Milford chronicle., 1919-09-12
A. II. WOODS PRESENTS FANNIE
WARD IN COMMON CLAY"
At the Palace Theatre Friday and Sat
urday, September 1918
FoREwORp

This seven-reel Pathe Special Fea-
ture is a screen version of Cleves Kin
kead's Harvard Prize Play which A..
H. Woods produced at the Republic
Theatre, New York, three years ago
and which ran at that theatre for a
solid year. The Metropolitan news
papers were loud in their praises Of
Common Clay, and the public swarm
ed nightly to the Republic Theatre
for fifty-two consecutive weeks. Com
mon Clay" was the big dramatic SEN
sation Of the 1915 season. The two
principal characters we're Jane Cowl
and John Mason, who both added
laurels to their fame thereby.
Now for the first time presented on
the screen, Common Clay" will make
an even greater appeal as a screen
play than it did on the speaking stage.
because 10,000000 motion picture fans
viii be clamoring to see this strong
drama of American life.
Common Clay" has already sufii-
cient public understandable year
in New York and three years at the
leading theatres throughout the cOun-
try. If any censor boards feel inclin-
ed to condemn the outspokenness and
frankness with which the social prob
lem and the double standard" are
discussed in this play, surely its
speaking stage record will suffice to
disarm any such criticisms. A drama
which ran a year on Broadway and
for three years throughout the coun-
try must possess merit in no uncom-
mon degree.
DESCRIPTION
Common Clay is a seven-reel (
Pathe Special Feature; presented by /
A. II. Woods, the famous American .
who produced the speak
ing stage version at the Republic
New York; starring Fannie
Ward; adapted for the screen by
Ouida Bergere from the play of the
same name, written by Cleves Kin
lead; directed by George Fitzmaurice;
Produced by the Astra Film Corpora
ion; and distributed by the Pathe Ex-
,hange, Inc.
THE STORY
Cleves Kinkead is said to have taken
IS the keynote of Common Clay" the
Iuotation from Kipling's poem which
eads:
For the Colone's lady and Judge
O'Grady
Are sisters under the skim
nd indeed through the course of the ,
rama this fact is readily apparent :
The opening subtitle of the film I
xplains the meaning of the plays
anne: Rich and poor cast in Gods n
mage from a single mold-fashiOned i
rom a common clay-and yet so far 4
part it seems the whole world lies
etween." 1t is the story of one of a
fe's waifs-little Ellen Neal, combin- l
ton saleswoman and errand girl at
tein's Department Store. Ellen lives
very drab surroundings at home, s
er earnings insufficient to crafty her 3
atural warnings for brightness and -
fe and gayety. One day Jennie Pc :,
RS, once a saleswoman at STEMS n
ut now a cabaret singer and dancer, F
ais to see Ellen and sympathizes 90
ith her sad lot, inducing Ellen to go 81
long with her to see a little life at il
ender's Joy Palace, which with its cl
ghts and laughter and music, where
ares float light as corks, is a gold
line for its owner, Jack Bender. i
Ellen is introduced to Bender and h
lie suggestion is made that he shall c
I've Ellen tryout as she possesses -
good voice, but it is all so new and r.
range that Ellen hesitates. At Ben in
er's they meet Arthur Coakley, a "
lded youth (slightly tarnished) who Il
'metimes strays from society"
CO