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AMUSEMfeNT SECTION
ICeimer
SH8i&
PHOTO PbAY
THEATRES
DANCING
MUSIC
PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 1916
UTfLE JOURNEYS '
' TO THE HOMES OF
FAMOUS MOVIES
The Inside of the Stanley theatre
and Some of Its
Wonders
w
ffl&r'
Th. Inside of ft photoplay theatre how
Th? 'n!L... r.ftllv know It? It Isn't a
J! obtong box with a whitewashed wall at
, g oblong elaborate sort
I Tnlarhouse that the patron of the Stan
h SLiftkea as a comfortable matter-of-course
. he drops his ticket in the box. Tne
iff.il Inside of ft modern photoplay theatro
U ! hundred other things, largo and small,
that the nvrage,person.can have no earth
J5 inkling of. And yet every one of those
Xtftlls means comfort, beauty, amusement
iti success to the audience and" to the
nUnagemcnt.
Thursday afternoon three newspaper men
wandered Into the' Stanley to see what run
nine a. city's premiere "movie" really, meant.
Siforo they were through they decided that
tk Keystone State Construction Company
its In many ways ft very slmplejob on Its
i.x. rtlMlne under City Hall. They saw
the Inside) the real Inside, even the Inside
ef-th grand organ.
n rniir. there are some angles nny
elaygoer may catch of the elaborate care
thl guru im ,..wv... p...-...,...- ..-..--.
Thtre Is nothing to prevent your counting
fhe'21 exits of the Stanley, noting the lights
under the arms of the alale chairs In the
1 balcony which keep the stairs bright, Us
tenlng with considerable respect to the mil
tie of the 16-man orchestra and the great
" ergan, or admiring the luxurious and taste-
'Ml appointments of tho ladles' parlor, with
Its engraved writing paper, Its magazines,
Its' handsome pictures, lamps nnd furniture.
' TBu may even catalogue tho contents of tho
hiedtcal cabinet with Its sign: "Home
rtmedles free of charge. Ask tho Matron."
But you are mora than likely to take all
v this for what "A Pair of Silk Stockings"
calls "swank," unless you hoar Assistant
' Manager Silver Bay to tho matron, as he
' steers the newspapermen over to look at
the UBhers' room: "How Is she now?"
"She's awake." Then you may remember
the middle-aged woman sitting rnther
' limply on a chair In tho foyer. "Wo have
' five or six of those a day," says Mr. Sliver.
"Aromatic spirits of ammonia fixes them
tip. TVe keep a chair In tho check room
' talways .ready." But according to ono label
IH' the mcdlclno case "Rice Fowdor"
iome cases aren't so serious.
If the average patron has no notion of
1 the comforts of tho special room for the
ushers, with It's chairs, table, sofa, wash
stand and lockers', what does he know of
the projection room, perched up at the top
4f tho balcony, where Mr. Cherry, chief
operator, and hlsi assistant, really make
I the pictures? Inside Boltd fireproof wallB,
r' ItUooks like some electric laboratory, with
lip big switchboard and Its three strange
' ' long-legged machines. BUt these very soon
;' resolve' themselves .into the projectors that
., ihoot'the moving picture across the theatre
, over the heads of the people to the screen
.., upon the stage.
. There tire a hundred Interesting details
'' Mre: the automatic adjusters, that slowly
', hjlst tho carbons Into contact as tho current
cats away thofr' craters; the motor device
.i- by which (he film Is fed past the lens at any
JU deelred speed from 15 minutes to tho reel
5 for drama to 13 or. 14 for comedy: the
s:nIIatnrit nhnvn ntfll below: the batteries
tJFff. holes through which tho projecting ma-'
'ehlnes tire and the operators watch the
Bcree'iy: and the field glasses for focussing.
