TION PICTURE 
 ACTING 
 
 j 
 
 HOWTO PREPARE FOR PHOTOPLAYING 
 WT QUALIFICATIONS ARE NECESSARY 
 HOW TO SECURE AN ENGAGEMENT 
 
 9 p SALARIES PAID TO PHOTOPLAYERS 
 
 FRANCES AC NEW 
 
 rnia 
 ,1
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 - '
 
 \
 
 MISS FRANCES AGNEW. 
 Author. Actress and Photoplayer.
 
 MOTION PICTURE 
 ACTING 
 
 HOW TO PREPARE FOR PHOTOPLAYING 
 
 WHAT QUALIFICATIONS ARE NECESSARY 
 
 HOW TO SECURE AN ENGAGEMENT 
 
 SALARIES PAID TO PIIOTOPLAYERS 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCES AGNEW 
 
 ILLUSTRATED EDITION 
 
 RELIANCE NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 1547 Broadway, New York City
 
 COPYRIGHT, igia 
 
 RELIANCE NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE, PUBLISHERS 
 NEW YORK CITY
 
 College 
 Library 
 
 AUTHOR'S NOTE 
 
 To MY READERS: 
 
 This timely book is tendered to those interested 
 in the profession of photoplay ing, not only as a 
 textbook of personal instruction, but also in the 
 nature of a book of facts regarding the opportuni- 
 ties of this work, the qualifications, essential talents 
 and methods of procedure for success as a photo- 
 player. 
 
 The information herein has been gleaned from 
 the writer's personal experience with various film 
 companies and on the dramatic stage the different 
 engagements affording her an opportunity to draw 
 comparisons and a careful study and investigation 
 of the subject of motion pictures as an industry, 
 a present and future profession, and a source of 
 amusement and instruction to the whole world. 
 
 The writer is humbly grateful for the data given 
 by many of the most famous photoplay ers whose 
 experience and stellar positions have given them an 
 insight into every phase of this vast industry, and 
 especially for the patient encouragement and kind 
 assistance of the publishers, who alone made this 
 little book a possibility and a reality. 
 
 F. A. 
 
 1567798
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART PAGE 
 
 I. EARLY BEGINNINGS OF THE MOTION PICTURE IN- 
 DUSTRY . . 9 
 
 II. THE ART OF PHOTOPLAY ACTING 16 
 
 III. QUALIFICATIONS 24 
 
 Talent 24 
 
 Health 25 
 
 Mental Ability . 27 
 
 Personal Appearance 29 
 
 Personality 3 1 
 
 Age 32 
 
 Patience, Pluck and Perseverance Plus Ambi- 
 tion 33 
 
 IV. TRAINING 34 
 
 Physical Culture 34 
 
 Breathing 38 
 
 Facial Expression and Pantomime Practice . 40 
 
 Observation 43 
 
 V. How A MOTION PICTURE ENGAGEMENT is OB- 
 TAINED 44 
 
 Theatrical Agencies 45 
 
 Jobbing 53 
 
 Film Companies 56 
 
 Types 59 
 
 VI. SALARIES OF MOTION PICTURE PLAYERS .... 62 
 
 VII. Do's AND DON'TS TO THE PROSPECTIVE PHOTO- 
 PLAYER 65 
 
 VIII. HEIGHTS OF SUCCESS AS A PHOTOPLAYER .... 67 
 
 IX. PRODUCING A PHOTOPLAY 7 1 
 
 The Motion Picture Studio 7* 
 
 The Stage foreground and side lines .... 72 
 
 Costumes 7*> 
 
 Make-up 77
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART PAGE 
 
 X. STATEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL PHOTOPLAYERS ... 83 
 
 Miss Gwendoline Pates (Path6 Freres) ... 83 
 
 Mr. Carlyle Blackwell (Kalem) 84 
 
 Miss Miriam Nesbitt (Edison) 85 
 
 Miss Flora Finch (Vitagraph) 87 
 
 Miss Mae Hotely (Lubin) 88 
 
 Miss Muriel Ostriche (Reliance) 9 
 
 Miss Alice Joyce (Kalem) 93 
 
 Mi. John Bunny (Vitagraph) 95
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Miss Frances Agnew, the Author .... Frontispiece 
 
 Miss Alice Joyce H 
 
 Miss Joyce and Miss Agnew in a Kalem Photoplay ... 18 
 
 Mr. John Bunny 22 
 
 Miss Mae Hotely 26 
 
 Miss Mae Hotely in a Lubin Photoplay 3 
 
 Miss Agnew, as Jessica, in "The Merchant of Venice" . . 34 
 
 Miss Agnew as an Indian Maid in a Crystal Photoplay . . 38 
 
 Miss Gwendoline Pates 42 
 
 Miss Pates in a PathS Freres Photoplay 46 
 
 Miss Pates in a Pathe" Freres Photoplay 50 
 
 Miss Pates in a PathS Freres Photoplay 54 
 
 Miss Agnew, as Lucius, in "Julius Caesar" 58 
 
 Miss Miriam Nesbitt 62 
 
 Miss Miriam Nesbitt in an Edison Photoplay 66 
 
 Miss Muriel Ostriche 7 
 
 Mr. Carlyle Blackwell 74 
 
 Miss Mae Hotely in a Lubin Photoplay 78 
 
 Miss Flora Finch 82 
 
 Miss Finch in a Vitagraph Photoplay 86 
 
 Miss Finch and Mr. John Bunny in a Vitagraph Photoplay . 90 
 
 Miss Mae Hotely as an Irishwoman 94 
 
 Mr. John Bunny as a Jolly Tar 98
 
 MOVING PICTURE 
 ACTING 
 
 PART I 
 
 EARLY BEGINNINGS OF THE MOTION 
 PICTURE INDUSTRY 
 
 IF YOUR grandmother, when a little girl, had 
 been told that perhaps she "would live to see 
 the day" when there would be real moving 
 pictures, she would have been all excitement and 
 like most women and men, too, to be fair to all 
 she would have been filled with that often-tragic 
 possession known as sheet curiosity. Naturally, her 
 first question would have been "What are moving 
 pictures ?" She no doubt had a vague idea of mov- 
 ing or animated pictures. Perhaps, like children of 
 to-day, she had made her own "movies" by holding 
 an ordinary picture close to the eyes, staring at it a 
 moment in a "cross-eyed" fashion, thus producing 
 the illusion of animation. Staring at a picket 
 fence, striped materials, etc., without blinking the 
 eyes, soon deludes one into believing that the rails, 
 stripes or perpendicular lines are swaying from 
 
