STALLS GOSSIP.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 January 1916, Page 11

STALLS GOSSIP.

MUSIC, MIMES AND MOVIES. Muriel Stan next Thursday, in •''Bought and Paid For," a ml trump card. » • "3 Mr. R. O. Knovrlcs, who has returned to the English music-hall fctage, has come to the conclusion mat. "the public prefers amusement to education." Jn other words, the public proved indifferent to his lectures Mr. Rmnvles reckons himself £-5,000 out of pocket over those lectin es!

The groat picture firm of Selig have their own jungle zoo. and figures show that there is no race suicide. The following youngsters have, appeared at the plant in the past two months:—Ten leopards, twelve lion', two tigers, one fallow deer, two llamas, and an axis deer. • • *

"Bob" Williamson, the busy, breezy "in front." for J.C.W.. I.td.. blew in the other night, and the gist of his interesting conversation was, "Don't miss 'Bought and Paid For.' It's the lincst comedy-drama we've ever sent to New Plymouth." Incidentally, Mr. Williamson stated that the Comic Opera Co,, which has just concluded a most successful season at Auckland, will not visit this town. • * •

"New Plymouth is a <urious town from a showman's point of view," says Mr. Williamson. "At one time it handsomely paid the firm to make a two or three nights' stay, but now we can only afford one. night. Why, I cannot- understand. We give, the best of our goods. A legitimate excuse is not 'the war,' because for ssreral years New Plymouth has been declining in favor with our management. If the forthcoming production of 'Bought and Paid For' does not bring grist to the mill it is more than probable that New Plymouth will lie 'counted out' with the firm."

Mr. Lionel Walsh, an old New Zealand boy. who managed the New Zealand tour of the "Within the law" country touring company last year, writes from Tasmania that the company is again about to visit New Zealand, playing the "smalls" ivitli "The Man who Stayed at Home" and "The Woman in the Case." The tour is to begin m the South Island in February. The company . has just finished a good season in West Australia.

Mabel Xormand, the Keystone star, while attempting a daring feat in an aeroplane on December 1 with Chester Conklin, had a narrow escape from instant death. The big military monoplane got beyond control of Conklin, and, before he could stop it, Miss Xormand was dragged nearly a. hundred yards with great force, sustaining injuries which will incapacitate her from film wor'i for some time. Conklin was in the driver's seat, and before he could be extricated was burned severely on the legs and arms. Mabel Normand had barely recovered from an almost fatal accident, sustained in a comedy scene, wherein she was accidentally hit on the head, and miraculously escaped concussion of the brain

Few people would contemplate with satisfaction the idea of voluntarily resigning the earning of £l(JOf) a week in order to join the Army. Vet that is what Mr. Vernon Castle, the young English musical-play dancer—the most popular artist in New York—is about to do (says the London Chronicle). Mr. Vernon Castle, and his wife are two of the best-paid artists in America—as dancing partners they jointly earn £UiUf> a week —and now lie has decided to leave the stage and to come home and join tiie Royal Flying Corps. He is the marvellous artist of whom a Xew York dramatic critic —after he had seen him dance—wrote, "He would be a very difficult man to bury!"

Miss Edna Keeley. the leading ladv of the Allen Doone Company, is looking forward to a short holiday trip to America, which she intends entering upon within the next few weeks. Miss Koelcy, who is a native of Los Angels?), in California, has not been home for several years, and is naturally very anxious to see her friends and relatives again. She is firm, however, in her intention of returning to Australia within a voupie of .months, for, having made so many friends here, she now looks upon the Commonwealth as the country of he: Mr. Doone will also shortly leave tor America, where business interests require his presence, lie will onl\ be on American soil for a few days, ami hopes to return to Australia by the sanip steamer on which he leaves.

Says the Dunedin Star; "Benno Seherek Locates in Xew York" is the headline under which the Musical Courier announces the arrival in New York from London of the talented, magnetic little Polish pianist, conductor and manager. who. after his first appearance in Dunedin ;if> years ago, made his home with us, married the daughter of one of our best-known citizens (the late Mr. Henry Tewslev), enriched the musical life of this town in the long period of his residence here, and is, at this day, worthily represented in our midst by liis son Max. Herr Seherek set foot in Dunedin on the cold winter's night of May 28. 18S0, the solo pianist of a notable concert company supporting the brilliant violinist, Camille. Urso. P>y a younger generation, he will be called to mind as the conductor of several of Williamson's opera companies; as a apathetic. accompanist to musiwl sUrs. \»l>-ise tours he arranged; and as an impresario in charge of ike Australasian tours of such musicians as Carrono, Hambourg, Grainger and Gcrardv.

Among those elevated to knighthood at the Xew Year was Sir THmas Beecham, the distinguished son of the man who made his name by selling things said to be '''worth a guinea a box." Sir Thomas i 5 a musician and conductor, and in the prosecution of his hobby has spent a great deal of money which had its origin in the great pill industry. As a devotee of music,' Sir Thc"4.as has one big outstanding desire, to produce the grand opera masterpieces in English at prices somewhere within reasonable hounds, and it was lie who took over Hammerstein's Opera House in London after the Ame'ican impressario failed in bis big venture in the metropolis. Sir Thomas was born fn 1870. and in 1903 married Miss Utica Weilcs, daughter of Dr. Charles S. Welles, of New York, a descendant of one of the old iPuritan families, It was only in 1014 that Sir Thomas Ueccham, the aforesaid manufacturer, was created fi baronet, so the distinction gained by his son only anticipates the "handle," ami Is a compliment to Ms energy and enthu»ia«n In tfcj c&use o* m^lo.

