The New York herald., 1921-10-16
High Lights and
Shadows in Mems
of Screen Drama
Revival Of Movie Business
Shown in Activities Of Small
Independent Companies.
ny FRANK vnrELAxp.

full cry again. In the last two weeks
there has been as stirring an accelera-
ton In the industry as when a fiivver
is stepped on and has its feelings hurt.
This has been due to the sudden lrrup-
ton into the field OF small independent
companies who were once regarded
as undesirable aliens but who now are
regarded as the sayiors Of the film
fans who might otherwise have been
compelled to stay home at night and
try to get acquainted with their fam
flies.
The change In the complexion OF
the cinema situation has come about
with the suddenness and peculiar
twist of ride in n municipal bus
When the slump In the movie market
came the big companies. through diff
Guilty in financing and through de-
sire to concentrate on new nostrum
labelled fewer and better pictures"
curtailed on the production of films
until many players and directors were
thrown out of work and wondered
what was to become of the country.
Meanwhile, the exhibitors, who had
helped to bring about this reduction by
refusing to pay the high rentals demand
ed for showing girls running rampant on
the screen, had to keep pouring out life
on their silver sheets. The maintenance
of the Justly famed American good hu-
NOR demanded It. Hdre Is where the in
dependent companies began swarming
To remove the large aching void that
threatened to drive the country back
to the almanac for entertainment.
In the last few months about fifteen
small organization havo sprii-g to
arms almost overnight In the East, and
as many more are beginning to chase
art around the lot out West. Actors are
being employed again. though at con-
s.derably atrophied salaries. and diroc-
tors feel free to indulge a taste for fancy
vests once more. Continuity and sub
title writer's have been besieged with
more offers to do work than they could
readily handle with their duty to the
world series to be fulfilled.
Some of the organizers Of these COM
panies have had experience In the dis
semination OF charm preserved in gela-
tine. but others are hopefully ignorant
and. therefore, not inclined TO worry.
Word has been passed around among
them that there's money In the movie
business. But they don't intend to throw
away much of their own money In 1t,
for they have small organizations and
aim to spend only $4,000 on each pic
ture-a mere rag In the wind In these
days OF 100000 pictures--and they
mean to spread that amount pretty thin.
But they are keeping the film theatres
comfortable In the region of their weekly
programmes at reasonable rates. and
they nre bringing the cinema trade back
a. ~ ux1,x ao~ xvh N
large companies and numerous small
concerns scurried around the map with
llttl but optimism and q camera
Plans also are being laid to bring pro-
duction on large scale out Of its coma.
and among the early signs of next spring
may be noted announcements from Inn
portant companies that 'the turn OF the
tide has now come and the sap is run
ming more strongly than ever In the
movie business" Famout Players-Lasky
is contemplating throwing open Its huge
Long Island City studio to the mus
tachioed wiles of the villain - May.
after relegating II to the hollow glory
possessed by saloons for almost year.
Some OF the office and mechanical staffs
are still haunting the building. and
lone company has occasionally shuffled
about in hushed way amid the echoing
silences, but the high cost OF Keeping IT
heated has held II In. the awesome isola-
tion of a monument. ne old Famous
players studio In West Fifty-slxth street |
has been still kept on the rack OF riot |
GUS emotions. however.
BY spring d. w. Griffith probably will |
have embarked on new adventure in |
pastels. for THE Two Or |
phans," his latest work. probably will |
be on tho market and drawing gallons OF
tesrs by then. The Misses Lillian end |
Dorothy Gish and Joseph Schildkraut
have been working long hours on the
picture at the Mamsroneck studio. and 1t
is expected that around Christmas they |
will be ready to suffer In silence on any !
screen.
The reason has just leaked out why
Griffith, with all his love OF the spec
tacular. should come to grips with The
Two Orphans In the studio. He is
amalgamating II with the French Revo-
luton. The original play was not pre-
cIseiy Of this day and generation. though
Il was close to the edge. and bearing
as It does on the profligacy Of the
French nobility, Il lends itself very
readily to being dragged into that '-,elee.
And then OF course there's always the
"Marseillaise" to aid In stimulating an
AUDIENCES enthusiasm In the musical
accompaniment to the picture.
SO Griffith has been drawing on the
populace OF Westchester heavily to put
the French Revolution over with bang
and calling upon the staid and home
loving residents Of that county to as
sumo the ferocity Of q Partisan mob and
forget their respectability.
Another "cut-back'' to the ante-bellum
days OF the movies, when split reels we're
in vogue, showing the life OF an art. the
latest pictures OF one Of those fascinat-
ing automobiles attaining sixty miles an
hour. and the working day OF YAM
pire. Is contained in the announcement
that Nine. Nazimova has begun work
on her first pulsations for United
Artists. and that II will be double bill.
in which Oscar wilde's "salome'' and
Ibsens "A Dolls House" will be nnti-
dotes for each other.
In connection with Nine. Olga
Petrova's recurrence in the spoken
drama, which happened last week mt
Columbus. Ohio. a story is floating along
the Broadway stream concerning the
way In which she cast the movies from
her. After finishing her last picture
which Nine. Petrova didn't know at the
time would be her fnal futter--she gave
a dinner for large number OF exhibit
ors. who include men who are often
more polished at turning a schnorrer out
OF doors than turning a phrase. When
everything had been going most har-