New-York tribune., 1920-02-29
Bv Edwin II. Blanchard

Il ell started with . suggestion FOR
Joint interview with Lillian and
Dorothy Gish; the sort of interview.
you know, that starts with interviewer
being ushered into the room of the
helpless victims and that goes on to
revel in the color of domesticity and
thumbnail sketches, with little pro-
fles thrown In artistically.
In this case tho interview, far from
being q joint one, ran some danger of
being disjointed before it was COM
pleted, and in place Of the aura of
domssticity that had been planned
there must DO offered local color that
is compounded of the Pennsylvania
Station, the Grand Central Terminal
and an hours ride to Mamaroneck. For
the first time the true significance Of
the words, Moving picture star" came
to this reviewer, for his tale was gath
cred after the manner of one who
would board tho stern of an express
comet with questions for the skipper.
The climate was at the bottom Of
it all, for that mysterious law of ma
ture which gives sun to the Southland
while it makes Northerners plow
thy, the younger Of the sisters, should
be ieaving for Charleston, S. c.. to
Shoot some exteriors in her present
picture, while her sister Lillian was
to be at the studio at Mamaroneck film
ing the screen version of Way Down
East" in the appropriate settings of
Westchester County. The call Of the
South gave the Tribune man only
few minutes at the Pennsylvania Sta
opportunity to use the eternal ques-
tion mark; and a part of that little
time was surrendered to that cousin
german of the interviewer--the pho
tographer who persuaded the re-
luctant Dorothy to pose before the
train gates with her mother, her com
panion on the trip to the South.
She stood there, hugging her gray
squirrel coat to her with a ghost Of
smile on her lips and ill-concealed
boredom in her eyes, and when the
photographer had clicked his last click
and the time for questions came she
must first voice her distaste for posing.
II hate to be photographed like this"
she said, "and have every one crowd
around and say. 'Oh. that's a movie
actress or That's Dorothy Gish.'"
A soothing question was attempted,
one which would reveal to US the true in
wardness of the recent picture in which
Lillian directed her sister Dorothy, and
from Dorothy came praise for her sis
ter's work and an expressed hope that
have" would have as good success
with the public as they believed it was
entitled to. From Lillian. she added,
could be CLEANED some of the more in
innate details of the work-and some
of the trials of the director. With
that information there was bustling
here and there in the crowd around the
train gates, and the girl in the gray
squirrel coat was on her way to sun
flooded "exterors" in South Carolina.
The pursuit of the full story led next
there were a third star in the Gish
family the wanderlust of the inter
viewer would have probably meant the
hinging of questions to her at the
Lackawanna station-Or even the Erie.
But to return to the Grand Central:
On the train that was taking her to
the studio in Mamaroneck Lillian Gish
told Of her first experience as a di-
rector with just q shade of ruefulness
in her words at the trials that had !
been hers.
AS a fancy Of some years standing,
or. in her own words, ito satisfy her
David Wark Griffith that she should
direct Dorothy in a picture. At first
Mr.. Griffith did not take kindly to
the idea, but when he had been SOL
emnly assured by Dorothy that she
would work for her sister just as for
any other director he gave his consent
and the picture was begun.
Directing is a mans job" declared
Lillian, with reminiscent gaze out the
car window, 'work for vigorous, i'm
aginative man. Before l tried it Won
dered why Mrs. Lois Weber used to go
to the hospital to recuperatc between
pictures. And l used to wonder why
80 many directors go mad.
ut is strenuous-so much more