 9
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 side to side, while in reality it is only an illusion of 
 the optical organs. Perhaps, also, "grandmother's 
 big brother" had a magic lantern, a toy which like 
 the camera or larger projecting lantern has been 
 likewise improved, so that children of to-day are 
 also the delighted possessors of toy motion picture 
 machines. 
 
 She knew all this, and had no doubt seen stereop- 
 ticon slides. How could there be anything greater ? 
 And yet the world was destined to know and see 
 something even greater in this line, and if the vast 
 strides made by men of photographic genius can be 
 taken as a criterion for the future, the half has not 
 yet been accomplished. 
 
 The earliest beginnings of what might be called 
 moving pictures, though in the crudest form, of 
 course, were about 1872, we are told just a few 
 years after that great civil catastrophe which im- 
 peded the progress of discovery and invention in 
 our country and also in foreign lands, since the eyes 
 of the Old World were centered on the efforts of 
 every true American to save his nation according to 
 his own convictions of how that should be done. 
 Although it is known that prior to this date, even 
 before the war, similar experiments were made by 
 various inventors, yet we have little record of the 
 results of these efforts, and nothing noteworthy was 
 accomplished. 
 
 About this time (1872), an enterprising English- 
 man, a resident of America, however, conceived the 
 
 10
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 idea of making motion pictures by the use of suc- 
 cessive snap shots. It was his belief that the re- 
 sults could be accomplished by placing several 
 cameras in a row and as the object to be photo- 
 graphed passed, each camera took a "snap." This 
 method was used to photograph the actions of ani- 
 mals in motion, and its greatest success was at the 
 race track. Here, strings attached to each camera 
 were stretched across the track at such a height as to 
 make it impossible for the horse to pass without 
 breaking the string. In so doing the horse really 
 took a snap shot of his action at that moment. 
 These "snaps," after development, were pieced to- 
 gether and shown on the screen in much the same 
 way that stereopticon slides are exhibited. While 
 he truly accomplished something in the way of ani- 
 mated pictures, and at least set the pace for others 
 to follow, giving the impetus strongly responsible 
 for present day results in animated photography, it 
 is quite apparent that his method could be put to 
 very limited use. In fact, the only experiments he 
 made were the running and walking actions and 
 athletic feats of men and animals as they passed 
 before the row of cameras. It is also obvious that 
 the films thus produced most uninteresting and 
 boring in comparison with those now shown must 
 have depicted very disconnected and jerky move- 
 ments when thrown on the screen. When we com- 
 pare this method with that in use to-day and try to 
 consider how it would have been possible for its 
 
 II
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 originator to make pictures of such length as are 
 now shown, we get a clear idea of its impractica- 
 bility and also a hazy conception of the enormous 
 expense it would involve. Imagine using a separate 
 camera to photograph every action in a picture to- 
 day ! It would be limited, of course, to progressive 
 actions across the screen, but even so, to merely 
 show some of the racing scenes, etc., which it is 
 our privilege to enjoy, would have necessitated the 
 use of hundreds, nay, thousands of cameras. What 
 an undertaking it would have been! 
 
 However, every little bit accomplished in any 
 work brings the dreams of ingenious minds closer 
 to the goal of perfection, and while these experi- 
 ments revealed no very profitable results at that 
 time, the stimulus which this one man's efforts gave 
 to others was wonderful. Men all over the world 
 immediately set to work for one single accomplish- 
 ment perfection in motion picture photography. 
 Each sought to outdo the efforts of others; each 
 one, no doubt, had dreams of giving the world the 
 invention which should mark perfection in animated 
 pictures. Perhaps the greatest of these early ef- 
 forts was the invention of the "Wizard of Elec- 
 tricity," Thomas A. Edison. This one of his many 
 wonderful inventions, exhibited to the world in 
 1893, was known as the "Kinetoscope" not in its 
 present state of perfection, but more in the nature 
 of a grown-up toy. It was operated by dropping 
 a coin into the slot, and when thus "fed" it gave 
 
 12
 
 \ 
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 to the spectator whose eye was placed to the peep- 
 hole a momentary glimpse of what appeared to him 
 then to be not only marvelous but almost impossible. 
 The automatic actions of the photographs in the 
 machine made the figures thereon seem almost alive. 
 Ma'ny doubters refused to believe and declared 
 themselves duped. Though it was impossible that 
 human hands could be working the machine, they 
 still discredited its wonders. Others could only rub 
 their eyes in astonishment and admiration. 
 
