“The Miracle,” which Morris Gest presented in the year of 1924 in the
Century Theatre, New York, as a pantomime, had been filmed by Joseph
Mencher and was shown at the Park Theatre, New York, in February, 1913.
It was a “filmed pantomime” (not a moving picture drama), based on the
Wordless Mystery Play which, under the direction of Max Reinhardt, had
had a wonderful run at the Olympic, London.
A reviewer said of it:
What was seen and heard last night only went to emphasize that the
moving picture under certain conditions, conditions like those that
prevailed last night, may be capable of providing entertainment to
be taken seriously by audiences which have never seen the inside of
an electric theatre.
Eugene Sue’s “Wandering Jew” came over, the work of the Roma Film
Company.
In our own country, Helen Gardner in her own productions was appearing
as _Cleopatra_ and like characters.
The Vitagraph started on a trip around the world with Clara Kimball
Young to do a picture in each country visited, but that rather fell by
the wayside; Miss Young, however, had somewhat contented herself with
having charming “still” photos taken in costume in each country on
their route; when the company reached Paris, Vitagraph cabled for the
actors to come home.
Kalem had already made some beautiful pictures in Ireland, and in Egypt
had made “From the Manger to the Cross,” under Sidney Olcott.
Vitagraph answered an inquiry as to when they made “Macbeth” by saying
they “made it so long ago they wanted to forget it in these days (1913)
of high art production.”
Keystone Comedies were coming along, directed by Mack Sennett,
featuring the two famous detectives, Mack Sennett and Fred Mace. In
these comedies Mabel Normand began to daredevil. Henry Lehrman joined
Sennett.
Hal Reid, Wally Reid’s father, was directing Reliance pictures.
“Traffic in Souls,” written by Walter McNamara and directed by George
Loane Tucker, opened at Weber’s Theatre, Twenty-ninth Street and
Broadway, at twenty-five cents the seat. People clamored for admission,
with thousands turned away.
So Biograph, concluding to get into the march of things, ordered
posters for twelve of their players whose names they would make public.
“David Belasco Griffith” became Mr. Griffith’s nom-de-moving-pictures.
It was a time of tremendous ambitions to him. In California, during
that winter, was filmed his “masterpiece”--“Mother Love”--seven hundred
feet over one reel. Mr. Griffith refused to have it the conventional
length, refused to finish it in a stated time, refused to consider
expense, introducing a lavish cabaret scene, costing eighteen hundred
dollars exclusive of salaries. Miss Bambrick arranged the dances and
coached the dancers. Mr. Griffith said of it, “If it serves no other
use, it will teach café managers in the interior how to run a café.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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