Things happen here that no mere "fan"
wots of. The moment when tho reel of
film on one machine ends and that on the
next must be so started as to take up the
story' without a break, Is fascinating. On
the first run of the week, Mr. Cherry has
figured out the proper "cues," so to speak,
In tho pictures: nnd when ono of them
comes his assistant Is ready to start his
machine by hand until the motor "takes
up" and then pull tho levers of metal .by
which the light gate on the first machine
is-closed and the picture cut off as the sec
ond opens. And while one man watches
the new reel run off, the other must take
the old reel Into an adjoining room and
rewind It on an electric machine for the
next showing.
That Is the essential magio of the pic
ture theatre. But thero Is more magic
back-stage, magic that makes up half
the charm of a house like the Stanley.
INCIDENTS, EXCITING AND OTHERWISE, IN,THE LIVES OF THE STARS AS THE CAMERA CATCHES THEM
&i
JASPER DQG STAR MAKES HIS BOW-WOW
A
REAL dog actor- will soon mae his
bow or rather his bow-bow before
Keith's audiences next week. His name Is
Jasper and he comes fresh from playing a
tellar role In a play called "Young Amer
faa," produced on Broadway last fall.
,Thls new, play, the work of Frederick
Ballard, a young Harvard playwright, who
also wrote "Believe Me, Xantlppe," is the
tale of a dog,-and a dog's tall played a very
Waggish part In It. Jasper, the canine
tar of the play, had more to do with the
Slot than any two-legged Individual In the
east. ,
When Thomas Edison, the electrical
I wizard,, was confined to his home by 111
"' ness, ah'i all visitors were denied, one ex
jj eeptlon was made. "Jasper," the thinking
i deg, was received by the Inventor at the lat-
ters home in Llewellyn Park, "West
f Orange. Mr, Edison was In his library on
I the second floor, dressed and lying on a
'!' couch, when Jasper arrived. He sat up on
f the couch without much enthusiasm, when
Jasper sedately walked In and shook
hands.
TVhenlMr. Taylor 'called attention to the
jr faef that Jasper had left the door open
fc and the dog trotted oyer to' "close it the
ft Inventor took a,' decided interest.
if; Rn1Hn i,n 'n nl- 'nt nanAi- UTr. Tavlor
fetpded "it over ana asked Jnspp to put
mq an i mt . JSTN lliiin Ill I I'M ' "i i "t '"'JMjin
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WHY SHAKESPEARE
AND I ARE STRONG u
FOR GOOD OLD SLAWG
t
Back of the door behind the first boxes
waits one Joseph King. He hold a titlo
that will surprise every doyotee of the
films. Shades of Belascol ho Is the Stago
Manager. And he has a stage. Tho Stan
ley can turn Itself Into a vaudeville house
or oven a "legitimate" theatre any day It
cares to. "Files." "gridiron," "footlights,"
everything is there.
But Just now tho place looks like some
weird sort of dark storeroom, with a watch
man's light at the back. By Its glow you
may make out the plaster back of tho
screen half-wop up stage (the screen. Its
surface, Its curve, by the way, are all mat
ters of long experimentation to secure
good projection and no eyesight strain).
Just under the light stands a wind machine,
looking like a blacksmith's bellows: nnd
towering above the most Important and
the welrde3t .magician art ever had Is the
pile of organ pipes. Yes. a magician of art,
and a crafty one, too. For, maybe, you re
member tho gilt cylinders in tho highest
boxes, which you always thought did tho
work of harmonizing "Carmen." They aro
nothing but a "front."
But there is moro magic to come. For
the last step In seeing tho Inside of a movie
theatre is tho next. "Want to go Inside the
organ? One at a time, please." And Mr.
King relays you through a little wooden
door Into a passage just big enough for two.
"Swallow deep." he says. Then he punches
a hole In tho Inner door, and. as the valve
flaps back, you take a. trip to New orK
via tho P. R. Ila Hudson River tunnel.
