New-York tribune., 1920-03-07
An interview with Doris Keane, whose
nAme ono Inevitable asaociatea With

An interview with Doris Keane, whose
name one inevitably associates with
Romance" might very properly devote
itself to a setting forth of the true in.
wardness of ono of the greatest per.
sonal triumphs Of dramatic history, II
it we're not felt that such would be an
undue emphasis Of the past, even with
Its triumphs. For the future must be
considered In dealing with Miss Keane
It so happened that the Tribune man
was Ill equipped with dramatic history
and mentioned In casual way the
two years run" Of "Romance" in Lon
don.
"But it was three years and half,''
corrected Miss Keene. "Americans can't
seem to grasp the true figures. should
b. doing it yet If my strength had per-
mitted. But imagine wearing a skirt
that weighed forty pounds, great
hoop-skirt, with steel hoops and huge
pads at the hips" She swept her hands
In Q deprecating gesture down her
slight figure.
"Three years and a half" she con-
tinued, "and I was never off stage
either, you see, for each act saw me
on the stage until the curtain fell. The
last year Of the run l kept up solely
for the soldiers in my audiences; I
felt that they were carrying something
back to France with them from the
play that l must not take away"
Miss Keane's hand came down to
the tea table before her, and a single
nnger drew mysterious semicircle.
That" she explained, "is the en-
trance of the Lyric .Theater in London"
her finger traced the curve of tho
semicircle--"and this Is the stage en-
trance. In between, here, runs the gal
lery and the pit below--there is the
audience, with soldiers sprinkled here
and there. Outside" her finger wan
dered far, "is a Gordon Of police to
keep the line Of people waiting for
tickets in order. Five thousand people
week easily, and run Of three and
half years"
The Interviewer, slightly perturbed
by the vision of a problem in higher
mathematics, quickly asked Miss Keane
II she did not already miss In acting
before tho camera the contact with her
Tremendously" came the answer
&c! played a part Of myself when !
played in Romance and every nI9ht
there seemed to be some message that
:! could give to the audience. There
IL q psychic bond between the actress
on the stage and her audience; how
ever, l believe that thoughts get across
on the screen as we'll as they do on the
stagei believe, COO, that it Is possible
for the magnetism of the actor or
actress to be felt through the screen. "
is the screen version of Romance
TO follow the stage play closely?"
1t was very well adapted for tho
t, screen as it was," replied Miss Keane.
"of course, some Of the dialogue IL
visualized, and there are points in tho
stage production that can't be pre-
sented on the screen. In the first act
OF the play, for instance, my face was
very serious at q certain point, but
when l spoke, 1t was with a laugh In
my voice. That Is impossible on the
screen. Then, too, II We were to prn-
sent the play complete, it would give
screen play Of some eleven hours'
length. But the point Is that the Aim
play must give the audience what the
stage play gave them, for the thou
sands of people that saw Romance on
Inc stage will quickly pass the deadly
unIavorabIe word along if the screen
pay departs too far from the play that
.ney saw. lnose who saw 1t are eager
to sec the film play; letters come to
me from England and Australia and
India. asking me when it 10 to be re-
leased, and these same people will be
as eager to criticize If what we nro-
duce Is not the Romance that thew
loved. '"eS
But ! feel very fortunate in having
Mr. Griffith to supervise the makine
OF this picture" She hesitated, With a
tone OF reservation. Gust one com
plant. had expected to 20 to Cali
tornia. l wanted so to 60 to Califor-
ma ma 70 make tho picture. When vari-
increasing amounts for Romance
had visions Of California. bnt NJ
Grifiith had just obtained his studio at
Mamaroneck, and there we have besn
1or six weeks, with the deep, deep
drifts around u.s." ~sSS
When will Romance be finished ,.
probably In six weeks we shall h.
through with the actual work of taxi
ing the picture, but it will be soma
little time after that before tn. ME-
ture 10 released" she answered "7hst
doesn't tell the whole story of ths
picture, for work wss really started
on 1t last November, when the work
OF adapting the play for the screen
was begun. It will be worth tho tins
spent upon it II it Is a success: and to
be success It must have enough time
and serious effort given to it. All the
SIX weeks past, naturally, haven't been
given to the actual photography. There
are long waits-when some ono re-
ports that something Il wrong With