The Washington herald., 1919-06-22
She Got Her First Chance
With William S. Hart in
The Disciple and After
That Fame Came Easy.

then established at the Great Ince-
willie ranch near Santa Monica, prob
ably the most romantic of all motion
picture encampments. 1t was here
that many of the famous William s.
Hart pictures were made, and its
great stretches of mountain and val
ley lands were peopled with cowboys,
Indians and Mexicans living accord
ing to their picturesque customs.
I refused to talk with anyone but
the man l had Travelled ACROSS the
country to see. Mr.. Ince, amused at
my insistence. and perhaps because
he thought ] might make good, at
length gave me an interview and cast
me in The Disciple" with William
s. Hart. 1t was a typical Hart pic
ture redolent of the Wild West. and
the character I was called upon to
portray was one entirely outside any
I had ever attempted on the speak
ing stage. I had many doubtful and
troubled moments during the making
of this picture. Everything was new
and puZzling.
Did this picture give me an imme-
diate boost to the top pinnacle of
cinema fame? 1t did not. After
had finished THE Disciple" I walked
into Mr.. Ince's Office and asked:
What am l to do next?"
Mr.. Ince looked at me, shook his
head, and said: 81 don't know. frank
ly. there is absolutely nothing for YOU
now. You said you wanted a chance
to prove what you could do before
the camera and ] gave you that
chance. Your future shows some
promise-but there is nothing more
Just now. Give me your telephone
number and when we need you we
will let you know"
Here l was. many miles from homo,
with a good job in the past and moth
ing in the immediate future. PerhaDs
some girls in my position would have
broken down and cried, but | lust
couldn't. / felt sure that Providence
was with me. So l smiled and said
pleasantly: Very well. I shall come
again tomorrow: perhaps something
will Unexpectedly develop" And
something did develop. The Jungle
Child" was ready for production-but
there was no Ince player OF just the
type the author had in mind.
l walked into Mr.. Ince's Office at
the psychological moment.
Miss Dalton" said Mr.. Ince. "I
am going to acast you in the lead.
want live performance. full
of color and action. know YOU
can act and on just how well YOU
act in this picture hangs your fu-
ture. If you get your smile and
personality across and give a per-
formance that is unique. you get a
contract-if you don't, l shall be
disappointed"
| listened. l not only listened but
remembered. and when the picture
came out the critics all said it was
a success. 1t settled my cinema
fate and gave me the coveted con-
tract and the opportunity to make
good as a screen actress.
After this followed a series of
photoplays in which / was given a
stellar role. including The Flame
of the Yukon" Then Mr.. Ince re-
signed from Triangle. This left me
wondering just what would be my
fate. for l was an Ince protege.
and realized that to Mr.. Ince's di-
rection and counsel was due much
of my success. But while | was
wondering Mr.. Ince affiliated with
Paramount and William S Hart.
Charles Ray. Enid Bennett and my
self later went with him.
1t was a great feather in my
cap to be elected one of the four
stars in the new Ince organiza-
tion. l trust my future efforts will
be worthy of this distinction.