A strange place, this air chest of a huge
organ. Your ears push with tho 147 pounds
of pressure that Is waiting to blow you up
Into Mlltons' music overhead. As you look
up to see the holes you are sure you would
bo blown through if the organist started
to play, you discover a roof of a million
intricacies not six Inches over your head
levers, stops, holes, little wooden rods, an
orderly tangle, a fantastic forest of mechan
ism. Eight octaves of eight notes each,
three couplers, and to top oft that 45 stops
multiply it out and you get some faint
notion of the multitude of holes and levers
In that roof. Suddenly tho music starts,
no louder than it sounds in the theatre
IH HaKiHaEaaiaalaf ' v'', H
1 Vflp Pfl m
Mr fir
It In the wasto basket. The dog had never
been In the room before, but he took the
paper in 'his mouth, glanced about until
he had located the basket and dropped the
paper In. There was a long mirror in the
room. When told to go and look at him
self, Jasper ran over, put his paws against
the glass and stared at himself critically.
Mr. Edison now walked about Btudylng
tho dog.
Jasper obeyed when told to go to a table
and close a drawer, strike a letter on a
typewriter, and go to a corner and knock
over a book. "My, my!" exclaimed Mr.
Edison, patting him on the back, at which
Jasper looked pleased and embarrased. "It
Is quite wonderful."
' Mr. Taylor explained that Jasper was
only three years old and Jiad been trained
by suggestion to do these things since he
was six months old, and that scientists
had figured out that he had a thinking
vocabulary in English of more than 300
words..
For half an hour Jasper performed feats'
of apparent understanding for Mr. Edison.
Thn Mrs. Edison telephoned to some of her
neighbors to come over. A party of 15 or
so,,qulckly gathered and an adjournment
was taken to the large parlor on the first
floor,
Mr. Taylor, seeing an automobile, said:
"Jasper, go out to the
drive, get upon the
front seat of the au
tomobile arid put your
hands on the steering
wheel and look .the
way the chauffeur
does." Jasper did It.
Ife went Into the
billiard room at com
mand, hopped on the
table, took a- ball In
his mouth and carried
It to his friend; went
Into the music- room,
found the piano and
struck the keys,
danced a waits on his
hind legs, when Miss
Madeleine played, and
did other remarkable
things.
"He's the most de
lightful dogt" said
Mr. Edison. "Pon't
you want to leave him
here?"
Jasper . apparently
didn't want to be left,
for he trotted around,
said good-by by bark
ing at each gyest and
then departed for the
lawn, wherg he posed
for his picture with
Mr. Edison Mis
Madelelno &4 tho
sjwftat . , ,
JOSEPH URBAN AT WOflK
The famous scenic designer often
creates the statuettes which deco
rate his stage. On Tuesday New
York will see his greatest work, the
staging of the monster Shakespeare
masquo of "Caliban," in the stadi
um of tho College of the ,City of
New York. v
The Verbal Star of "Town TnjM u
Reflects a Bit on the Engliah
Language
By BERT LESLIE
Some one once told me that as a mur
derer of the King's English I take th'
crown. Well, I don't know that alt Ui
honor should come to me, since I am simply
one of the many who are trying to ldfoml
our cumbersome language. There- Is George
Ade, who first made slang famous; ' then
there Is George M. Cohan, who has wtn
his own dictionary, and such author m'
Rupert Hughes, who is certainty an expert
at It, nnd oven Robert M. Chambers m
Booth Tnrklngton, not to mention
mighty Bernard Shaw.
Some of our most learned nuthora are
fnlhorn of slang expressions. Would it
surprise you to know that the expression
"Beat it" Is from Shakespeare? And, Inci
dentally worth mentioning, since we Ma
celebrating tho Shakespearean tercentenary,
this samo Shatcespearo fellow is the author
of many of bur favorite expressions of
elnno-. rtnlv TOA llflA ihnm SO tnUCh .that WO
.become nccUBtomcd to them nnd, naturally,
Incorpornto them In our own language.
The advantages of slang are that itaoea
not tie up the tongue. Is It not more expre
Blvo to say "Beat It" than "Kindly remove
yourself from my presence; you are ob
noxious to mo"? And take the expression
"Sand the trnck, you are slipping" -tt
would take a whole paragraph to explain
Its moaning. Another expressive term la
"Get mo?" How much easier to say thla
than, "Do you comprehend my meaning?"