N«rway is the Srst country in the w®rlii to take over the motios pictres. The licenses of all the picture theatres expire early thi« year, and the (Joveruaient will then assume full control of the whole business, buying the Uinu and exhibiting.

Miry Fuller, the popular film star, had a narrow escape from drowning in Gloucester, Massachussets, recently. Miss Fuller sis a mermaid and the men as fishermen were enacting scenes for a new play on a rocky crag oil the coast when giant waves struck t.hcm and carried them into the water.

Sir Herbert Tree lias been raptured by the American motion picture people, and is included in the Triangle Corporation's engagements Me is under a ten mouths' contract to appear under the persona' direction of David W'ark (irillitli. He is to appear as Wolsey in "Henry V'lU.," and probably as Hottorn in "A Midsummer Night's Dream,"

Mary Picklord, after listening to various people who have pointed out to her that it is only specialists who succeed, and versatility that, fails, has taken the lesson to heart, and consequently the "World's Sweetheart" will return to her style ot noTjng which made her famous. The first of these parts is entitled "Rags'" l.ittlc Mary and her cam puny left l.o? Angeles recently for the " Famous Players'" studio in New York. Allan Dwan, the brilliant picture producer, will in future direct -all of Miss Pickford's plays "Rags," the latest of his productions, is replete with heart interest and comedy.

Here are the two latest stories that are being told of the pictures. Little Will had been to tlie pictures and was telling bis friend Tommy of the "strategy" displayed by the hero. "But what do von mean by strategy?" asked Tommy. "Well," said Willie, witii a superior air. "during a. battle, if one side runs out of ammunition, and don't want the. other side to know it, the strategy is to keen on firing." The other story: During the interval two old men were talking about how certain pictures were made One of them said, "[ read in the paper that a moving picture actress ran an automobile over a fifty-foot cliff into the sea. They don't really do that, do they?" "Oh, my, no!" said the other old man; "they just, raise the ocean to the top of the cliit', rim the auto into it, and let it, gently settle down .-.gain."

"My OH Dutch," the picture-play written Ijv Albert Chevalier and Arthur Shirley arounrl one of the first songs that. Albert Chevalier made famous, is evidently "some show." as the rapid American would say. One hardened citizen, who saw it in Auckland, wrote that it had brought tears to his eyes for the firs't time in twenty years. He has made a humorous suggestion that, instead of giving out programmes, the management should hand out extra handkerchiefs! The story is one which giveo Chevalier infinite scope and infinite opportunity, and all the peculiar charm and sentiment, that Chevalier stands for is in it. Another charm it has is the real London of the coster and the society "young bloods.'' Arthur Shirley and Chevalier know their London too well to lose a detail of it, and the picture i? full of contrasts of London life.

An invention that proves to be of some account has been patented by Mr David ITorselv; it is called the axetitlor. In order to prove its utility the patent was tried out on a picture "Could a Man Do More?" The picture opens with Crane Wilbur, an actor on the Mutual programmes. He is seen at the start of the picture entering a library and seating himself in comfort in a big arm-chair. He. assumes a story-telling attitude, facing the camera, carrying out the business of telling a story, when tile axetitler records his words: "Let me tell you a story," on the lower left> hand portion of the film Willnir rev mains on the scene throughout. The picture then dissolves into the theme of the story, and when it is concluded dissolves back to Wilbur, still seated in the armchair, but now going through the business of ending the story while the axetitler records: "And thus my story ends."

Boyd Irwin, the good-looking juvenile lead, has been transferred from the Muriel Starr Company to pi°_-- ■•mother detective part—ln "Kick-in" 05 the original east of "Within the Law" (s»ys "Powder Pufi"' in the Bulletin) Muriel and Boyd Irwin were the only two to last out the nm of the piece. Changes i:i tlie personnel of the company were constantly being made, some of the parts having had as many as six exponents; but Alary Turner and Cassidy have hud no othvr interpreters since the memorable opening night in Melbourne two years and a-h.tlf ago. TSoyd Irwin has been eight yea-v. with Williamson, supporting <;iich sisr.i as Tittell Brune, Katherine f! cey. Julius Knight, Tom Kingston, Titherndge, Kolker (with Ola Jane Humphrey). William Desmond, and Muriel Starr lie has played Cripps to five Silver Kings—Titheradge, Kolker, Plimmer, Walter Tientley and William Desmond. He won't say which he considers the worst.

Thomas A. Kdison is credited with having said; "Give me a r.ioiton picrnre machine and I'll teach more history in fifteen minutes than instructors and text, hooks can drill into the minds of children in a month;" This was with the machines in use some fifteen years ago, when I lie jumps and flickers and dances of the bioscope made it an optical hardship to look at a film, Nicholas Power was the first man who realised that the picture industry had come to '-'".v. hut lie saw at the same time tliat if it v,'(.Te going to be a successful business the pictures must be made steady. He set out to study the '"flicker."' Edison was too busy on bigger tilings to worry about such a trifle as a motion picture machine; he hud invented it; and that was enough. Nicholas Power spent years in improving the picture, but, unlike most inventors, lie was wise enough to keep tile reward of his genius under his own control and not sell it for practically a song. The result is that to-day he stands as one of the big rich men of the world.