The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, February 16, 1924, CITY EDITION, Page 9, Image 9

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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"