Ma jmiUjWim.j, Singer txman PHOTOPLAY DANCING AMUSEMENT SECTION THEATRES Znd MUSIC PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 11, 1915 ENTER THE SILHOUETTE MOVIE "' C. Allan Gilbert, Painter of Beautiful Women, Perfects Shadow Photoplay of Whimsical Charm to Tell Tale of Inbad "rpiIERi: are stranger things In Heaven i and Earth. Horatio, than are dreamed of In thy philosophy" and some of them are the remarkable effects which are pro duced in the movies. We have seen our country invaded and forced to yield to the iron hand of a conquering foe in 131 or-:K : we have seen the "tide of war break against Richmond"; we have seen our Iiero drop many feet over cliffs, off houses, from aeroplanes, in fact from al most any place that thrills; we have seen plants grow under our very eyes, wild animals in their lairs, birds on their nests brought to our very eyes by the movies. Artistic effects. lovely, at times almost lights, overhead, are so arranged as to throw the movie actors who take part into strong relief. Occasionally the back ground of a film is dyed to lend greater realism to the scene, and. although the tigures are in silhouette, it is surprising how much expression is obtained. A Peter Pan Production Mr. Gilbert's innovation in film produc tion covers a wide range of subjects, but all of them are presented with a charming disregard for stereotyped methods. He refuses to take his characters seriously and carries them through a series of droll adventures. "Inbad the Sailor" is a typ ical example. The story, which has the proper Arabian Nights flavor. depict3 a sailor wrecKea on a desert isle with only a "G. B. S." MAN OF LETTERS AT LAST And the Letters Bernard Shaw Writes His Actors Are Eeal Letters, the Most Delightful Imaginable. Here Are Some Samples beyond description, have been screened: ! monkey for a companion and a bottle of. yet again we have a new idea and its complete revelation in the introduction of the silhouette movie. The silhouette we have had in passing scenes. Pathe used It In -The House of Fear." Lubin in "A Nation's Peril." while even that much despised Keystone Com edy showed a lovely shadow end to "A Village- Scandal." Tho beautiful love scene from the Paramounfs ".Madame Butterilj" was treated in this manner. Hut never to our knowledge has a whole silhoutte movie been shown. It Takes the Artist to Do It New York's Latin Quarter experienced a distinct shock the other day when it learned that C. Allan Gilbert, who. with Charles Dana Gibson. Harrison Fisher. Hamilton King and Howard Chandler Christy made the pretty American girl famous on canvas, had succumbed to the fascination of the movies and become a film producer and is to brin4 out a new form of photoplay, which he calls sil houette fantasies, but which, specifically speaking, are whimsical tales told in iilhouette form. Nor Is Mr. Gilbert the only artist con nected with the project. Henry Bryant. C. B. Falls and others of the fraternity are assisting him and are already enthu siastic film fans. Mr. Gilbert now writes all the scenarios that are being turned out by the Bray-Gilbert studio, at II Wash ington Mews. J. R. Bray, associated with him. was formerly connected with the Pathe Treres, but is now with the Par amount Company, with whose January re leases the new silhouette plays are coming out. It is a brand new experience for Wash ington Mews, with its medley of studios and truck horse stables, to have a moving picture establishment in Its midst. But for the last six months No. ft ha3 been the seat of mysterious operations whose nature only recently has come to light The ancient structure has been trans formed to meet the requirements of the new undertaking, and big are lights, odd stage properties and curious photographic machines hive replaced the faithful Dob bin and his cart. A stage and Hies liive been .iilileii m th rear of the lot. and the Inner walls painted ' a dazzling white Po.verfuI electric I tabasco sauce for comfort. But the writer produces the inevitable mystery in the shape of a genii's chest, in which is found a wishing ring. The sailor ha3 four wishes, one of which turns the monkey Into a human companion a sort of man Friday and another whisks the two off on a magic carpet to the Orient in search of adventure. As the two men tumble into the scene before the gates of Bagdad they are taken prisoners and are borne off to the Sultan who. learning of the wishing ring. decides to commute a sentence of death to a life of happiness and ease, providing they find a. rare pearl stolen by a dragon In the mountain. As a reward the Sultan promises the sailor his daughter, a beau tiful princess, for his wife. With such a prize In view the sailor sets off with his companion