The New York herald., 1921-04-10
Screen Shadows
ny FRANK vREELAND.

HE motion picture world, which
passed through the valley of
the shadow this winter when II
did not necessarily connote prosperity
to be known as a "mushin picture
actor, is beginning to feel the sap
running with the spring and is, taking
an interest in life again. In Los An
geies business is picking up and auto
mobile statesmen confidently await a
renewed curiosity about new models.
The Universal company, which was
probably the least affected by the
slump that began last fall, is grinding
out art again practically full blast.
with nineteen associated companies
exuding talent. Goldwyn has about a
dozen of it's own and affiliated COM
panies filtering life through the screen,
and as this is within two of capacity,
the silent drama is once more in a
position TO be heard from here. Fam
Gus Players-Lasky has ten companies
leaning on the payroll at its Western
studios, which means that their sec
tion of Hollywood has about all the
genius it can hold. Metro has eight
companies absorbing sunshine out of
possible twenty. with more to break
out soon Fox has eight companies
spreading his gospel with the studio
reaching the saturation point.
In the East the situation isn't quite
so rosy. though the industry is beginning
to pick up. for with Famous Players
hiring Don Marquis of the Sun Dial
and Christopher Morley of the Epening 9
Post Bowling Green to act as extras at
the preposterous figure of $40 a day.
with Marquis and Morley trying to regis
ter great emotional virtuosity, it's EVIL
dent the movie companies are feeling
emboldened once more to attempt any
thing, no matter how daring. Famous
has three companies of its own working
at the mammoth Long Island studio,
while three allied Realart organizations
are standing up 20 the camera in this
shop, which can house about eight COM
panies without having any stars natural
sweetness OF temper Jared by having
another star tread on the toes. 1t was
this studio which Famous was forced to
close during the winter and have It's
players confined to the Fifty-sixth street
studio finding >that the cost of heating
the huge plant for just one company was
greater than the rental of the Manhattan
hot bed of films.
At the Fox studios, which can accom-
| mediate as many as twenty companies,
though ten is the usual number discharg-
Ing emotions point blank at the lens. one
group of players is making the motions
of humanity just now. though four have
just finished work and four more are ex-
pected to come to a state of jell soon.
I Griffith is busy at his Mamaroneck
place, and Constance and Norma Tai
madge hardly have time to engage in
shopping sprees. Vitagraph Is still NOV
ing conservatively, rotating its crops by
letting only one of its three main COM
panies take on over a climax Mt time.
The Selznick studios at Fort Lee, n. j..
with two stars working, are given over
to normalcy.
Though the cinema field is thus COM
Ing back to an even balance again, 1t
| is not expected that the flamboyant
| boom times contemporaneous with the
war will make the films quite the gold
mine they used to be, and salaries OF
actors have dropped from their point
OF initiation, leaving a lot of poor lead
ing men at 500 a week turned into good
500 a week actors. The latter salary
was once considered beneath contempt
by any one moving in the charmed
circles above the extras, but 1t Is much
more apt to be the rule, since contempt
doesn't go far In filling the stomach.
II Is the general belief that the shak-
| ing down the movie business received
recently will crystalline the big organ
izations more strongly, while strewing
! the wrecks of small companies across
the map. With censorship on the way
in this and many other States. the wild
cat company will findgthe struggle for
existence very severe. for many of
them, organized to exploit one picture,
depended on the sexual appeal Of their
product masquerading as social hy-
giene," and with censorship In force
such themes will be buried in the mud
whence they came.
William c. Bullitt, the former attache
OF the Aemrican Peace Commission to
\ Paris and personal associate to Col.
i f. NJ. House, has now turned to organ
izing the movies for peace. He has be-
come an attache of Famous Players
Lasky but though he is associated
with Walter Wanger. retiring produc-
| ton manager for Famous, no expose
OF the film business is anticipated from
him. Instead he occupies an executive
/ post serving his artistic apprentice
ship, learning how to organize the de-
partment, how to construct film
story that will keep the wolf away from
film stars door and also how 70
maintain peace among those stars
/ a fellow official remarked that he un-
derstood Bullitt was led to enter the
movies by his experience among the
peacemakers at Paris, after mingling
with whom IL would be childPs play to
preserve concord and amity even in a
\ movie studio. The direct incentive came
4 through recent partnership with Har-
/ rison Rhodes, author and playwright.
with whom Bullitt. who has been news
\ paper correspondent. concocted play
/ In forty-eight hours, apparently still
4 being under the pressure of catching the
\ first edition. The play was Immediately
\ " accepted-by Sam II. Harris. accord
1 ing 10 report-though It has not yet been
brought to the point of wearing grease
paint. Probably after hearing of this
\ Sam Shipman will be spurred to hire
4 six stenographers and write play In
4 two hours.
There are all sorts of queer characters
writing scenarios, as any one can see
/ from some Of the substitutes for sleep
4 ing powders to be seen on the screen.
4 One Of these turned up at the office of
q producer a short time ago and sub
mitted TO him a story which was so
unique and extraordinary that the pro-
I ducer, who had done hard labor at all
\ forms OF dramatic manufacturing and
| knew a real bit OF theatrical grandeur
when he saw Il, nearly gibbered after
reading II over
/ When he had taken a grip on himself
the producer told the writer that In adj
dtlon to accepting the scenario he felt
such man was too rare bird to be al
lowed 70 fly away. and so he would pen
u ffsI.z