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PHOTOPLAY
THEATRES
DANCING -MUSIC
PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 18, 1916
WHEN THfr RUSSIANS ARE MAKING THEIR BALLETS SKETCHES PROM THE REHEARSAL ROOM
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Oiimpses oi ino BjrnnBo rcncarsai scenes which ppcedo tho choropnphic marvels of Sorgo do DinRlillcIT's Ballet Kusso. Durinp the first weeks of performances in New York, and to a considerable extent on tour, tho principals have spent their oparo hours
working inueiatigauiy at the intricate and difficult steps of their brilliant dances. Dressed in odd sections of old costumes, with a single piano for accompaniment and tho ballet master's thumping cano to mark tho time, they filled tho low-coilingd
rehearsal rooms of tho Century Theatre with strange noises and a stranger grace. Sketches by Samuel McCoy.
Tomorrow
I
sflie Today and
of the Photoplay Art
In Education by Art, Not Propaganda or Trav
elogues, Lies the Future of the Movies,
Says Fox Star
, liy UBllTiUV lVALlUii
.T THINK I foreseo a futuro for tlio Jno
litlon plcturo that no ono has ever pre
sented beforo as I Intend to plcturo It.
I co tho motion plcturo not supplanting
Hlsrature. but building and creatine n
great new literature of Its own. Already
"the motion plcturo Is a too of Ignorance.
It can bo mndo to banish Ignorance It
must not bo used nnd will not bo used
"later on In a propaganlst senso ; not as a
'studied and dellborato educator which
iwjuld causo resentment unions tlio people
bo saw It, but as an unstudied portrayor
ef tho right things to do nnd tho wrong
things to do.
i The motion picture. In Its evolution,
whether It deals with fiction or fnct, will
le wonderfully educational. If a plcturo
Is Inaccurate now tlio picture public Knows
this quickly. If It shows wrong period
costumes, wrong-period furnlturo or a con
fusion of two or moro poriods Into tho
same sceno thcro nro hundreds of thou
sands of peoplo In America who detect
this Instantly. An Ignorant producer can
not exist for long. Ho Is showing his
pictures, no matter who ho Is, for n timo
at least, to a partially Intellectual nnd
informed public If he pictures Ignorance,
offends or excites rldlculo for long, tho
producer ceases to exist, Theroforo, thoso
producers wno uo survivo anu grow in
power will be thoso who nro Informed or
who engage as advisors peoplo of capacity
to correct their deflnlennle.q.
Correct pictures oventually must mean
correct audiences. An uninformed or un
lettered person who hears words spoken
correctly or sees things done correctly
cannot lor all tlmo remain uninfluenced
bjr adherence to tho proprieties on tho
part of othors or by those he is nblo to
lee. with his own oyes. You may talk
fomer'jo some persons without penetrat
ing their consciousness, but vou cannot
I hold a plcturo constantly beforo their eyes
without having It shape their manners,
customs or Ideals,
These are Influences that are bound to
grow larger all tho tlm In motion pic
tures. But there are still bigger things
tO hannen. Men nnil avnmnn wrlto nnvpln
Ihlstorles, works of travel nnd biographies,
uu minions or peoplo read them In many
languages. Novels today are In the main
written I mean In the United States by
tnen and women whose scenes nnd tinnnln
re almost wholly Imnglnary. These wrlt
ert travel more than they did In others'
They
dlYS. hilt ntlll ha.. ..n..l - ill
fcj " . --- .. bituj iltt fcUU llhliU.
WINTER GARDENING
PROM THE INSIDE
CLIFTON CRAWFORD
.Laymen, even the thentrlmi nnni ns
aJLho'e. have little conception of what
niuiex uarrten production entails. I
will never forget the
rehearsals bustle.
hustle, seemingly
millions of gowns,
hundreds of chorus
girls, carloads of
soenery, musical
number after musi
cal number all a
huge conglomeration
of material things.
Day by day more
things were added.
Familiar faces dis
appeared and strange
ones took their
uah.... . .',aces-. in? B""-
& iSXir fszrszs? l rr:
KVryeryhlng Btill chaos. The curtain
eS .H0 ror tha overture at night with-
tiiTr" J"18 Beemtngy knowing their
ST0?' anl out of the humdrum and bus.
uVrra . volves perfect order. I could
Vn.v. n, """ "I me wonaers or me ew
n,v Jrlnter Garden, of the marvelous
iFOrK Anna uv T r, ,.-- .. 4
'mi- ; " . w. utiiiiaii, uuewiur u&
Vtj. ?J&wtoa grasp and In-
7- - uucii una oi an BKuaiions.
iry oau never cease to marvel at the
SWr?el Ui.f " ?" -"'
IS.Snder,ul for words, more remark
iaS.? a bts e'reus, for in a limited
W thi peP'e wero dohB many differ-
WT ." cuo' sometimes in wai
'tSknf And when thls organization
'la v. -Jad J was evcn mo'e amaxed.
Saliv 7 . rk tne P'ay was ba'lt eP'
03hor lta homo the Winter Garden.
Svi ? ro?4 ' ,s moved weekly, and we
1 lJlay on sraa stages, with but
lx eit0 take ,n' han ana set obout
BriaciiMi. .. raaleai. The chorus ana
KS- often ara 'oree1 to revUe their
kgJnces pnd exits and work In a small
rr?- M ine production is often far too
rf.Jpr a stage, yet the inirenultu of the
LeClOrS, the Staorn ramanlam WmnArV
E,Jf electricians seem always to en-
wdAr "" n'3' ana out of horrible dls-
&. v.?he!, K"h'J(.r
rr.. ----- iiiiuQr UiiruHii urumicLiuu.
ncuiarly one as mammoth as "A iVVorld
f
know too little of people, of the world, of
life Itself. Already tho motion plcturo
Is showing nccurato photographic repro
ductions of every explored and remoto
part of tho earth. It Is itsolf tho great ex
plorer. It Is tho modern Stanloy, the
modern CJrccley. It is the Xanson, the
Itnsmussen. tho Captain Scott, not of ono
day, but of all days. What It depicts Is
Incontrovertible. And it tho great plc
turo producers think that tho picture
seeing public does not remember tho things
It "feecs In tho pictures, then tho producers
aro greatly deceived.
I moan to make this point. A novelist
cannot afford to lay a plot In a Innd
ho has never seen or visited when at tho
moment of Its sale millions of peoplo
throughout tho world nro looking nt actual
motion pictures of tho spot tho novelist
has described and seeing tho real people
of that country as they actually aro. In
stead of as they nro described In print.
Books and newspapers cannot glorify nnd
exalt temporarily prominent personali
ties nnd make for them places In history,
for overy day these, this uamo audience
of millions, Is looking at those little,
meagre public men In the motion pictures
and forming its own permanent conclu
sions us to their capacities.
Even In tho matter of our women's
fashions it has nn Influence. Year nftcr
year you see thousands of women, scores
of them your own friends, wearing gowns
and Btrect costumes of frenklsh design
and oven moro freakish colorings because
they nro supposed to represent "tho voice
of Paris." As any well-Informed person
knows, most of theso falBo and offensive
creations represent nothing of tho sort.
They represent, on the contrary, tho
money-seeking eccentricity and shrewd
ness of some wholly commercial dress
maker who can create demand by using
them on mannequins and getting them
.pictured In tho newspapers. Tho motion
r plcturo now brings you the Paris fash
ions, or did until the war virtually
brought fashion designing to a standstill
In stricken France. Hut when they do
como hero In tho pictures they nro tho
real, tho worn fashions, nnd not the
ghastly things that shrewd commercialism
Is able to market.
I know that many of the picture
producers of the world take no especial
pride In having themselves considered as
educators. But they cannot help them
selves, for thoy aro, In every picture they
make, unintentional educators at least.
If they have bad tasto thero will be a re
vulsion to create good taste. If they are
Ignorant their public will educate them
or eliminate them entirely.
Any Instrument or device, any Inven
tion or conception that can have a great
and universal effect upon the human mind
Is an educator. The day Is not far off
when the makers of motion pictures will
not resent the Implication of being educa
tional by design. They will not dodge
or. evade tho praise to which they will bo
entitled for having accomplished legiti
mately big things.
It is easy to understand why they fear
to be considered educators. The begin
nings (and endings) of thoso pioneers
who Introduced Ibsen, Hauptnmnn, Hhnw,
Gorki, Sudcrmnnn and others of their
type to tho Amorlcan public uero not
marked by nffluenco or opmenee Most
of theso pioneers lost money, hut they
created tastes nnd liking for strong, sin
cere, earnest plnys. They began the
creation of a public for Btrongth and
sincerity and, once begun, tho public built
Itself like the rolling snowball that en
larges ns It tnneln.
Tho tasto for grand opera was acquired
Operatic beginnings In America wero
humble and unprofitable. .Subsidized nt
first by wealthy peoplo for Boclal profit,
grand opera outgrow them, acquired n
public that today makes It profitable.
Tho lovo of good dancing was by no means
widespread. Today It Is extensive and n.
Ballet Ilttiso can como to America nnd
carry nwny a fortune.
In America we have wntched the evolu
tion of better books, somewhat better
nntlvo plnys, better music. Increased
culture nnd refinement, growth of mental
brendth, a further extension of Intellectual
curiosity to learn tho unknown things nnd
better motion pictures.
Already there Is an audience for sincere,
big motion pictures. This nudlcnco Is
growing constantly. In tlmo tho members
CELLULOID, THE NEW
ART MEDIUM
By H. 15. WARNER v
Becnuso the motion picture Is a now
art. In my opinion It should bo consid
ered more seriously perhaps than the
spoken drama. Our big Illm producers
do not try to copy tho etago. Thoy have
their own Held, and are seeking Its devel
opment along purely original and widely
resourceful lines. I was glad to seo so
great a thinker as Hugo Munstcrbcrg
sotting forth the postulate that tho photo,
piny li not a copy of a play intended for
stage production.
I nm miro that the success of the Incn
photoplays Is due to the fact that they
are written for tho screen, without refer
ence to tho spoken drama Of course to
wrlto a play to suit some persons Is tho
wrong method from tho start, but It la
possible to write a wonderful photoplay
that will express some big principle nnd
drlvo homo somo largo truth In n way that
cannot bo forgotton.
Now, don't understand mo ns stnnding
for that exalted attltudu nssumed by tho
playwright or actor who tries to deliver
an lntellectunl knockout to u helpless audi
lenco. If thero Is anything that will kill
self completely Into any part thnt Is as
signed to him. If a play has a good story
nnd gets nnywhrre nn actor Is contemp
tible If ho does not Jump nt the chance to
take thnt play and glvo it to tho people.
Already In pictures wo havo begun to
look for moro thought nnd less speed
Tho people nro beginning to guess shrewd
ly ns to tho vnltio of photoplays, and mcro
tricks of tho camera u 111 no longer satisfy
them. Tho fnct Is that the men who stnnd
today ns the big producers of Amorlcn
aro tho ones who began, llko Mr. Incc,
from the very .start to sco to It that every
photoplay of theirs contained a vital, grip
ping story.
If I were asked what was tho most
modern tendency toward Improvement In
photoplay production I should say that It
lay In the matter of direction. Tho
director Is all-powerful, for ho can make or
break a story and the actor who Is to
star In It An actor Is immediately drawn
to his director or repulsed by him. Ho
soon develops an Instinct for directors, so
that tho director who understands his
work and brings to It a high conception
of tho story and an appreciation of tho
nctor, will Inspire the star. Tho unmns
terful director dooms tho play from tho
start.
Tho man with the megaphono voice
does not really control the situation nearly
TL
PHILADELPHIA'S OWN "G. B. S." MANUSCRIPT
U. rEj- tMX WXj
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4!& U $T12 a-A 4I5.
Ua.
6
HI
ctjf (-JLf &tt feaCT tykfitfuusOk
. Uif i -U"tA
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(uAxyfij VOL ftXi. iLatCTijr
The title page and a short scene, in Bernard Shaw's own handwriting, from "Passion, Poison and Petri
faction," a roaring burlesque now beinjr acted nt the Little Theatre by the Stage Society. Tho manuscript
is owned by a local collector.
of this audience will represent tho
dominant type of picture-goer and great
artists of tho spoken drama will do great
and worth-while pictures to be remem
bered. They will do pictures that year
after year will be "revived," Just as
famous and memory-provoking plays aro
now revhed each spring. Those pictures
will not be stories of temporary or transi
tory value, but will bo permanent con
tributions to a new type of literature the
literature of motion pictures.
pictures or the stago it Is tho writer or
artist who thinks he Is nbovo the people
and must preach down to them. An audi
ence will quickly reject this Insult. Peo
ple will not be publicly patronized and
lorded over.
The old way of writing plays about
personalities was a failure because actors
demanding such plays were iolatlng the
first principles of their nrt. If a man Is
a good actor the flrst thing he does la
ignore his personality and transform him-
as much as the quiet, artistic director
who la willing to concede some intelli
gence to tho men and women who are
working with him. and who are as sincere
In their desires for good results as him
self. No matter how well the director knows
his business, he will, It he Is truly wise
man, be amenablo helpful suggestions
and he will always recognize what would
be natural or unnatural to the maa or
woman called upon to play a big part.
Flay ohaw roretot
and Philadelphia Saroed
The True Story of His Roaring Burlesque, "Paf
sion, Poison and Petrifaction," and How
It Wandered to the Quaker City
mi
J.n
HERD are surprises In store for the
man who venturos Into De Lancey
strcot, botween 17th nnd 18th. Let him
lay down BO cents nt tho box ofllco of tho
I.lttlo Theatro nny Friday or Saturday
night. Lot him step Inside and watch tho
variegated cntertulnment of tho Stago
Society. But lot him bowaro of tho final
playlet. Thero aro nhocks In It.
Shock No. 1 A play by Bernard Shaw
that almost nobody knows anything
about, a play that Is contained In none
of his volumes of printed plays and for
sale at nono of tho book stores.
Shock No. 2 An absolutely non
preachy, unhygienic. Irresponsible, dovll-may-enro
burlesque.
Shock No. 3 (If he digs deep enough)
A literary mystery In which Philadelphia
plays tho leading part.
Hereinafter la set down tho complete
history of how and why tho play was
written, when and where tho farco was
performed, and yet moro strangely, how
tho author disposed of tho manuscript
nnd then Immediately forgot It. The
Evenino Ledoeh Is Indebted to Henry
Longcopc, of tills city, for tho main facts
set forth.
In tho year 1905 Shaw was requested
by Cyril Maudo to wrlto a play to be per
formed for the Actors' Orphnnage Fund.
Then, as now, Shaw was a very busy man,
and, nccordlng to his own stntemont, tho
play waB written "mostly In Great North
ern express trains; honco tho Joggly hand
writing." On July 14, 1905, In the Theatre Itoyal
In tho Botanlo Gardens, Itegent'a Park
was played for tho flrst tlmo on nny stage
whatsoever "a new, startling, pathetic
blood-curdling and entrancing tragedy, in
nno net. nnd ten mechanical effects, en
titled Tasslon, Pol3on and Petrifaction,'
by the Chelsea Shakspeare, George
Bernard Shaw."
Thero were repeated performances of
the farco nnd after the first one the man
uscript was auctioned off to the highest
bidder, who happened to be a second-hand
book dealer In London, from whom It
was secured by tho late Robert Hoo, who
was one of the keenest and at the same
time one of the most Intelligent collectors
of his day. In 1011 Sir. Hoe's great
library, containing monuments of our
literature, was sold, and the Shaw manu
script fell Into other hands.
After another tempestuous voyage or
two there at last came to light these 41
pages of manuscript, which, by the way,
are, as Shaw describes, written In a "Jog
gly" manner, with a black lead pencil,
the underscoring being done with a red
one. While there are many erasures and
corrections, the manuscript Is in a perfect
atate of preservation, and Is now owned
by the Rosenbach Company, of this city.
Two years after the production of the
play, or In 1907, when Shaw desired this
manuscript for purposes of his own, not
being able to And It, he wrote a most
strenuous letter to a firm of solicitors In
London complaining about TSx. Robot
Hoe, of New York city, and IntlmaUtfe
that that famous collector had "rnasd
factured an edition" and was tn oqnta
quenco "no sportBman."
So much for tho manuscript, now for th
corespondonco:
Halraily, Uuibeder, Mtrtontttuhlr.
l sutn Hcrttemner .
11th Ausutt; 1S0T.
It. S. O. (until 30th September
I wondor whore Mr. n.obrt Ho purchawd.
Inn Mfl n, lla..l.n llnl... .....4 I.i.1,.uImi (1
It was certainly not put on the market or
me; and I had no idea that It had paeied tut
of my hands.
it has been published In America for ood:
risht purpoeee. I'or collcctor'apurpoaea,
tlio urlclnnt edition In Horry Furness'
with his Illustrations. Is the only one worth
i purposes, surely
Furness' Annua),
hating. A collector who manufactures an edi
tion is no sportsman.
Messrs. Doil.l. Mend t Co. actually an
nounced an edition without consulting me.
and would probably have Issued It if my
own publishers had not called their attention
tp the fact that tho work was copyrighted In
tho United States.
o. uep-nap-d shaw.
This letter Is addressed to Messrs,
Stovcns & Brown, Trafalgar Square, Lon
don, E. C, who, under dnte of August 13,
wroto to Robert Hoe, Esq., of which the
following Is an extract:
We made two calls at Adelphl Terrace to
soe Mr. tihaw, and found him from hornet left
a ietter for him we enclose his reply.
as we nave torn mm tnai we aciea?
as your
sim
y5:'as''e' l cease to wonder it the
KffilSL01 ap 'l' he taking caze of
Igjwaed, eciUiDnlnir etu for ij-uiv
ggaflng a biff Wlnttr Garden production
SWtilaa tha -umbtr inuead in tho
jeyv. ,.
ex
JMfm
arft
i
A Dramatic Fable in Slang a
Being the humorist's speech at the dinner given William II. Crane in New York on the 50th anniversary
of hia stage life. Tonight-, at the Adelphi, Philadelphia looks upon the veteran actor for what oill probably be
the last time, as Mr. Crane makes no secret and no advertising either of his intention to retire.
V .
eorgettae
rnllE Drama Is roughly divided Into Two parts Tragedy and Comedy, Just
O. now it is more xiougmy utviaea man iver uaiuro.
According to all traditions of the Legitimate stage, the only Distinction
between Tragedy and Comedy hinges on the Last Act
In the good old days. If most of the principals curled up and Died in the last
act, the play was a Tragedy, If they stood In a line and Bowed, the play was
a Comedy,
Our guest of Honor and You, gentlemen, can recall the time when a Play in
which some one was Shot, Stabbed, Assaulted and Battered and left Upconsclous
at Centre was a genuine Tragedy, entitled to come under the Observation of
William Winter.
Thanks to the Southern California School of Art, all that has been Changed.
Nowadays, .when the Hero is Shot, the Play-house resounds with Shrieks of
Laughter,
When he Is struck on the head with some Blunt Instrument and falls
Unconscious the Large Lady seated Next to you goes Into a Paroxysm of Mirth.
If he is seen to disappear beneath the Wayes, with Bubbles arising to mark
the spot at which he sank, the Film Exchanges announce that the Comedy
,1s Sure Fire.
Mr. Crane can remember when the Comedian received his training In the
Library.. Now he gets It in the Gymnasium. He can remember when Comedy
was a Dramatic Treatment of Conflicting Purposes, with a Happy Ending.
He can recall a Later period in which. Comedy was anything that would
make them Laugh.
I am Wondering if he can revise some of his Quaint Old-fashioned Notions
and accept the New dictum that Comedy has its headquarters Below the Watst-ltne.
However, we are not hero to Brood over the Degeneracy of the times.
Doubtless it Is True that the Drama is having more things Done to It at
present than Ever before.
Real Tragedy is found Only In the New Tork Office of the Producing
Managers.
The most Serious contributions to Current Theatrical History are the State
ments from the One-night Stands.
Thespls has temporarily stood aside to make room for St. "Vitus.
The gentleman who could not write Home for Money Five Years Ago is now
writing Scenarios.
The delirium seems to be at the. most Acute Stage temperature about 104,
When the fever Breaks, the Patient Is going to be very Weak, but probably he
wll) be out of Danger.
And so, in these times, when there are more Theatres than Delicatessen
Shops and all you have to Do to be an Actor Is to have your picture Taken,
It is well to be Philosophical, knowing that Art is Long and Salary-Contracts
are Short.
At tha risk of repeating what All the other speakers may say, I wish to
assure Mr. Crane that He isx respected by the men who try to write tor the
stage because he has Stood for Reputable Plays. He has proceeded upon the
Theory that the Patrons of the Drama live at Home with their Own Families.
He has stood for Home-Grown Plays of the Kind that strengthen tha Self-
respect of Americans. fi -f
I know what Mr. Crane has Stood For, because I have written two Plays IjOTYlPCiy
tor tiwi. I. ' .
41 la uovauH lie u imb epuitcauiuii vi 4ug wjimuj u , -.v.t w i.
TT ll -LP
American play when it didn't havo
give hlra our verbal Bouquets.
Friend in the House that we are here to
. -. . .Li .nn
purcnasinir axeius in ouiaminc tne juod.,
that we got It from a London second-hand
bookseller and understood that ha had It di
rect from the society or body for whom Shaw
did the work or to whom he eave the MS.
A copy of tho text of tho enclosed letter
from Shaw Is as follows:
Dear Sirs I quite forgot that the MS. of
P. P. & I', was sold by nuctton at the con
clusion ot the flrst performance. So tha
title Is quite valid, and I owe Mr. Hoe an
apology, yours faithfully,
O. BERNARD 8HAW-
Tho first performance ever given In this
country was by tho Young Men's Hebrew
Association of Philadelphia on a Sunday
night last winter. It proved highly suc
cessful and amusing, despite the lack, oi
nn adequate stage and the kind ot Bcenery
that tho play demands. The existence of,
such a Shaw play wan known only to o.
few, and that it was played by the Young
Men's Hebrew Association was due to the
suggestion of Prof. Thomas D. O'Bolger,
of tho University of-Tennsylvanla, an
ardent admirer of Shaw, who had read
tho manuscript and laughed. The Stage
Society production was the first perform
anco tn a theatre In this country.
The Stage Society production, designed
by II. Devltt Welsh, is unique BcenicaU?.
The piece Is played between twp huge
posters on either side of tha stage, an
nouncing "Passion, Poison and Petrifao-
Contlnued on Pate Fear
SHE WAS ALWAYS
JUST A "PRINCESS
TRA-LA-LA"
s
i i
Miss Emmy Nlcklass, who Is the lead
ing comedienne with the Andreas DIppel
opera, "Princess Tra-La-La," opening at
h rtrnad Street i " I
Theatre on Monday,
has a few Ideas of
her own, both on life
and the theatre.
"You know," said
ehe, "I ara the
daughter Frau
Nlcklass Kemper,'
tho German operatic
singer, and although
xay father was a
merchant In Berlin,
and, when I was a
child, was very
much opposed to the
Idea ot my going on the stage, I managed
to get his consent eventually, although
perhaps in a rather unusual manner.
"J wag known as a child as "weather
witch,' because the children I playad
with said I was always dancing about
Ilka the leaves on an autumn day. My
father objected violently to my dancing,
and also refused to allow me to take
vocal lessons. My mother, who had re.
tired from the stage and who was equally
anxious to keep me from undertaking a
professional career, agreed with him, and
I was brought up like any other Httlo
falr-halred daughter of a German manu
facturer, "Unfortunately for my parents' ideas,
however, my playmates wera always In
sistent on my dancing and singing for
them, and the neighbors always said.
There Is a young woman who soma day
is going to leave heme and go on tha
stage, nq matter what her 'after and
mother have' to say about it'
"And It happened just about that -way.
One day, after a quarrel with my poor
father over vocal lessons, I deliberately
ran away from home and managed to gtt
an amused manager to let me slnff or
him. I told him that I was an orphan
without a guardian, and that If he would
be my guardian I would accept a pojltUa,
in his company and sing for htm. Thl
apparently tickled him so much, that b
took me at my word, and gave ma a &ft
to study for a child's part i a loft
comng production.
"It was not UntU I was actually atwV
Ing my eoig; that I lit my father and
mother know where I was. la lUr wt
Uef at finding me they were only teo Mad:
to let me du u 1 pleased in th utUr
(t goLng on th stage,"