 Mr. Edison, however, seemed to have little faith 
 in his device except as a coin-eating toy, and neg- 
 lected to patent his invention in Great Britain. 
 Thus, visitors to America, with a hazy idea of its 
 far-reaching possibilities, sought to have the ma- 
 chine copied in England. There, one Robert A. 
 Paul, to whom they confided their plans, after in- 
 vestigation learned of Mr. Edison's neglect and thus 
 found it easy to control the machine in that country. 
 He planned to extend its wonders by perfecting, 
 from the foundation thus laid by Edison, a ma- 
 chine which would throw these animated pictures 
 on the screen. His efforts in this direction met 
 with ultimate success and an amusing incident is 
 told of his first remarkable accomplishment. It 
 is said that in the wee sma' hours, one morning in 
 1895, he and his associates were rewarded with 
 success by seeing the results of their efforts in the 
 form of the first perfect motion pictures that had 
 been thrown on the screen. Incidentally, this pic- 
 
 13
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 ture was less than fifty feet in length; to-day few 
 are made containing less than five hundred or a 
 thousand feet. But it was such a remarkable 
 achievement and Robert A. Paul had worked 
 so hard for this accomplishment that he and 
 his associates could not refrain from expressing 
 their appreciation of their own work to such an ex- 
 tent that the neighborhood of their little studio 
 was much disturbed in its restful morning slumbers. 
 So great was the exultation that the blue-coated 
 guardians of peace (or perhaps they did not wear 
 this regalia at that time) were summoned to in- 
 vestigate. When they, too, were allowed to view 
 the remarkable exhibition of real moving pictures, 
 they undoubtedly forgot the complaints of the 
 awakened slumberers, and themselves joined in the 
 shouts of delight, leaving the disturbed citizens in 
 the neighborhood to give way to their wrath by 
 lengthy and not too carefully worded discourses 
 against the prowlers of the night who denied the 
 laborer his just deserts as an occasional inhabitant 
 of dreamland! 
 
 However, after this climax of success Robert A. 
 Paul succeeded in producing several other pictures, 
 truly remarkable at this stage of the art, and an 
 English manager, ever on the alert for a novelty 
 which would attract the public and in turn rain gold 
 into his private coffers, negotiated with him for the 
 right to use the machine and pictures in his theater. 
 Though dubious as to the outcome of the device 
 
 14
 
 
 MISS ALICE JOYCE, THE FAMOUS LEADING LADY OF THE KALEM CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 when "tried out" on a critical public, Paul finally 
 consented to share in the venture. Needless to say, 
 enormous success was the result. Thus began the 
 first of the apparently infinite chain of motion pic- 
 ture theaters. To-day Greater New York City alone 
 contains more than six hundred of these places of 
 amusement some most elaborate, others mere 
 "holes in the wall" with a screen at one end, an 
 operating box at the other, and spectators' benches 
 between. This number is being increased daily, 
 while throughout the whole world, even in the 
 smallest cities and towns, moving picture theaters 
 are being opened constantly and a great many of 
 the large legitimate houses have been turned over 
 to this form of amusement, thus proving its ever- 
 growing popularity. 
 
 During these years others in different countries 
 France, Germany and our own United States par- 
 ticularly were making similar experiments, with 
 the result that many different devices were put on 
 the market. However, the invention of Thomas A. 
 Edison, the genius, while greatly improved, not only 
 by himself but by many other remarkable inventors, 
 may be said to have formed the basis of all later 
 machines. The various motion picture devices 
 which flash amusement and instruction for the 
 masses to-day are but improvements on and addi- 
 tions to the wonderful apparatus which startled the 
 whole world during the years 1893-1897.
 
 PART II 
 THE ART OF PHOTOPLAY ACTING 
 
 Utterly apart from and at the same time vitally 
 related to the subject of moving pictures, their 
 growth and future possibilities from a scientific 
 standpoint, is the art of photoplay acting. This 
 profession, too, may be said to be in its infancy. 
 In the beginning only the lesser players could be 
 induced to enter such work. It was far beneath 
 the dignity of an artist! To give them the benefit 
 of the doubt, the salaries at that time were very 
 small, and this may have influenced the better class 
 of actors against the thoughts of becoming motion 
 picture artists. Nevertheless, those who were led 
 into the work were condemned by regular theatrical 
 managers who refused to consider them for parts 
 on the stage after such experience. These moguls 
 denounced the work as tending to make mechanical 
 figures rather than natural actors; they claimed 
 that pantomime without the effect of voice work 
 made the player like a tree, all limbs, to put it 
 frankly, rather than an artist in full control of every 
 muscle and mentality necessary for the production 
 of a real actor. As a result of this attitude toward 
 
 16
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 the work, many of the "movie" players were re- 
 cruited from the amateur ranks even in those days, 
 and it is estimated that a large percentage of the 
 screen stars of this age had no other experience, 
 but were the most timid of amateurs when they 
 began to pose for the pictures. 
 
 As pictures gained in popularity and larger and 
 more elaborate theaters were built in which to en- 
 tertain the masses with this form of amusement 
 and instruction, the film companies naturally derived 
 a greater profit from the fact that the added num- 
 ber of theaters necessitated an additional number of 
 copies of each picture. This steady growth natur- 
 ally spurred the makers to better productions ; they 
 sought to place before the public pictures of the 
 highest standard then known. By judicious adver- 
 tising and just remuneration they secured the best 
 of outside ideas and plots for the foundation of 
 their pictures, thus beginning another interesting 
 and lucrative profession in connection with this 
 work that of scenario writing. These plots were 
 for productions requiring larger casts of players 
 than they had hitherto used, and the makers, recog- 
 nizing the fact that the better the players, the better 
 the acting, and the more readily could they express 
 almost all the emotions and ideas that can be con- 
 veyed even in stage work with the vital assistance 
 of the voice, offered splendid financial inducements 
 to both talented amateurs and capable professionals. 
 As a result, the artists in the larger theaters, some 
 
 17
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 of them without engagements, others with shaky 
 contracts, used their common sense and decided 
 that "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," 
 a "sure thing" at a good salary would more than 
 overbalance the thought that one's standard would 
 be lowered in becoming a "movie" player. Am- 
 bitious amateurs, too, plunged into the work with 
 zeal and enthusiasm the remuneration for one and 
 all being a certain amount for each day's work. 
 This was similar to what is known as "jobbing" 
 that is, working only when needed and being paid 
 for the time in service. After a while, however, 
 the companies began to note and gather data as to 
 the impressions made on the spectators by the per- 
 sonality and work of different players. Their 
 names were not given to the public in any way, 
 but the audiences learned to know their faces and 
 to follow the work of their favorites in the different 
 pictures in which they appeared. 
 