Ono of the funniest things to me, is the
horror some people profess to have of slang.
And they nre, as a rule, the worst offend
ers. A woman In Detroit, an officer of .the
Drama League, met me pnd said, "I'm aw
fully glad to know you." I told her that wa
a terrible thing to say to a man on nrot c
qunlntnnco. but I don't suppose she got me.
Tho English are users of slang Just aa
much as we are, but most of their" terms
are Btrange to .us, ns ours are strange to
them. For Instance, there nre some" ex
pressions such as "Swank," "Spoof,
"Squiffy," all of them expressive, but posi
tively meaning nothing In particular to us.
The best medium wo have for the exchange
of these slang expressions between us Is the
stage. And that Is how and why we are
rnpldly becoming acquainted with some of,
their expressions. .
I know diction and I know grammar,
but, take It from me, slansr is the shortest
cut to what you mean every time. Most
slang expressions aro grammatically' cor
rcct, but the nssumed repugnance which,
some people seem to bear toward their
use would lead to tho belief that slang
is very ungrammatlcal. Examine most of.
tho slang expressions which I use In -"Town
Topics" and you will soe that they are all
correct. Webster wrote a dlctlonaryr and
ho has had very llttlo opposition since, aa
nobody cares to provide him with com-,
petition. But somo day I am going' to call
a meeting of tho .slangsters, with George
Ade presiding, and then I think we will
get up a dictionary of Blang so that nil
who run may read -and know.
Itself, and the whole roof of this little
divers' bell of a room Is a Jumping, Jiggling
blzarrerle of motion.
Mr. King Is Just a bit proud of that
organ which he .watches. And ho Is even
prouder of the pride of the Stanley venti
lation. 'There aro 14 Intake fans." ho
says, "to suck fresh air In, and 54 16-inci
fans to force the bad air into the false
celling, and three big and threo Bmall ex
haust fans to blow It all out of tho roof."
And as he ushers tho newspaper men out
the stage door. Mr. Silver points up at a
newly plastered cylinder sticking out of the
side wall. "There's the new hole I Just
found a man putting n fan Into tho other
dny."
No wonder Manager Katz looks satis
fied as he stands beside the boxotllce. But
In his heart of hearts he wonders how soon
Stanley Mastbaum Nvlll find a new place
in his pet theatre to poke a fan Into.
IC M.
The Season Ends With a
Genuine Climax
It Isn't every day, or every Saturday,
either, that the dramatic editor cares to
puff up a so-called "attraction" a week be-
A BIT OF MOVIE LIFE
Rounding a curve in "Pasquale,"
the new Morosco-Paramount film
coming tp the Stanley. George
Beban's auto did an impromptu
somersault, which tho camera
man caught and which the director
utilized by rewriting tho scenario.
fore the town sees It. But when Philadel
phia has had such a barren season as the
one Just ending, -and when the prospect is
announced of Grace George, her repertory
company nnd four plays like Shaw's "Major
Barbara," "Captain Brassbound's Conver
sion," Henry Arthur Jones' "The Lairs"
and our own Langdon Mitchell's "The New
York Idea" well, nothing can restrain him
from committing himself In their favor,
though the dato of their advent be as far
off as May 29. He saw only one, during
the surprisingly successful repertory season
of Miss George at the Playhouse; nnd In
that one, Shaw's trenchant comedy, "Major
Barbara," he thought Miss George Just a
bit too "sympathetic," but he enjoyed the
whole production, he ha? read the enthu-
CHARLES AND THE CHILD
llfffit-, MKJHHaaaaiKa Hjl
A character study In curiosity anil surprise, Hr. Cbaplln will be seen extensively round town next week iii
Jds&stMutrslespelie Floorwalker," mm his, Oast ftHuqr "P.$li? ," & & the Stanley,
elastic reviews of the New York critics,
and he applauds the Idea of repertory be
hind Miss George's venture. Hence he is
moved to say: Look out for a genuine
dramatic treat at the Adclphi 11 days
hence. K. M.
