The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, February 16, 1924, CITY EDITION, Page 9, Image 9
I EDDIE’S FRIENDS I’anninc thr Host 6EE-tJatstopp Ut UAO WAS - j x omlw dramK fooe f OR- PWfc. oP'tNA -V*T L WAS TOO PUMK POR J iuiomper \E 1 Et>t>\E. PONA'T VTMOUJ OF SO^E. PLACE. ? that's still /h OPEKl ) \JA(UA! ^ SA'P VT VvjAS A6EP I'M TV\E WOOD-'-IEl-l - UKAPEeT-AKE^ 7 foeUl^UEP L—i "WE WJOOP J\P tA^'DA v4AD 1 SON^H. ‘S&ISTZ.E& TO POT /M IT, VTJ VOOOODM'T WM^j , 1 BE-BKi SOf S BAD I '/»> > / L 1 j if FgATtmg Scwvtct. Iwe^—y BEHIND THE SCREEN By SAMVEL GOLDWYN V—J (Continued from Yesterday.) I have spoken of my disappoint ment when Blanche Sweet, another Griffith product, mado her first pic ture for the Lasky company. I was doomed to the same experience now with Mae Marsh. She, too, seemed Incapable of any notable achieve ment when removed from the galva nizing influence of Griffith. To be sure, her Goldwyn pictures were not failures, but comment on these pic tures usually failed of any feference to Mae Marsh. Take, for example. "Polly of the Circus," the first vehicle we provid ed for her. People spoke highly of the story, but Mae's work In it cre ated no flifrry of excitement. I was not, however, discouraged by this initial experience, for it often hap pens that the very story which you suppose exactly adapted to a per former’s personality fails to evolve her beat. So it was with unimpaired belief In her more sensational pos sibilities that I made preparations for “Tha Cinderella Man." These in cluded the engagement of George Loan Tucker, the celebrated director of "The Miracle Man.” Here again Mae failed to strike 12. For the comedy which brought Tom Moore’s acting Into such bold relief again evoked only lukewarm appreciation of lta star, Mae Marsh. I cannot say that Mae's presence In the studio was Invariably a sunny one. She had a habit of balking at something which the director sug gested, and the terms of her objec tion were always the same. "Oh,” ehe would say rather scorn fully, “that Isn’t at all what Mr. Griffith would do. He would do so and-so." N* Naturally such continued harping upon the one standard of artistic merit did not exactly enlist the eym pathy of the director thus reminded of his limitations. Friction marked all subsequent relations between the two. There was one type of service In the Goldwyn studios which did in spire her admiration. It was the thing removed from her own special sphere of activity. She always liked the director assigned to the other stars. She had a corresponding es teem for their stories. Right her* I wish to Introduce one of the thorny element* of any film producer's life. First of all. he buys at the advice of hie editorial staff some particular story. The purchase la made, of course, with some one star In mind. But when the story Is submitted to that star there is hardly a clianc* In a hundred that she will Ilk* It. Sometimes she may be convlnoed of its merlU. In other - ab* remeJns obdurate. Either termination Involves, of course, prec ious time and money. ' Mae Marsh was not. as I shall establish later, distinguished by her captlouenesa In this regard. But she was exceedingly able In the perform ance of rejecting scenarios. <1 don’t like thle—It doesn't suit me," she would report after reading something our editorial department had Just bought for her. We would then concede a new scenario, only to have it dismissed in the same arbi trary fashion. In this way weske went by, weeks during which of course her salary of more than several thousands was being regularly paid to her. Was It wonder that I began to feel uneasy as a man who sees toW meter Jump ing while his cab remains perfectly motionless? In the beginning of these remi niscences of mine I said that It was always the far horizon Which had haunted me. While I was with the I-asky company I had tried always to march In Its direction. Now that I was head of ths Ooldwyn company I was determined upon really catch ing up with It. Far from limiting myself to those who, like Mable Nor rnand and Mae Marsh, were repre sentative screen stare, I reached out toward the far lights of opera and the legitimate drama. To draw to the screen the most finished histri onic ability, the names of deepest Import In th# world of art—to this ambition may be traced the great disasters of my professional career. CHAPTER TEN. The Magic of Mary Garden. While I was still with the Lanky company I had been attracted hy the reputation of Mary Garden, the must consummate of "singing actresses" II borrow the phrase from that famous musical critic, H. T. Parker of Bos ton). and at the beginning of the war I wired our London representa tive to see her. She