New-York tribune., 1918-02-17
By Harriette Undcrhill


When Sam Rothapfcl was a little
hoy. say twenty-five years ago, We
know that he used to instigate all OF
The mutinies and always beat the head
Of the follow w-thc-leader games and
nick ont the site for the first snow
man of the season and try out the first
ice 10 see if it was ready to skate on
snd be the captain Of the baseball nine
and anything else that required cxccu-
tive ability. There is always in school
onc hoy who is tacitly the acknowl- =
edged leader, and Sam must have been
that boy, because when he was FIVE
years old he was merely an embryonic
s. L. Rothapfcl, the man who has done
such great things in the motion picture
world that he has whole continent
talking about him and man who is
going to do still greater.
And when Sam was in school he was
the little boy who became the recipient
Of tender messages from Ethel Jacobs
and Abbic Thompson, and he used to
sniff with only partially concealed con-
tempt and say, ooh, yes, like you all
right, but I haven't much time for
girls
Oh, wc know him now and we know
Just the sort he must have been from
the cradle up.
interviewing Samuel Rothapfel has
been done before. In fact, every one
does it nowadays. 1t is not difficult
thing TO do, for Mr.. Rothapfei is not
aversc to talking about himself, and
YOU don't have to worm it out of him,
either. In fact, he rather enjoys it,
and why shouldn't he?
But il Mr.. Rothapfel had known
what we had in our mind when we, with
apparent innocence, suggested an in
tervicw he would have refused on the
spot.
We didn't intend to find out what he
did, but why and how he did it. We
wanted to learn why he was a force,
and to determine il he did what he did
for love Of achievement or for love
Of glory. In fact, we wanted to in
teryiew him as a man and not as
manager.
Every one who reads the newspapers
knows all about how Samuel Rothapfcl
was hunting for a SIS a week job
few years ago, and of how he started
his first scent picture show in the
back of a barroom, and of how he
worked his way up until now he is the
most talked Of motion picture i'm
presario in the world.
Every one knows, too, that Sam
Hothapfel can get out and lead the
Rlalto orchestra-yes, lead, not follow
lt-when he cannot read note Of
music, and that he knows more about
lighting and color combinations and
their effect on the senses than most
any one else in the world, and that
he has hundred new ideas a minute.
not all of them practical, for the enter
tainments at his two 1--WE almost said
three, but that's secret) theatres.
AS we said, every one knows these
things about Sam Rothapfel, so if we
mad attended to write Just that We
coald have taken file of "The Tele- (
enph' or "The Times" or "The Re-
view" or "The Herald" or, in fact, we
could have closed our eyes and taken
down any file off the rack and turned
back few pages and found all of
'nese things printed therein. Not so
much because Mr.. Rothapfel likes to
talk about himself as because people
ike to have him do it. He is GOOD
copy.
but mark we'll the things which we
care about to divulgc regarding this
strange man. He cares nothing for
publicity! Now, you may not believe
'nat' but it is true. He is eager for
'0n'mendation and for appreciation. but
v"'y because he wishes to be assured
.as' nc has done that which is GOOD
lie tells the truth at all times. and be
wishes to have the truth told to him at
all costs. wv
:, "hen he talked with us he forgot
'us' ae was talking for publication
ana m only once did he speak speech
inns was when he said: "Thc motion
picture has done much more for music
'aah ever music could do for the mo-
'''n picture. The motion picture has
''ought music to the Masses" This
10 aii true, no doubt, but any some
n'shc have said it, and we were con-
ccrned with Sam Rothapfcl.
determined to find out where he got
MS flne artistry. his keen and perfect
sense OF the fitness of things. his
musical intuition, his detcstation or
''ngolsm, his dominating personality |