 Naturally, this interest and admiration for certain 
 players produced a corresponding admiration and 
 desire to see the photoplays made by their manage- 
 ment, and, recognizing this as a good means of ad- 
 vertising, the manufacturers placed these special 
 players on a guaranteed salary basis the number 
 thus engaged forming the regular "stock" organiza- 
 tion whose services are at the exclusive command 
 of one company. 
 
 The universal popularity and fame gained by 
 photoplayers, if gifted for the work and endowed 
 
 18
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 with an appealing personality, is amazing. Even 
 some of the lesser screen lights are to-day better 
 known throughout the country than a number of 
 the most finished stage stars. They have their ad- 
 mirers in every part of the globe. They assist in 
 making many pictures in the studio or surrounding 
 country, and in a short time these pictures have 
 traveled far and wide and entertained the masses. 
 
 "One man in his time plays many parts," is an 
 old saying, but a photoplayer "goes this one better." 
 He plays many parts in many places on the self- 
 same night. He cannot be in more than one place 
 at a time personally, yet his acting is enjoyed by 
 thousands in many different localities at the same 
 moment. All this has been made possible by the 
 motion picture machine, which is truly one of the 
 wonders of the world ! The "movie" actor does not 
 know his audience, but his audience knows him, and, 
 with a view to gratifying the desire on the part 
 of spectators to know their favorites better (natur- 
 ally prompted by the personal profit in sight, too), 
 most of the current magazines recognized the wis- 
 dom of a department for motion pictures, photo- 
 players, etc., while many other newer magazines are 
 published solely in their interest, with question 
 columns which enable a closer friendship, so to 
 speak, between the delighted spectator and his screen 
 favorite. 
 
 Besides this, it is the privilege of many of the 
 screen stars to go and see their audiences personally 
 
 19
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 not only "from the front" where they can sit as 
 one of them, seeing but unseen, and gathering a deal 
 of information as to the varied opinions of their 
 acting while it is being shown on the screen but 
 also from the stage, as oftentimes, especially in the 
 last year, a "movie" favorite is invited to come in 
 person to a theater in the vicinity in which they 
 may be located, to be seen "in the flesh," and 
 speak a word to the audience regarding the 
 motion pictures, also giving laughable accounts 
 of interesting happenings while working in the 
 pictures. 
 
 To see a well-known player taking a prominent 
 part in a first-run film and then see and hear the 
 player personally is a treat to the fortunate au- 
 diences, and naturally, when it is advertised that 
 Mr. or Miss Blank of the Blank Film Company will 
 appear on the evening of such-and-such a date, the 
 box office receipts show the spectators' appreciation 
 of the pleasure accorded by the manager, thus mak- 
 ing it a profitable deal for him. Though a very 
 few players have been known to give their services 
 in such cases for the glory and free advertising it 
 brought, yet the majority of them are independent 
 of this course and only make such appearances for 
 a stipulated remuneration these appearances sub- 
 ject to the consent of the management of the film 
 company by whom they are employed. The amount 
 received ranges from $10.00, $15.00 and $25.00 
 upward for each appearance, according to the size 
 
 20
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 of the theater (an amount not to be scorned when 
 it is remembered that this is clear profit "on the 
 side"). Some of the more prominent players have 
 added as much as $100.00 to their regular weekly 
 salary as the result of such personal appearances 
 in the motion picture theaters. 
 
 There are also opportunities when the manage- 
 ment of the company allows a player to accept a 
 vaudeville offer made by some booking agent or 
 theater manager who wishes to feature the motion 
 picture player on a special vaudeville bill. These 
 appearances are made in all the larger cities at 
 various times and net the "movie" star a very large 
 salary, since his fame in the pictures acts as a big 
 advertisement and drawing card in the theater for 
 which he is billed. Thus the deal is a mutual suc- 
 cess. Mr. John Bunny, for instance, draws a salary 
 of $1,000.00 a week for occasional weekly engage- 
 ments in vaudeville. Others of less fame and enter- 
 taining ability receive in proportion according to the 
 "goods they have to offer" in the way of a novel 
 vaudeville act and their power as a box office 
 magnet. 
 
 Such personal appearances break the monotony 
 of regular picture work and give the photoplayer 
 that which is lacking in the studio applause! It 
 is not always conceit which incites players to long 
 for this indication of public appreciation; more 
 often it is a yearning for encouragement and a de- 
 sire to know that his efforts to "make good" have 
 
 21
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 not been in vain. "Applause is the spur of noble 
 minds, the end and aim of weak ones." 
 
 It is not every city or town, of course, that has 
 the privilege of seeing and hearing the players per- 
 sonally in this way. In places where a stock com- 
 pany is located to take pictures it is not so difficult 
 for the theater manager to make such arrangements, 
 but other cities or towns not among the list possess- 
 ing the desired scenery for special photoplays can- 
 not enjoy this privilege except in cases where a 
 player goes on a tour to lecture on the subject 
 of motion pictures, or accepts special vaudeville 
 offers, or secures leave of absence from the film 
 company for the purpose of making an extended 
 vaudeville tour throughout the country. 
 
 It is amusing to watch the efforts of a photo- 
 player to extricate himself from the throng of ad- 
 mirers who storm the theater and wait outside for 
 Mr. or Miss Blank, and when at last in sight, even 
 a smile or friendly word is highly cherished because 
 it came from that player. This is only another of 
 the heights of popularity all over the country which 
 this work affords. 
 
 As the general public has watched the growth 
 and in a measure become familiar with the origin 
 and expansion of the profession of photoplaying 
 for both men and women, "stage-struck" humanity 
 the world over has in many cases changed its 
 adoration from the legitimate theaters to the mo- 
 tion picture houses. Others who have little interest 
 
 22
 
 MR. JOHN BUNNY, THE GREAT STAR OF THE GREAT VITAGRAPH CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 in regular dramas, comedies, etc., as shown in the 
 legitimate theaters or "opery house," have become 
 intensely interested in motion picture work. Thus 
 "the lure of the screen," we may call it, rather 
 than the lure of the footlights, is becoming stronger 
 than many can resist, and again and again do we 
 hear the question "How can I get a chance?" or, 
 in stage parlance, "break in." 
 
 By way of explanation, in passing it is well to 
 note that the word "legitimate" in theatrical par- 
 lance is the term used to denote the ordinary speak- 
 ing stage or dramatic and musical branch of the 
 profession, as contrasted with the variety or vaude- 
 ville stage, or the latest branch motion picture act- 
 ing. Thus we say of a dramatic or musical actor 
 on the speaking stage, "He's in the 'legit/ " which 
 is a professional slang phrase meaning that he is 
 on the legitimate stage ; "He's doing the two-a-day" 
 means that he is in vaudeville, and "He's working 
 in the movies" means that he is posing or playing 
 in motion pictures.
 
 PART III 
 QUALIFICATIONS 
 
 At this point the "stage-struck" one, with due 
 personal justice, should ask himself, "Am I eligible, 
 or gifted with the qualifications essential to success 
 as a photoplayer ?" 
 
 I. TALENT 
 
 First and foremost, perhaps, are a natural talent 
 and love for acting and the yearning desire to "make 
 believe you're somebody else," as children say. 
 
 It is rare indeed to find an instance in which 
 a normal individual has not at some time in his life 
 experienced what is known as the "stage-struck" 
 fever. It usually attacks young manhood or woman- 
 hood between the ages of 15 and 20, though some 
 have had the malady even earlier, others later. A 
 deep-rooted case results in real sane ambition, which 
 nothing can daunt. In a mild form the "fever" soon 
 breaks and other interests in life take its place. No 
 case is to be regarded seriously by those who would 
 check it until it has had control of the "patient" 
 for a year or two. During this time, if really in 
 
 24
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 earnest, he or she will have prepared or planned 
 a fortification against every obstacle and made a 
 firm resolution to succeed, in spite of the draw- 
 backs of financial disability, parental objection or 
 lack of opportunity, even though it might mean 
 longer years of work and waiting. This is the test 
 of true ambition, and when it so asserts itself those 
 interested can do no better than to quell their objec- 
 tions, if any, and substitute helpful encouragement. 
 To return to the subject of talent, however : this 
 is a most necessary qualification, of course, but it 
 pales into insignificance in comparison with some 
 of the other necessary attributes. Do not under- 
 stand that one can succeed without talent to a de- 
 gree, but it has been proven in many cases that 
 even remarkable histrionic ability is not in itself 
 adequate. Talent, with the added force and wise 
 direction of other qualifications, spurred on by 
 patient ambition, cannot fail to win success. 
 
 II. HEALTH 
 
 Even marked talent can accomplish little without 
 good health, which is an important attribute to suc- 
 cess in any undertaking. A weak body is a draw- 
 back to any ambition, and especially is it a bar to 
 one who would work for the amusement of the 
 world. In the studio and outdoors the photoplayer 
 is subject to various changes of weather conditions, 
 
 25
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 long hours of steady work and confinement, and dis- 
 comforts both in traveling and in stationary en- 
 gagements, which a weakling cannot combat. He 
 may brave the hardships of such a career for a while, 
 but unless strong, physically, a nervous breakdown 
 is inevitable. The actor, more than any other, per- 
 haps, should be almost immune to illness. In legiti- 
 mate work he may have an understudy to take his 
 place. However, every part is not understudied, 
 especially the stellar roles, and if the actor in the 
 part cannot go on it often necessitates canceling 
 the performance, causing financial loss to each and 
 every member of the company as well as to the 
 management. In the studio it is the same. Perhaps 
 a player is working in a picture which has been 
 continued from the day before. He is expected at 
 the studio at a certain hour and everything is in 
 readiness for work. Should illness prevent his re- 
 porting, the director cannot even resort to the 
 understudy system. If the picture had not been 
 started, he could put another player in the part, 
 but it is impossible, under ordinary circumstances, 
 to use two players for the same part in one picture. 
 The director can do nothing but postpone the pic- 
 ture until the actor's recovery, or re-take the 
 previous scenes with another in the role. 
 
 No one can do better than to strengthen himself, 
 physically, by a regular system of freehand or gym- 
 nastic exercises. This subject, however, is discussed 
 more fully under the head of training. First of 
 
 26
 
 MISS MAE HOTELY, OF THE EUBIN CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 all, attain good health. Examine yourself care- 
 fully in this particular. Are you normal in every 
 way? lips red, eyes clear, flesh firm, appetite good, 
 nerves steady? If not, why not? Your mode of 
 living affects your health. Many can trace bad 
 health to certain habits or extravagant methods of 
 living which they insist on retaining, though the 
 advice of their physician is but a repetition of per- 
 sonal knowledge which they could follow them- 
 selves if they but had the courage and self-control. 
 
 III. MENTAL ABILITY 
 
 It has often been said, maliciously, that actors 
 neither need nor possess brains, but are as so much 
 human clay in the hands of the directors. This 
 is a gross insult to the entire profession of acting, 
 no matter in what branch. The mental power of 
 a large percentage of the world's Thespians is not 
 only far above the average, but in many cases re- 
 markable. Genius has been employed in the crea- 
 tion of some of the wonderful characters which 
 have been unfolded to us both on the stage and 
 on the screen. Originality and depth in a charac- 
 terization are the products of mental force as well 
 as feeling, and no true artist is lacking in that 
 capacity. He who succeeds must be normal men- 
 tally. Not all players are marvels of intellect, 'tis 
 true, but in this work, as in all lines of endeavor, 
 
 27
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 talent amounts to little unless its "side partner" is 
 good common-sense. A wonderful education is not 
 necessary. In some cases it is an impossibility 
 in others a waste of money. No circumstances, 
 however, make it necessary for any one to be ig- 
 norant. "Accuse not nature, she has done her part : 
 do thou but thine," is sound advice which should be 
 followed. You may recall the announcement some 
 time ago of President Eliot of Harvard University, 
 in which he stated that he had selected the contents 
 of an eight-foot book shelf which contained a good 
 and sufficient education any one could personally 
 give to himself if he so desired. This is but another 
 way of saying that systematic home study and sensi- 
 ble reading give in themselves a broad education 
 and enable one to readily think and converse on in- 
 teresting topics of the day. This is particularly 
 helpful in theatrical work. In the studio one meets 
 a great many different people, and unless he is in- 
 tellectually on a plane at least with these people he 
 will find himself somewhat alone and isolated. 
 
 Then, too, a fair education, coupled with good 
 common sense, THE essential point, carries with 
 it a certain amount of business ability which is a 
 coveted asset and a most beneficial possession in 
 the field of art and literature. It is a deplorable 
 fact, but nevertheless true, that few players have 
 a natural or trained commercial intelligence. They 
 spend their earnings freely, often make ill-advised 
 investments and forget to lay by for the "rainy" 
 
 28
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 season between engagements. The photoplayer is 
 less apt to experience this "rainy" season, since his 
 work goes on all the year 52 weeks but, until 
 he has made a name and created a demand for his 
 services, even he is not exempt from such a time 
 when that most independent of possessions a bank 
 account, however small its beginning serves as a 
 "mighty good comforter." Therefore, beware! 
 Covet not wealth, but strive for independence! 
 
 IV. PERSONAL APPEARANCE 
 
 A very important detail, of course, is personal 
 appearance. This is more essential to the photo- 
 player than to the legitimate actor, since the for- 
 mer cannot resort to the same artifices of make-up 
 which assist and solve many problems for his 
 brother behind the footlights. The camera is most 
 accurate, and to become a good successful photo- 
 player one must possess at least ordinary regular 
 features and normal physical development. This 
 applies to a straight player, not including the ec- 
 centric unusual types which find opportunity in 
 special pictures written expressly for such figures. 
 
 Generally speaking, large facial features make a 
 much better impression both in stage and screen 
 work. This does not mean abnormally large, but 
 rather more than mere doll features. Small 
 features can be made to appear larger, but those 
 
 29
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 on whom Nature has bestowed this asset will find 
 it an advantage. It is quite apparent that large 
 features have more strength or carrying power. 
 Their expressions can be clearly read even in the 
 farthest corner of any room where the changing 
 moods of small doll-like features would hardly be 
 discernible. Large dark expressive eyes are a 
 special asset. In fact, the "windows of the soul" 
 are the strongest medium of expression within the 
 control of the photoplayer. 
 
 Both blondes and brunettes, fair and dark com- 
 plexions, are engaged in picture playing, but the 
 latter are given the preference since it has been 
 found through experience that except in rare cases 
 the brunette photographs better for the screen. A 
 normally healthy person possesses the physical 
 development of his age, height, etc. No more is re- 
 quired, though it is obvious that physical exercise 
 would enhance and strengthen this development. 
 
 Closely akin to the subject of personal appear- 
 ance in general is the question of beauty, which 
 may well be called a coveted possession, but a 
 dangerous weapon in the hands of those endowed 
 with no other qualities. Attractive features are an 
 asset, of course, but do not be obsessed with the 
 idea that beauty is essential or necessary. There 
 are few young men who cannot be said to present 
 a good appearance and few young women who are 
 not pretty to a degree, but on the other hand there 
 are very, very few who can boast of remarkable 
 
 30
 
 MISS MAE HOTELY IN A SCENE FROM A PHOTOPLAY OF THE LUBIN CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 natural beauty. If so, there would be little need 
 for the manifold "Beauty Secrets" articles which 
 appear in the columns of every daily newspaper. 
 Cosmetics would be little in demand and there 
 would be no opportunity for the richly paid beauty 
 specialist. 
 
 Be neat and magnetic attractive, not gaudy in 
 your dress and demeanor, developing the other gifts 
 bestowed by nature, and you will have little cause 
 to mourn over your lack of exterior beauty or to 
 bewail the fate that did not make you one of the 
 chosen "very, very few." 
 
 V. PERSONALITY 
 
 This qualification is the embodiment of talent, 
 health, mental and commercial ability and personal 
 appearance. It is an almost indefinable "something" 
 which lures or repels. When it attracts it might 
 be called "charm" and in this meaning it is a 
 wonderful asset in stageland or screenland. With- 
 out ambition and average mentality one hasn't the 
 bubbling enthusiasm of an alluring personality. It 
 is personality which wins popularity. Recall the 
 names of your "screen" favorites. Was it some 
 wonderful bit of acting which coerced your admira- 
 tion ? No ! Wasn't it some manly traits or actions 
 peculiar to himself, or the dainty ways or alluring 
 smile which only she could possess? That is per- 
 
 31
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 sonality magnetism, a quality which every player 
 seeks to develop to the utmost. 
 
 VI. AGE 
 
 No fixed rule could be made governing the age 
 of the beginner in screenland. The profession to- 
 day includes those of all ages from the cradle to 
 60 or more. This depends almost entirely upon 
 the individual. Every type and age of humanity 
 is at some time or other pictured in the photoplays 
 babies, little children, youth, young manhood or 
 young womanhood, middle age, and life in elderly 
 years. So one must be guided by circumstances. 
 Under favorable conditions, financially or otherwise, 
 from 15 to 25 is the age when ambition is at its 
 height, and all attention is centered on the accom- 
 plishment of one interest, one ideal. However, cir- 
 cumstances alter situations, and many worthy am- 
 bitions have been checked and delayed by counter- 
 acting influences, but finally the opportunity has 
 come, found a welcome hand and led to success. 
 Many of the better photoplayers, especially those 
 portraying special character parts, such as old maids 
 and bachelors, and elderly types of different moods, 
 started their careers after the age of 30, many of 
 them having had no experience whatever.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 VII. PATIENCE, PLUCK AND PERSEVERANCE, PLUS 
 AMBITION 
 
 Extra good doses of the three P's patience, 
 pluck and perseverance must be added to these 
 qualifications, and topping it all one must possess 
 a strong determined ambition which knows no dis- 
 couragements. In anything you undertake 
 whether it be to become a successful photoplayer 
 or to enter any other profession let the star of 
 hope be an instigator to the "keep on a-tryin' " 
 habit, and when dark clouds of disappointment in- 
 terpose 'twixt you and that star, when ambition 
 seems in vain and you think "Oh, what's the use," 
 tighten the screw to your courage, apply a little 
 physical "punch" to your efforts and start again. 
 Cling to hope! When it is lost your ambition be- 
 gins to melt and failure is the inevitable result.
 
 PART IV 
 TRAINING 
 
 Having sounded the subject of qualifications and 
 convinced yourself that you will make a good sol- 
 dier, the next step is to enter training. There are 
 some methods of personal study and practice which 
 assist in overcoming the disadvantages and em- 
 barrassment usually experienced by an amateur 
 when seeking to lay the foundation for a stage 
 career. One of the most important among these is : 
 
 I. PHYSICAL CULTURE 
 
 This subject is most important in all work, 
 especially in the field of histrionic art. It not only 
 aids in attaining physical strength and good health, 
 but it results in grace of movement and motion and 
 unconscious and correct attitudes of the body. If 
 you are continually conscious of your hands, your 
 arms, your feet, they will always be "in your way," 
 so to speak. You will be awkward in posing and 
 lacking in that grace and refinement of movement 
 which are characteristic of the finished artist. To 
 acquire this grace and ease in a general way de- 
 
 34
 
 MISS FRANCES AGNEW, AS JESSICA, SHYLOCK'S DAUGHTER. IN SHAKE-
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 pends entirely upon yourself. You may attend 
 physical culture classes, enter gymnasiums, dance, 
 fence or indulge in various outdoor sports such as 
 tennis, golf, rowing, etc., but unless followed dili- 
 gently your efforts are of little avail. Every one, 
 no doubt, has taken free-hand exercises as a part 
 of the curriculum of school work, but few regard 
 these simple little exercises of any importance. Too 
 much cannot be said of the value of such a system 
 of physical training. Exercises which involve 
 stretching and bending the arms and legs, relaxing 
 the wrist, swaying the body and bending the trunk 
 are all of infinite benefit in strengthening and de- 
 veloping a weak physique, and of just as vital im- 
 portance in acquiring graceful movements and posi- 
 tions. 
 
 Practice suggestions: Such simple exercises as 
 turning the head from side to side and bending it 
 forward and backward; rotating the shoulders, 
 throwing them backward and forward, tend to de- 
 velop the chest and strengthen the lungs. Swinging 
 and raising the arms, bending at the elbows, thrust- 
 ing forward, rolling the hand at the wrist and shak- 
 ing the fingers vigorously, cannot fail to give to 
 these muscles the freedom and relaxation which are 
 so necessary in making expressive gestures. Bend- 
 ing left, right, forward and backward at the waist, 
 swaying the body in all directions (allowing the 
 arms free will in these exercises) relaxes the 
 whole body, strengthens the back and induces cor- 
 
 35
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 rect standing and sitting postures. Raising the 
 leg forward, bent at the knee, and thrusting back- 
 ward (straightening the leg on this movement and 
 holding the body firmly erect) is one of the sim- 
 plest and at the same time most helpful exercises 
 to be practiced. It strengthens and gives control 
 over the muscles of the lower limbs and aids in 
 acquiring grace in walking the stage or in private 
 life. 
 
 From these general exercises is evolved an infinite 
 number of special exercises, all tending to accom- 
 plish the same results. It is not so much the exer- 
 cise itself, however, as the force and diligence with 
 which it is taken not once, but many times every 
 day. With a feeling that such simple exercise 
 amounts to nothing and is but a waste of time, am- 
 bition soon loses itself and grows lax with this part 
 of its development. Hence it is strongly urged that 
 the prospective photoplayer start his system of, 
 training for the work with the determination to 
 give himself a careful physical education, even if 
 it becomes necessary to make his daily practice of at 
 least half an hour as strong a habit as his daily 
 meals. Early morning, just after rising, is the best 
 time for this practice. For the majority, however, 
 this is inconvenient ; but surely some time in the day 
 will furnish a half hour's leisure. Even if you 
 attend a gymnasium with all its benefits, do not 
 neglect these free-hand practice exercises. Not only 
 is this the first step in a thorough training for the 
 
 36
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 stage, but its results are most essential for success 
 in every walk of life. 
 
 Dancing and fencing do much to acquire grace 
 and ease of manner, and especially is a knowledge 
 of the former of vital importance in histrionic 
 work. However, they are in themselves but other 
 forms of physical training, and until the opportunity 
 for such study is placed well within one's reach 
 the time should be utilized in free-hand practice 
 which involves no expense whatever. Many of the 
 best known artists on the screen to-day know nothing 
 of fencing in fact, never handled a sword, unless 
 it may have been in the portrayal of some role re- 
 quiring the use of this property and also can do 
 naught but social dancing. Yet they are not lacking 
 in that essential to success a graceful stage pres- 
 ence. 
 
 The result of this physical practice, if followed 
 systematically, is oftentimes little short of magical. 
 Awkward mannerisms are enveloped in graceful ex- 
 pressive actions through which is discerned what 
 has no doubt been a dormant personality. Physical 
 self-control paves the way for the assertion of this 
 personality. Mentality responds, and the two forces 
 express the emotions and feelings of a given situa- 
 tion. This is the sum total of photoplay ing.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 II. BREATHING 
 
 Why touch on such a subject in connection with 
 photoplaying ? one might ask. It is true that voice 
 culture is not important in this work, but it is 
 equally true that strong well-developed lungs are 
 essential to good health, and good health is one of 
 the most important qualifications for success in any 
 line of endeavor perhaps the most important. 
 
