Evening star., 1925-08-16

every Summer. The natives call 1t
Americas Oberammergau. 1t is
splendidly staged, though not on the
lavish scale OF the original Passion
Play" near Munish. The natives (real
and adopted) are almost as proud of
the pilgrimage Play" as they are of
the concerts in Hollywood Bowl, for
play and music alike symbolic the
new Los Angeles. When the city's
immense public library, now springing
into existence, is built it is evident
that the community will dedicate itself
with intensive energy to finer arts
than money making. Money making
in Los Angeles cannot help going on.
1t is indigenous to the soil, like or
anges, or the climate. but 1t will go
hand-in-hand, as never before, with
higher ideals.
The movies are still very much in
the Los Angeles picture. as 1t were,
even though they've had to make
way for the older sister art of music.
Hollywood Is no longer big enough
for the sprawling studio plants of
the big producing concerns. Another
movie community, called Culver City,
has grown up alongside of 1t during
the past two or three years. and
SOlI1S G2y may De the lllpOE-
tant of the two. Four-flft of all the
motion pictures made annually In the
United States are manufactured in
Los Angeles (Which includes Holly
wood and Culver City,. The studios
have a pay roll of nearly S1,500,000
week, and the films there produced
are sold throughout the country for
S750,OoO,0O0 year. A fiea-bit of
another SS.000.00o represents annual
sales of Los Angeles movies to for
elgn countries. Celebrated concerns
like the Universal, United Artists. De
Mile, Famous-Lasky Players, Metro
Go!dwyn- Mayer. Harold Lloyd and
Charlie Chaplin organizations main
tain plants which in acreage compare
not unfavorably with the biggest in
dustrial establishments in the East.
No Shocks to Be Found.
came to Hollywood to be shocked
and remained to be disfilusioned. II
is about as wild as a Sunday school
picnic, and hardly that. There is no
harder working, or more serious.
minded, or more business-like COM
munity anywhere in the world than
the motion picture colony in Los
Angeles. I saw 1t by day and by
night. No Main street in the United
States is less frivolous. Working
hours are long and arduous, and the
film stars of all magnttudes-from the
Fairbankses and Pickfords, who are
on the top rung, down to the
humblest extras" employed in mob
SCeneS-are an early to-bed fraternity
Many days a week they're sent far
afield 'on location" in order that a
picture may be shot" on mountain
side, or on seashore, or in a forest
glen. The movie people are about as
fit for carousing after an average day
or week of normal life in the studios
or "on location" as brainworkers or
manual laborers anywhere are. That
means they're not fit for it at all.
Those who go in for it are the ex-
ception and not the rule.
"Roughnecks" Going.
AS far as the higher-ups in the
movie world can control 1t, the
''roughnecks" and wild party hounds
of both sexes are being weeded out OF
the, profession. Nowhere on Holly
wood boulevard or Sunset boulevard,
the great movie highways. did I see
a tenth as many so-caued bright
lights cleaning as can be counted on
the main street of any midwest town
of 50,000 The stars of tilmdom live
IN luxurious but quiet homes in Los
Angeles or in Hollywood
Until they took part, on July 81, IN
=. great procession designed to usher
n Greater Movie Season." with VIII
iayS riding in the front car with
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pick
tord, the great knights and ladies of
Lhe screen, whose names are house
hold words, are seldom seen in puplic-
they have come TO look upon them
selves as the responsible leaders of
great profession, and are conporting
themselves accordingly.
There's an atmosphere OF fortune
and prosperity about Hollywood that
;taggers the imagination. You hear
about the $4,000, $4,000 and $4,000
weekly incomes that this star, that
director, commands, and are left gasp
ing. Even the publicity agents OF the
larger motion picture concerns receive
pay that dwarfS the salary OF a cab
net officer, while President Coolidge S
income of 100000 is. OF course, the
.Ilerest bagatelle measured by the an
nual earnings of Harold Lloyd or
Jackie Coogan. Jackie's mount to
fame and fortune has caused Aneri-
can youth OF the tenderer years to
stream to Los Angeles, or rather to
be led to Hollywood in droves. by
their mothers apron strings. Today
nearly a thousand kiddies, aged any
where from to IA. are regularly en-
pIoyed In the movies
Young Stars Go to School.
The State laws require Hollywood
TO maintain public schools for these
Youngsters, and at every one Of the
important studios there are classes
and teachers for them. One may rea-
sonably doubt whether the original
three Rs have much of a chance IN
so mammoth a make-believe at
1l,1-1 1E r11 t,tyr
a serious attempt is made to ladle out
some elementary education to the
talented tots who earn anywhere from
SIS to $3.50 a week apiece.
Two of my cicerones at Hollywood
were q pair of beautiful children
Jack and Maurice Murphy, Seattle
boys, whose faces and names became
nationally celebrated through their
acting In the Peter Pan" film The
sons of a Washington State lawyer,
the Murphy lads broke into the
movies wholly by accident. They were
swimming on one of the Los Angeles
beaches year or two ago, when
director, in search of Juvenile talent,
spied them. He liked their agility and
their looks, and when he learned that
Jack and Maurice, in addition to be-
ing fine swimmers, were all-around
athletes, including the ability to ride
horses. they were signed up with
out delay. Jack is 13, Maurice g.
Maurice is an accomplished pianist.
and can write. He hasn't made up his
mind whether he'll stay in the
movies, be a concert artist, or become
a newspaper man. At present both
of the boys are ION location" with
fancy contracts for indefinitely long
engagements at their disposal. The
experts hope the. Murphy kiddies will
decide to continue to adorn the pro-
fession in which they have made so