,;tdere FORMED the HoDe-
Jones Organ company OF Elmlra,
N. Y. This was in 1907 and in 1910
he transferred his business and pat
ents to the Rudolph Wurlitzer COM
pany and entered its employ in or
der that he might continue his work
unrestricted. Managers Ledoux and
lie Marquard of the Empress thea
ter expect to have the work of in
stallation completed by Christmas,
- Al H.