to search for Xow that Grace George is giving Amer ica us first glimpse of "Major Barbara," Itr. Sham's play of the old munition maker and the Satiation Army, M'illiam A. Brady's press aoent has dun up a series of letters from Mr Shaw, first printed lit the Cotton Transcript, through the cour tesy of Louis Calcert Mr. Calvert, tcio Is now supporting Miss George in this country, created the role in London, and received from Mr. Shavo these tetters of admonition before and after the rehearsal of his play. D" Derry, Itosscarbery. Co. Cork. 23d July. IMS. EAR CALVERT-Can you play tho trombone? If not. I beg you to ac quire smattering of the art during your holidays. I am getting on with the new play, scrap by scrap, and the part of the millionaire cannon founder Is becoming more and more formidable. Broadbent and Veegan rolled into one. with. Mephistopheles thrown in: that is what it is like. "Business Is Business" will be cheap melodrama, in comparison. Irving and Tree will fade into the third class when Calvert takes the stage aa Andrew Undershaft. It will be TRE MENDOUS, simply. But there Is a great scene at the end of the second act. where he buys up the Salvation Army and has to take part in a march to a big meeting. B-irker will play the drum. You will have a trombone or bombardon. If you prefer that instrument and it would add greatly to the effect If you could play it prettily. Besides, if you took to music you could give up those confounded cigars and save your voice and your memory (both wrecks, like Mario"3. from 37 cigars a day) for this immense part. It is very long speeches longer than Keegan's Continued on l'auo Mae and dozens of them, and infinite- nuances "INBAD, THE SAILOR," IN SILHOUETTE Administering tabasco sauce to the dragon to make him cough np the pearl. of execution. Undershaft Is diabolically subtle, gentle, self-possessed, powerful, stupendous, as well as amusing and in teresting. There are the making of 10 Hamlets and six Othellos in his mero leavings. Learning it will half kill you. but you can retire next day as pre-eminent and unapproachable. That penny plain and twopence-colored pirate Brass bound will be beneath -your notice then. I have, put him oft for another year, aa I cannot get the right Lady Cicely. Ve drenne, unluckily, has read my plays at Margate, and is now full of the most In sane proposals wants Brassbound In stantly with you and Kate Rorke. for ona thing. But the trombone i3 the urgent matter of the moment. By the way, trombone players never get cholera nor consump tionnever die, in fact, until extreme old age makes them incapable of work ing the Slide. G. BERNARD SHAW. 10 Adelphl Terrace. W. C. 27th November. IMS. My dear Calvert: The rocky words today were: EXPERIMENTS AND. RESEARCHES in Improved methods of destroying life and property. In the scene with Cusins (the drum scene) you must be on the lookout for "Not Paganism, cither, eh?" "I ad mit that." because the next speech, "You have noticed that she is original in her religion" comes with sudden force and pride. Indeed, the change comes from the line. "And now to business." Up to that. Undershaft has been studying Cusins and letting him talk. But the shake-hands means that he has made up his mind that Cusins i3 the man to understand him; and he therefore takes the lead In the conversation and dominates Cusins at once. It all goe3 on in a steady progres sion of force "And now to business." "xou nave noticed that she is original la her religion" "And now question for question" up to "Pooh. Professor!" etc ThU change 13 not quite marked enough. The arst part-the listening, watching, studying, pumping Cusins is admirably done; but you are apt to prolong It Into the second or dominant part, or to re lapse Into It, as if you were not quit clear as to exactly where to turn tho tables on Barker, whoso lightweight busi ness Is of no use after the shake-hands. "We three must stand together" is gen erally rather fluffy. "SO MUCH THE BETTER: they win put np with anything sooner than change their shop" is the answer to "attached to their homes." If you dry up here, the scene win be spoilt; for Barker will ba forced to skip ahead to cover the hitch; and then Cremlin will be late. When Barban. says: "No; don't com fort me. It will be all right. We shall get the money." don't forget to say "HOW?" You have never yet picked u this cue. The reason I cried out in anguish whea Continued on race Eight Inbad tries to pawn the pearl and finds it only glass, worth 30 cents. f tfm. F- fr ' w a Lmk. m ' ' tB if ".H lbiJHHUnHBBHiBK.iJB.H iiwa -BBoBHhBB jBjb:JBBngHH Disillusioned, Inbad discovers the beantifnl princess a hagf. n 4 iw -.4rf--rt. .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers