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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1916)
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page SocietfMoi V- f if V i ' i' v;?. to:,;-; , t - f .. v? -: w - i,. Ov Every Actor and Actress Selected from the Social Register at the Palm Beach Fashionable Photo Play But the Reels Were to Be Destroyed After One Performance Mr- Brinton Buckwolter Dancing with Misa Rosamond Lancaster at the "Engagement Diinner" in the Society Photoplay. THE cllmsx of the social season at ralm Beach, Florida, was the charming motion picture presenta tion of "The Island ot Happiness." The csst of this Interesting film was made up entirely of well known member of fash ionable New York society. The admission was 15.00 seat, and It wss worth the price. . After this single exhibition, It was said thst the reels were to be destroyed. This seems a great pity, for here at lest would be a great educational oppor tunity. In these films were real social leaders, genuine heiresses and multi-mill-lonalres, actual society buds and young society mstrons, real society clothes, with real society manners. Here were to be seen actual photo graphic visions of Just how. men and women of the innermost circles of fash ionable society walk, dsnce, munch sand wiches, balance a cup of tea, shake hands, lift their hats, put their hands In their pockets or behind their backs. swing a cane, smile, bow, rlsw from a chair, and the thoussnd and on things which are a mystery to the average American boy and girl. Fashionable society, of course, lives la a world apart. Ward McAllister asserted that there were only 400 properly accred ited names in the elite of New York, and , he catalogued the list. And among these 400 It Is impossible to find the name ot any actor or actress or novelist or play wright. In the moving picture reels whkh are. open to the. general public, real million aires," real heiresses, real drawing room scenes, are never shown. The actors and actressce who Imitate t ies people make tbelr best guesses at what really goes on in the world they never behold. On the legltlmste stage and in the mewing pic ture realm, the leading men and leading vomen are often farmers' sons and daugh ters, with no closer knowledge ot fash ionable society than they acquire from novels or playwrights', who themselves, for the most part, have never been within the sacred circle. But in the delightful scenes of these unique Palm Beach reels, all the actors and actresses and all the stage settings were genuine. The "leading lady" or heroine of the photo-play was Mrs. Uurnee fastis?? r J ' - l-' V V'-'' - b- A u , w. .s -r . fy - ' : , -a "VV-; & -,v ,v: OsV ' ' Photo- By NXJ , -. C0OTMM. iV. Mrs. VK yy Gurna Munn, th. Haroine, and and Mr. Roger Hill, tha Villain, Having Lunch on Deiart liland Before She Realties Ha Has Stolen Har. Munn, the charm ing granddaugh ter of JohnWana maker, one ot the best ' known ot the younger so cial set, ot New York, Thiladel. phla, Washington Palm Beach. Before her marriage, last June, to Ournee Munn she was Miss Marie Ixtuise Wana maker, of Philadelphia, daughter of Rodman Wanamaker. Her wed ding In St Mark's Church, Philadelphia, was"one of the most bril liant In the society annals of that city. At the request of her aunt, Mrs. Barclay H. Warburton, the bride consented to the presence of moving picture operators with their cameras, the films becoming the property of her family. Very different from this Initiation, was ber recent experience before the camera at Talm Beach. As heroine of "The Isl and ot Happiness" she was called upon to assume the role of an heiress for whom a hero and a villain fight. The hero was James R. Hyde, and the villain (his rival), Roger R. Hill, both young society men of New York. In the cast supporting these principals, were to be found only persons whose names figure In' tha sc. 'agisters of their respective cities. The play opened wn. dinner at which the engagement of the beaw"ul heiress was announced, and closed with th; scene of her marriage to the handsome hero. Such episodes are, ot course, familiar to patrons of the movies. Who hasn't re peatedly seen on the screens', representa tions of lovely heiresses 'decked in bridal Qnery, bestowing their hands upon high born suitors in the presence of distin guished gatherings of society folk? From Maine to California Aim por troyals of high society functions are shown at five or ten cent theatres In thou sands ot towns and villages. They pass for the real thing, although not a single man or girl, posing as persons "to the manor born," may ever have seen the in terior of whet can be called an American "mansion, or have had any personal 1 M TV V 4 ' i' i 1 1 1 I a: Vj: ii- v f .J- . ' .v ''V' l v;v Mrs. Gumee Munn, the Heroine of the Photoplay, 1 .-t--. a Is1 .ft The Lngag ruent U inner t.i a Cocanutc drove. Mf. Jamea R. Hyde, the Hero, and Mrs. Gumee Munn, the Leading Lady, Are Shown at the Centre of the Table. How Dogs and Cats Behave in Battle BOMBARDMENTS affect different an imals In different ways. Dogs, as a rule, show great distress when shells burst near tbem end howl pit eously. On the other hand, they have bees known to dash along the front of a trench during Infantry fire, barking and apparently enjoying the noise. Cats do not care whether they are un der the fire of heavy artillery er machine guns as long as they "have a dry corner and food when they are hungry. There have been instances of lost dogs tod cats actually venturing into the Brit ish trenches In France during an engage ment. Some of tbem lived in cottages near the firing line long since destroyed -and clung to the remnants of their homes; others strayed a long distance. A nondescript dog, with an Armen Uerss address on his collar, turned up near Wytschaete early one morning, spent the day with a British battalion, disappeared at dusk, and was never seen again. Another British battalion was adopted In the thick of a fight near Fortuln la May by a black cat. which survived a bombardment that killed many men, and has since lived sumptuously in the trenches with an Identification dtso sround Its neck. Regimental mascots appear to have the best time, for they stay in the new trenches, live on the fat of the land, and are made much ot by the local Inhabi tants. The pampered terrier of a certain famous regiment of foot-guards aat on the top of a transport wagon at the tall of the battalion and barked at all tha civilian dogs be passed. knowledge of just how the dwellers in such domiciles of the fashionably rich, look or disport themselves. The cast in "The Island of Happiness" included, besides Mrs. Gumee Munn, Mich charming society girls as Miss Pauline iHsston, Miss Mary Warburton, the MIbsc KUI end Mildred Rice, Miss Claire IUrd, and such men of gentle and faslilonaMo breeding as Herman Oelrlchs, aw rence Armour, Russell Colt and Harry Darlington, Jr. This i realism carried to the limit Why should it not bo made tho medium of pleasure and instruction to the great maH of the American public? It is a I'ttT these reels cannot be seen by all. Mrs. Munn has lived In the atmosphere -f the drawing room. Her manners and actions are, of course, those of the lady born. The girl from middle class life who pecomes a movie actress and plays the i art of a "great lady" ought to have a i ltance to sve sud study these reels. in the movie dramas the "lover" is frequently a young man who has made his way up from a humble walk in life. He may be the son of a farmer or grocer, and certainly ctnnot have had the life-long training that results lu tliat subtle ac complishment of polished manners which distinguibhes the real society man. What uu educational opportunity these films would give him! The wedding scene in the closing acts of this Palm Beach movie drama is laid not in some hall fixed up to represent an apartment In the home of the rich, but in the multimillionaire salon of Mrs. Henry M. Flasler. What a field of study and inspira tion for the scene painters, the property men and the stage directors! Here they might see on tho screen real society folk, displaying their real man ners In a real drawing room. The walk, the smile, the motion of the hands of the genuine society man or maiden might thus be observed and studied at first band, as it w ere. ' If a young gentleman stands with hands in pocket while addressing a charming girl you may be sure it Is the correct society attitude and not a mere swagger of masculine independence as sumed by some novice at the social game some ignoramus in the amenities of high life on the mere theory that it may be au fait. If the ladles In the scene sometimes flop with what appears to be undue brusque- 9 . t. A UmPlllwotD 3 JT.V The Villain, Mr- Roger Hill, Bent on Abduction, Persuading the Heroine, Mrs, Gum Munn, to Take a Ride with Him in Hit Hydro-Aeroplane. ness upon chair or divan, the movie spec tator may be free from any suspicion of doubt that this Is entirely correct deport ruelit. How to stand, how to saunter, at what angle to hold your head while drink ing in the conversation of an attractive man, all this might be truthfully illus trated to millions ot humble girls through out the land who are untutored In the ways of high society. But this film drama called "The Island of Happiness" goes much further than showing how the devotees ot society act under usual or ordinary circumstances. It calls upon the heroine the beautiful Mrs. Munn for a manifestation of grace and culture amid most extraordinary sur roundings. Engaged, in the opening act. to one man, she is seized by his rtvsl and carried away In an aeroplane (literally a phase of bigh life) to a lonely Island, where she discovers that it was not so much herself as her wealth that this dar ing aerial suitor coveted. The other man pursues the pair In a high power boat and eventually rescues the lovely heroine, but not without sev eral thrilling escapes from death. Their marriage in the Flagler mansion follows as a reward for his bravery. The acting hroughout was excellent. Some day reels like these will be shown to the public a a sort ot extension of the social service and betterment work which so many women of fashion and wealth are already engaged Id rnnvrli'ht 1!lrt 1. tli. Klar Cnmuiu Rr.tl Hrll.n Rivhl Ti-kI
