The New York herald., 1922-05-21
High Lights and
ShadOWS on NeWS
of Motion Pictures
Manuscripts Suitable fol
Translation in Films Get.
ting Scarcer.
by FRANK vREELAND.

Z Erenin0 Post. that will bear trans
plantation to the foreign soil of TIE
films. They are rather hard put TO it,
having, as Edgar Selwyn points out,
gorged themselves in six years on the
literary works that it required 500
!. years to concoct.
Maybe when further progress is made
in deciphering the brick libraries, of
Babylon more rick material for screen
stories will be literally dug up. But
in the meantime, as one of the indica-
tions that film entrepreneurs are
reaching the end of tie literary rope
in this country at least, Jesse L.
J-asky. FIRST vice president of the Fa-
nous Players-Lasky Corporation. has
gone abroad to ferret out the fictional
goods that Europe is boarding. Amer
lea is almost destitute-on the screen
and it is up to starving Europe to
turn around and help u.s.
Moreover, film companies are not
tapping the usual sources which have
generally been literary gushers for
Ethem. These have been play brokers,
! from whom producers have been pur-
! chasing plays which they figured We're
mamma from heaven, even at large
prices. But the brokers have been
raising their figures too high, and
quite often tke financial returns from
adapted plays have sunk too low.
Another interesting development in
A 10 M
taken TO making last decades movie
over for this years fashions. Maurice
Tourneur is to do 1.-The Christian" once
more for Goldwyn Jackie Coogan has
just completed "Oliver Twist" which
Miss Marie Doro did on the screen not
. so many years ago, and Famous Play
ers is revamping The Ghost Breaker"
starring Wallace Reid. which. with II.
B. Warner in the same role. was one
OF the first feature pictures that made
the public realize the movie houses were
more than places into which to send
troublesome children.
Nobody can tell just how violently
or mildly the public will react toward
= q picture. least of all those who produce
. them and who might be considered to
! be aware of the eternal verities of film
, values. Producers know just about as
much as politicians concerning the way
: the great American people will jump
, which doesn't prevent them. of course,
4. from assuming an omniscient expression
at a moments notice.
! Watch Your Step" may be considered
: the Clifford Pinchot among pictures. 1t
(. was literally applauded at its first
showing last Sunday and drew large
audiences thereafter who beamed over
! il as though attending Old Home Week.
Yet in the Goldwyn offices ii was looked
upon as sure miss fire. and the staff
was ready to fold up their hands in
despair over It.
Similarly. George Loane Tucker
thought he had only an ordinary pro-
gram picture in 1.-The Miracle Man of
blessed memory. and sold 1t for some
thing like $4,000. showing conclusively
that he needed miracle man to look
after his own business affairs.
The custom of striking during a mo-
tion. picture production is getting 10 be
a jolly old tradition which extras all
over the world are maintaining with true
international fraternal feeling. In Amer
lea IL has come to be the rule to take
the mob scenes last, so that the hordes
of supers cannot unduly delay the pro-
duction in midstrde by suddenly dis
covering that their art needs more con-
crete. negotiable recognition.
In Germany Ernest Lubitsch has told
how the atmosphere people" carefully
scan the financial pages of the papers
during the noon lunch hour in order to
see II the mark has gone up in terms
OF the dollar and determine whether
they ought to demand higher pay in the
afternoon.
Nero the William Fox production.
which comes to the Lyric tomorrow eve
t. .tat< lx..
the mark of suffering from extras in
= Rome. who abruptly felt that art was
= almost too great a burden for them
~ 10 bear-without a raise. Inasmuch as
25.000 supers were reported TO have been
engaged for the previous Fox spectacle,
= THE Queen of Sheba." II was but
natural that word should percolate
through from the publicity department
that $4,000 budding stars were used in
this. But the fingers falter at striking
such numbers on the typewriter-easier
figures should have been chosen.
However. that multitude of Italians
had enough tempera ment for $4,000
Angio-Saxons anyhow. The crowd of
potential BARRIERS. ditch diggers and
= opera singers decided they were artists.
So they struck. Believe IL or noe OF
wine loving Italians one strike was over
plain water II was very warm weather
during the shooting Of the Roman arena
scenes, and pals OF water were con-
stantly carried 10 che throng to keep
them from hanging out their tongues
and painting while the camera ground.
One day the bucket brigade suddenly
stopped. Those layers and layers Of
Italian temper suddenly took rire like
tinder. and more than water was re-
qured TO extinguish them
At another time they became con-
4, vinced II was high time more llra came
their way, apparently because there
. hadn't been a strike in some time. As
Z they were hired to be a Roman mob they
became most realistic one. They
y. chased Nero in his robes clear to his
- waiting automobile. II was gasoline that
saved the Roman Empire that day. And
as the foreign actor who pp.vcI Nero
looks Ike an exaggerated version of
William Farnum and was wearing the
Roman equivalent OF the parlor por-
there's, he must have looked like a whole
Roman legion in action when he ran
Probably IL he had tripped in b. robes
and fallen the Coliseum :, 1uid have been
stete- - IS foundations.
Incidentally. the picture Is said to
have cost si,000,000 TO produce. but the
Fox company Is keeping as quiet abou.
: the expense az II IL were a personal
matter Evidently announcements Of
million dollar movies" since some Of
: chem have turned out TO be million dol