Moving Picture World (Dec 1917) - Learn About Movie Posters

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1818 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 22, 1917
"THE LEGION OF DEATH" STARRING EDITH STOREY.
"The I - «
-_i i • • 1 1 of Death," Btarring Edith Storey, which is nearpletion
al the West Coast studios of Metro, under the
Tod Browning, is an unusually massive production,
elaborate In detail. The story itself is based, by the
author, June Mathis, on the historic fad thai since the time
real women tui \ < been the most potent
in l; ussian hist orj
The star herself Is Individually fitted to portray a fearless flght-
Scene from "The Legion of Death" (Metro).
in S girl of Russia because she has the characteristic Slavonic
round face and dark features, and she is singularly adapted to
perform the athletic feats of riding, both on horseback and
on motorcycles, the shooting and the fighting in hand-to-hand
combats.
As great care has been exercised in casting the other characters,
each one being engaged after a careful study of the
strong "types" needed for the parts, Director Browning demanded
that he be supplied with real Russian men and women
for the big street and battle scenes instead of the regular extra
players usually seen in mob scenes. The Russians were on
hand when needed, but none of them could speak English, so
it was necessary to employ seven interpreters and distribute
them among the mob, so that Browning's orders could be
carried out without mistakes. The settings erected for "The
Legion of Death" are spacious and elaborate.
ERNEST WARDE TO DIRECT KEENAN.
Ernest C. Warde, son of Frederick Warde, and producer of
a long list of big artistic and financial successes, has been
engaged by Pathe as director for Frank Keenan, the new Pathe
feature star. Mr. Keenan, known as one of the grandest
American delineators of big dramatic roles, is now completing
a strong feature called "Loaded Dice," scenarioized by Gilson
Willets from the widely-read novel of Hillary A. Clark.
Mr. Warde has made final arrangements for the production
of "Simeon's Shadow" from the novel by Elizabeth Lee, the
scenario for which was also written by Mr. Willets. This
picture affords Frank Keenan one of the most dominant parts
he has ever had, that of the head of a great railroad system
reminiscent of sudh men as Hill and Harriman.
L-KO RELEASES CARRYING STARS.
Having decided to add stars to the L-Ko brand as an extra
attraction for exhibitors who have been showing the long
established comedies under the trade-mark exclusively, President
Julius Stern, in co-operation with Director J. G. Blystone,
announces a few of the forthcoming attractions in detail!
Hughie Mack, Gale Henry, Mack Swain, Myrtle Sterling and
Bobby Dunn are all working, under individual directors, in
active preparation of forthcoming L-Kos.
The second comedy in the "Ambrose" series, following
"Ambrose's Icy Love," to be released December 26, will be
"Baseball Ambrose" in nine innings of the national pastime
condensed into two reels of fun. There will be a lively comedy,
with grotesque Gale Henry demonstrating "The Price She
Paid," and Archie Mayo is directing Bobby Dunn in a bathhouse
feature that will engage a large assemblage of L-Ko
beauties.
"Barbarous Plots" will have Hughie Mack as the star with
Bobby Dunn featured. In this subject there will be an unusual
assemblage of old favorites who have frequented L-Kos for
some time, including Eva Novak, Dick Smith and the comedy
"vamp," Katherine Young. Julius Stern remains on the Pacific
Coast for some time to come, centering his activities at L-Ko's
studio in Hollywood, with occasional trips, on the business of
his firm, to other coast cities. Abe Stern, treasurer of L-Ko,
is meanwhile substituting for his brother at L-Ko headquarters'
in New York.
RICE AND CAVANAUGH FORM PARTNERSHIP.
Burton Rice, recently returned from the battlefields of
France, where he saw eight months' service doing ambulance
work, and who will be recalled as the designer of many of the
attractive advertising displays of various film manufacturers,
not to forget the talk-creating copy that he turned out for
Bluebird in the earlier days, has formed a partnership with
Raymond Cavanaugh, for the last three years with Universal
as assistant advertising manager, and previously in the same
line in Chicago, where his work on the art staffs of various
advertising agencies made full use of his knowledge of printing,
typographical display and engraving. The new firm, which
has opened offices on the twentieth floor of the Times Building,
purposes to turn out all orders from film concerns for black
and white color work, art posters and such other design
work as naturally falls under their style of endeavor.
TWO SCREEN PLAYERS HEAR THEMSELVES TALK.
For the first time in about three years Pauline Frederick,
star in Paramount pictures, and Thomas Meighan, who has
appeared as her leading man in many productions, had an
opportunity of hearing what their own voices sounded like on
the stage when they appeared with others from the Famous
Players Studio at the Hero Land Bazaar in Grand Central
Palace, New York. The vehicle of this appearance was a skit
written by Willard Mack, based on the funny incidents that
occur in a studio during the making of a production. The
sketch ran for about twenty minutes and was a riot from the
start. They "packed 'em in" for four shows and repeated the
performance on another occasion. Others in the cast were
Robert G. Vignola, William J. Scully and Ned Van Buren.
UNIVERSAL BOOSTS GOOD CAUSE.
The Universal Film Manufacturing Co. will enter largely into
the purchase and distribution of the War Savings Certificates
and Thrift Stamps. Universal took a quarter of a million in
the first Liberty Loan and sold the bonds on weekly payment
plan to its employees. In its move to promote the War Savings
Certificates, every employee will be invited to participate, and
Universal's Accounting Department will propose that every
bill it pays for merchandise, supplies and other business obligations
shall be partially accounted for in Thrift Stamps or Certificates.
Scene from "Almost Divorced" (Christie). Scene from "The Pride of New York" (Fox).