Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1923-08-24
THEATERS
WEIR


Never in the history Of the motion
picture industry has production
been accorded such unstinted praise
at the hands of critics from coast to
coast as was "Merry-Go- Round" the
Universal Super-Jewel which is book
ed for the Weir theater here on Mon
day, August %. Especially interest
ing was the approval of the princi-
pals and featured members Of the cast
and of the dictatorship. 1t proved
revelation alike to the industry and
to the theater-goers. Some of the
unusual points in connection with
this picture are:
The discovery of a new star-Mary
Philbin. who only few short years
ago was a Chicago high school girl
Some one entered her In a beauty
contest run by the Hearst newspapers
and when It was over she was found
to be second choice. Carl Laemmle
president of the Universal Pictures
corporation. saw her photograph and
arranged a screen test, which she
passed satisfactorily. The dainty lit
tie miss was then started on a severe
courae of training in small parts.
! gradually increasing in Importance
until finally she was deemed ready
for starring honors.
She began work in the Merry Co
RoundF with the best wishes and
confidence of the entire studios, but
even her most sanguine admirers
were unprepared for the exceptions
portrayal she gives in the pathetic
role of a little organ grinder on the
Prater, the Coney Island OF Vienna.
In selecting the artists the casting
director spent many weeks in going
over lists of available players in or
der to get types that were true to
life. For the principal male role,
that of an Austrian army officer. the
part OF the nobility, Norman Kerry
was selected. He brings to the part
of the vain and foppish soldier all OF
the consummate ability that has
made his portrayals of other parts
stand forth as masterpieces OF act
ing. Cesare Gravina, George Sieg-
mann, George Hackathorne, Dale Full
err, Anton Vaverka, Maude George
Dorothy Wallace are among other o
the well-known players in featured
roles.
Nine months were required for the
building of the sets, rehearsals and
actual shooting, and more than one
thousand extras were engaged during
/ nh ~ hot id In
order that each detail Of the picture
would be absolutely true to life as II
was lived in Vienna during the festive
days just preceding the world war,
Director Rupert Julian sent a staff of
specialists to that city to take photo
graphs and obtain data on the city
shown in the film. The most note
worthy set in the picture, and one
of the greatest pieces Of engineer
ing work ever done in connection
with the production of the picture,
was the reproduction at Universal
City of the Prater. So marvellous
was the likeness that many Of the
visitors at the film capitol who had
visited the original, stated that they
easily could imagine that they were
in Vienna once more.
Another unusual happening was the
importation of the gold trimmed car
rage and harness formerly used by
King Charles of Austria, and also
of the army officers uniforms. In
order to obtain these it was necessary
for Universal to file a bond with the
Austrian government and also take
out insurance policy from Lloyds at
London.