The First Negro Interpretation
of "Othello" -
I-
jtr.i
Philadelphia will see a real novelty next
week when Edward Sterling Wright and
his company of 25 negro players will
nppoar at the Walnut . Street, Theatre
In Shakespeare's .Immortal tragedy of
".Othello." This will be the first perform
ance in this clir- of a Shakespearean play
by a company r -i gro actors and actresses.
- In New Yorfe. 6lr Herbert Tree, accom
panied by Mra Pat Campbell, Lord and
Lady Cunllffe Owen and the members of
the Shakespeare Tercentenary Committee
attended a performance. Afterward Sir
Herbert publicly congratulated Edward
Sterling Wright on his interpretation of
tho Moor. "I certainly canot criticise" you
or your work," he said. 'Tour great ability"
is far beyond my poor power to criticise.
All 1 can do Is praise."
SHAKESPEARE'S POOR SCENARIOS E. H. SOTHERN
'.
v
MUCH as I ndmlro the genius Of "William
Shakespeare as a playwright, I do not
think he ever wrote a great scenario. The av
erage motion-picture editor would probnbly
turn down his script on the Instant because
of the fact that the great Bard of Avon
was not aware of the i
photographic possibil
ities when he wrote his
his works.
Shakespeare, to be
sure, sought and at
tained the artistic, but
the element of action
as tt applies to motion
pictures was. If dis
cernible nt all, only
partly defined In even
his .most spectacular
plays because he wrote
with the limitations of
tho stage always In
mind. The great
thoughts he amplified
In words will some day
be ptcturlzed no doubt,
be picturlzed no doubt,
when the right man
comes to work them
over Into the form
that the photoplay re.
quires.
But I shall not play
Shakespeare for the
screen, much as I
should like to do so,
for the simple reason
that I fear Shake
speare's productions
are not yet ripe for
popular favor In the
movies and for the rea
son also that because
of the- danger to her
health 1 cannot have
the co-operation of my
wife, Julia Marlowe,
with whom it Is al
ways a pleasure to ap
pear In the classics. I
feel, with all .pardon
able, pride, that she Is
the only woman who
can play the female
Shakespearean roles
with the 'proper finesse
and spirit to suit me,
and I should not care
to perform opposite
any other woman In
the parts which- have -
Shakespearean works In their, original con
struction do not make suitable scenario
and to rewrite them would take longer thas
tho time set for my engagement. These,'
you might say, aro the variety of reaeona
for my not wishing to be seen in Shakes
peare's plays in motion pictures.
A PROGRAM OF MANY ASSOCIATIONS
commanded so much of
our joint labors ana
affection.
Let me set myself
right, however, with
regard to my open
ing statement about
Shakespearean playa
and the pictures. I
want It distinctly un
derstood that I do not
mean to say that these
classics are too ele
vated In the ralnda of
the motlon.ptoture
Jspectatora.
The BcriDt i the
1 mng I faYe ta nUui
Mwsie KAiiiCi,31!
TUESDAY-EVENING, ANIW
iMiss ,.CJlara..I;omse J&Uoggjs
AND. HOT GRAND CONCERT COMpANVv
WSS IIIMlfcm MAl'MCR. PIANIST
MR. jri.lfS MBVpil. TEKO
Ilf, ClKIMIKLEVJOXEf, BARITOS
mil xaiiak ra.Nno. viGuwsr
Mirncal Director, 3f. FRANCISCO ROSA,
MAX 6T.HAKOSCH.MeSr,3B0E.e4t,h..6tMH Y,
It comes from Kingston, U, Y, is dated January $,
1885, and was loaned to the Evewno Ledger nt thi
time in connection with, the recent, death of the. promt
Binger whose picture it bears. The reader will easily
connect the name of Clara Louise Kellosju with that
of her manager, printed on the last line, Nataw
Franko, it is reported, will open the season at Willow
Grove with his orchestra. Mr. Cholmeleyvjones ni
owns the program, is, the suave and affable aa4
altogether superior representative of th Fawitfa
Theatre, A uephs w of Max trukosch is now wsigr
the Walnut