was then in Kcotland, where she was connected with a hospital for war relief and all efforts of our organisation to inter est hpr In pictures failed absolutely. She refused to leave h"r humnrita rlan work. When, however, two or lliree years after this she came to America to sing In opera. I was prompt to get In touch with her. My first talk with the celebrated artiste was *t her epsrtment at the ltitz. As she swept In upon me 1 lemember thinking that she looked even taller than she does on the stage. With her cleur blue eyes and her finely modeled features and her heroic mold, a real Valkyr! Not for one moment did ehe suggest any of those roles to which her exquisite art lends itself. Thais, Mellsande, I>oulse, I.e Jongleur—I thought of these and was bewildered. I had never realized before how completely the mind can transpose the entire meaning of a face. Here In her apartment away from the footlights Miss Garden's counte nance expressed a keen Intelligence directed toward the problems of the day. For a long time we talked about the war, and I was amazed at her grasp of every Industrial and econom ic phase of the conflict. Her wide range of Information, together with the vivid, forceful phrases In which she expressed It—these made It hard for me to realize that I was really talking to a prima donna, she who even in her business transactions is supposed to distil an atmosphere of feminine romance and caprice. If I bad heard Miss Gsrden that e\’en ing without knowing who it was I should have thought I was listening to some keen-witted, able woman Journalist. So engrossed were we both In the [impersonal that It was at least an [hour before I attacked the real pur pose of my call. When I finally broached the subject of pictures I told her, of course, how eager the Goldwyn company was for the honor of first presenting her on the screen. She responded to this tribute very graciously. There was quite evident ly not one moment’s doubt on her part that she could do pictures. Her only mlegivlng. frankly revealed, was that I might not pay her enough to Justify her In making them. I must say that for some time I, too, shared this misgiving. For the sum on which she stood Arm was $160,000 for 10 weeks’ work. However, a discussion of the mat ter with my associates, Edgar Sel wyn, Arthur Hopkins and Margaret Mayo, brought out the fact that they were all In favor of engaging her even at that sum. I took their ad vice, and. triumphantly conscious that I was taking Miss Garden from the numerous other film producers who had been competing for her services. I signed my name to the enormous contract. The news that Mary Gar den was at last to appear In pictures created a sensation throughout the country and, as the newspapers car ried the story In big type, ths Gold wyn company profited by an enviable publicity. Seeing ths Importance at tached to her appearance, I grew more and more hopeful that In the celebrated operatlo star 1 was going to offset the various Wardships attend ing my foundation of the Goldwyn company. Naturally It was •‘Thais." the most widely known of her operatlo roles, which suggested Itself as her first vehicle. This story, although uncopy righted In America, obligated the purchase of foreign rights, and 1 paid M. Anatole France, Its author, $10,000 for these. In so doing I felt sure that the French exhibitors alone would more than return my expendi ture. Just how little this belief was realized Is brought out by the conclu sion of this episode. No sooner had the actual produc tion of "Thais" begun than X was beset by grave fears. Miss Garden, feeling rightfully that her operatic presen tat lve of the role wAs authori tative. did not recognize the differ ence of medium Involved, and her first days on the set showed her, as the studio people expressed It, "act ing all over the place." That which waa art In opera was not art on the screen, where the secret of achieve ment Is emotional restraint. Watch Charlie Chaplin, the great exponent of motion picture art, and you will see that he gets his effects hy sug gesting rather than by presenting an emotion. Those days when we were produc ing "Thais'’ remain with ins hs among the most troubled of my his tory. Harassed by financial adjust ments and by production difficulties, assailed by complaints of scenarios and directors from my various stars, I now had this supreme anxiety re gardlng the outcome of my enormous Investment In Mary Garden. Indeed, I waa constantly called upon to me dlata between the singer and her director. The death of "Thais'’ was nlmost the death of Mary Garden. She had fought bitterly the scenario's depar tare from the original text here In this scene. She asserted that the screen version, presenting ns It (lid the triumph of Thais, the woman, over Thais, the saint, waa an Intol arable falsification. And she could. Indeed, hardly he persuaded to act In It at all. When she saw the rushes of this scene, which so violated her attlstlc conception, her rage nnd grief knew no bounds. "I knew It!'’ she crlod. "Oh, 1 knew It! Imagine me, the great Thais, dying like an acrobat!" A moment later she rushed from the projection room down to the of fice. Here she found Margaret Mayo. "Did you seo It?" she stormed to this woman- "Thnt terrible thing'' Did you ace the way they made me die? Imagine a saint (lying like that!” The actress looked her up and down and then she responded In n tone of studied Insolence, "You would have a hard time. Miss Garden, prov ing to any one that you were a saint." Some time later when I came up on the set I found MIbs Garden weep ing hysterically. "Oh.” said she, "that terrible woman! Have you heard what she Just Bald to me.” Miss Garden never forgave this gratuitous Insult. At last, after such stormy sessions. "Thais” was completed. The finished picture was not reassuring. But, even though I recognized Its short comings, 1 still hoped that Mary Gar den’s name would carry the produc tion to triumph. If It went over It meant a lift from the deep trough of the sea in which the Goldwyn com pany had been weltering. If it failed —but I did not dare allow myself to dwell upon this. With the full sense of that even ing's significance, I went to the open ing of "Thais” at the Strand theater In New York. A woman friend of mine went along and a» wo walked out of the theater her face told me everything. "Oh,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. ”1 Just hate to tell you—knowing how much It means to you—but—well, you can see for your self how they took It.” I had Indeed seen It—the heart breaking coldness with which that first New York audience had received the picture on which I had staked so much. Even then, however, I did not realize the enormity of the fail ure. I did this only when a day or so later telegrams began pouring in from ritles all over the country where "Thais” had appeared simultaneously with New York. These telegrams rendered, with few exceptions, the same verdict as the metropolis. Nor wars foreign countries mors enthu siastic. (Coatlnned In Monday Morning Boo.) Poverty Keeps Them Apart Dear Martha Allen: Two years ago, when 18, I met a man of S8. He was not wealthy, and our friendship con tinued for a year. Ha realized ha loved ma. We then had a talk, in which he said poverty and love would not harmonise, ao we parted. During last year I became engaged to an other man, who, In my parents' opinion, la a fine person. Last month I met the first man accidentally and discovered I couldn't continue with the other. The engagement wae broken, but that la all. The first man knowa I am free again, but still ha Insists It would be cowardly for hlni to make me suffer by going through hardships. Ie there anything a girl with a little pride can do to make him see things In a dif ferent light? JOT. The flret man appears to care for you tenderly and unselfishly. The devotion of euch a man la worth work ing and waiting for. ITnlesa he Is l&ay and doesn't want to make an earneat struggle, there Is no reason AOVRBTIHKMENY k THREE DAYS' G0U6H IS YOUR DANGER SIGNAL \ Chronic cougha and peralatent cold* laad to aerloua lung trouble. You can ■top them now with Creomulelon. an emulsified creoaote that Is pleasant to take. Creomulelon la a new medl cal discovery with twofold action; It soothes and heala the Inflamed mem brane and kill* the germ. Of all known druge. creoaota la recognlied by the medical fraternity as the greateat healing agency for the treatment of chronic cougha and colds and other forme of throat and lung troublea. Crenmulalon contatna. In addition to creoaote. other healing elements which aoothe and heal tha Inflamed membranea and atop the Irri tation and Inflammation, while the creosote goes on to the stomach, Ir absorbed Into the blood, attacks the Heat of the (rouble and deatroye the germs (bat lead to consumption. Creomulelon la guaranteed eetlsfec tory In the treatment of chronic cougha and colds, bronchial aHthrna, catarrhal bronchitis and other forme of throat and lung dlaeasra, and Is excellent for building up the system after t.-olds or the flu. Money re funded If any cough or cold, no mat ter of how long standing, Is not re lleved after inking according to rtl rectlons Ask yoor druggist. Creo uiulalon C-'o . Atlanta, Ud. why his present financial condition need l># anything but temporary. Make him understand that you believe In him and his future, and try to in spire him with faith In himself. Thousands of young couples have started life's journey together with nothing but their love and hope. If this man has a good mind and is in dustrious >ou should be able to build well and happily together. Tact and honest devotion with out too rtiuch stress on that fatal thing, priae, \yill convince him that you see his future promise and are proud to wait and work toward It with him. You are both so young that It is logical to believe a few years of waiting will be rewarded. But your task in as difficult in a way aa liin. Inspire him with your faith In him. That is no easy thing to do, but you can do it. Betty .leant If you place a stamp upside down on a letter it means I love you; place It elanting and it means I need you; place It on the left corner, I hate you; and In the middle of the letter, i am mad at you. 1 would discourage you. however, tn fdaclng a stamp anywhere hut In the right place, the upper right-hand cor ner. It is only fair to postal em ployes for you to he correct in this matter. HFN: Few women are wearing white gloves except in the evening, and even then they are not neceseary or popular. Hands should lie gloved on the street, but lit a dance or thea» ter they are no longer a atrlct social requirement. Mary Mr.: I would advise you t > see an attorney as soon a* possible. If you have reason for divorce the law In just and should. I think, take care of your Interests. Pee Want Ads Produce Results. $6.50 Basket Ball Sets, complete with two goals and ball at $3.49 $39.50 Bicycle*, with front and back mudguard* and coaster brake, $27.00 Buy on Our t Club Plan A dvance Spring Showing of Men's Suits Stein-Bloch Suits, at . Styleplus $ A A I 2 pant suits Throughout the country today men are adopting the “Dress Up” idea. Most men realize that many chances for advance ment depend a great deal upon personal appearances. In keeping with the “Dress Up” slogan we have assembled for this early spring showing a remarkable selection of styles and fabrics that are recognized as new and correct. # • Styles are turning to the loosely draped, easy wearing. Eng lish model in two and three-button coats. We have con servative and semi-conservative single and double-breasted models in imported or domestic woolens, patterns that are authentic for Spring 1924. A Splendid Assortment of New Spring Top Coats Main Floor Continuing Saturday Men's O'coats Values to ^ 75 moo X CJL Our policy of selling this season’s merchandise this season enables us to offer our remaining stock of Overcoats at this low price. Ulsters and Ulsterettes Full or Half Belted Single or Double Breasted Box Back Models Plain or Fancg Mixtures Mala Floor 1800 Men's Shirts Exceptional Bargains—On Sale at Many Patterns Sizes 14lA to 17 w Saturday we are going to pre sent to the men of Omaha one of the best shirt buying op portunities offered in a long long time. 1,800 shirts — all good patterns, good col ors, good workman ship and assured good values. Style* Nackhaad and collar attackad. Material* Madraa, Poplin, Ax ford Cloth, Parcaloa and Othora. Colors Plain colora, atripaa, Chacka. Main Flaw Clearance of Broken Lots of Men’s Shoes and Oxfords , 00 Values to $8.50 t A final clearance of broken lines in our re maining stock of fall and winter shoes and oxfords. Every one with Goodyear welt soles and rubber heels. All sixes are represented. THE SHOES Black or tan calf shoos with French toe. Brown calf, straight last shoes. Toney red calf shoes with French toe. Black or tan viei kid shoes. Business men's last. THE OXFORDS Black calf oxford* with French toes. Tan calf oxfords with medium round toe. Patent leather oxfords with French toe. Toney red calf oxfords. Mein Fleer Super-Value Giving Sale of Boys* Blouses 69ceach L $1.95 A special purchase of 600 boys’ blouses enables us to offer them at this low price in time to supply your boy’a spring needs. Made with button down or plain collars. Sizes 4 to 14. Boys’ Two Pants Knicker Suits $8.95 Knlrker suit* of all-wool materials in tweeds, heather mixtures, stripes, checks and blue serge. Made with patch pockets, full belt and plain or belted backs. Ages fi to 18 years. Boys’ Sweaters $1.95 Sweater* in cotton and wool mixtures, made in sllp-over and coat style*. Also Jersey sport coat* in a Rood assort ment of all the wanted color*. Sites 4 to 14 year*. Third Moor w# Clearance of ! Men’s Hats Mallory, Crofut Knapp, Stetson =* ,$095 Value* to $10 00 Thr remainder of our stock of fall and winter hats. Every one of excellent quality and jn perfect condition. Brushed and plain felt hats, many of which rre ideal for present and early »pring wear. Main } leer “One of America's Great Stores"