 So, in passing, it is not amiss to urge the im- 
 portance of vocal and breathing exercises as a vital 
 part of the study. Regular breathing practice is 
 a habit to be encouraged. In this humdrum world 
 of working-to-win we are apt to neglect this part 
 of our physical machinery. It is true we breathe 
 without thought and effort, but few inhale deeply 
 and exhale correctly. 
 
 While practicing, stand with the weight of the 
 body on the balls of the feet with the toes turned 
 outward at an easy angle. Always inhale through 
 the nose, taking sufficient breath to perform all the 
 uses to which nature puts it. Few persons inhale 
 sufficient to keep the blood pure. One of the best 
 general exercises for practice is taken thus : 
 
 When standing (or seated, if preferred), head 
 and shoulders well up, back unsupported and spine 
 erect, inhale deeply while mentally counting ten, 
 hold the breath for ten counts, then expel through 
 the lips, again counting ten for the exhaling. Re- 
 
 38
 
 S3
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 peat this while taking some simple arm exercises, 
 also exhaling on the vowel sound "ah" pitched on 
 all the tones of the voice consecutively. Exhaling 
 on all the other vowel sounds is equally good prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Always practice vocal exercises in a freely ven- 
 tilated room, preferably before an open window or 
 outdoors in dry weather conditions. The results 
 of your practice will be astounding. The chest 
 and lungs will be developed, the blood purified, 
 catarrhal and throat afflictions materially alleviated, 
 and your health and vitality in every way im- 
 proved. 
 
 Remember also that Thos. A. Edison, the genius, 
 has just perfected what he considers his most won- 
 derful invention the talking moving picture ma- 
 chine. These "talking movies" are now being ex- 
 hibited. The acting is practically the same as on 
 the legitimate stage, the camera photographing the 
 actions and the talking machine recording the voice 
 simultaneously. It is obvious that the voice, its 
 resonance and adaptability to the record will be 
 the first consideration, and the second, one's type 
 and ability as a photoplayer. Hence those "movie" 
 actors and actresses who have a strong healthy 
 physique and a good clear speaking voice, developed 
 by breathing and vocal exercises, will have an ad- 
 vantage over those who, while possessing the voice 
 perhaps, are lacking in ability. 
 
 Every effort to become a better player and round 
 
 39
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 out your art is a step toward the coveted goal of 
 success, though you may not be able to see it in just 
 this way in the beginning of your career. 
 
 III. FACIAL EXPRESSION AND PANTOMIME 
 PRACTICE 
 
 Facial expression is perhaps the most important 
 part of photoplaying. It is an art within itself. 
 The scenes and actions alone do not tell the minute 
 details of the story. After all is said and done the 
 eyes are really the focus of one's personality in 
 photoplaying. With the aid of other facial features 
 they can express almost all the emotions and pas- 
 sions felt by a human soul. These expressions can- 
 not be taught or merely assumed. It is not enough 
 to say that the brows contract, eyes glare and lips 
 are pressed together in anger, or the eyes are opened 
 wide with the semblance of a twinkle in the corners 
 and a smile on the lips in surprise with pleasure, or 
 the wide-open eyes stare into space and the lips 
 slightly open to express surprise with fear, or a 
 mournful look in the depths of the eyes, the mouth 
 drooping, denotes grief and despair, or the eyes are 
 dancing and the face is lit with a sunny smile in 
 excited enjoyment or rejoicing. These are merely 
 principles for expressions which have no depth of 
 sincerity unless impelled by intense feeling. 
 
 A good method of study and practice (always 
 40
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 before a mirror, so as to follow your own progress 
 in clear expression) is thus : 
 
 First, think of some simple story or create an 
 original plot for yourself, making the principal 
 character your own type. The story is to be told 
 by the expressions of the face and the attitudes of 
 the body. 
 
 Next, jot down the various emotions and senti- 
 ments felt by the principal character and analyze 
 within your own mind why. Then picture to your- 
 self mentally the actions which would lead up to 
 this emotion if the plot were actually unfolded on 
 the screen. 
 
 This should awaken within you the very feeling, 
 almost, of the character and enable you to portray 
 in practice this principal role throughout the dif- 
 ferent scenes, imagining the other characters and 
 your stage settings. The value of such pantomimic 
 study and practice cannot be overestimated. 
 
 This practice is similar to a most important 
 feature of the prescribed course of study in the 
 leading dramatic schools, both in the legitimate and 
 motion picture departments. It is recognized as 
 an independent training. Of course, it is difficult 
 for one character alone to convey the plot, but some 
 idea of the thought in mind can be gained by the 
 student's expressions, poses and movements, and 
 his ability is judged accordingly. 
 
 Below is given a list of the emotions and senti- 
 ments which find portrayal in the expressions of the
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 face and the actions and attitudes of the body when 
 the player is in full sympathy with the story and 
 feels the part he is conveying: 
 
 Rejoicing 
 
 Enjoyment with excitement 
 
 Determination 
 
 Anger with control 
 
 Petulance 
 
 Patience 
 
 Surprise with pleasure 
 
 Surprise with pain 
 
 Surprise with fear 
 
 Excitement with anger 
 
 Kindly reproof 
 
 Angry reproof 
 
 Grandeur 
 
 Pride 
 
 Arrogance 
 
 Defiance 
 
 Begging 
 
 Courage 
 
 Hatred 
 
 Love 
 
 Eagerness 
 
 Ecstasy 
 
 Melancholy 
 
 Dignity 
 
 Flippancy 
 
 Tenderness with pity 
 
 Tenderness with love 
 
 Hopefulness 
 
 Sympathy 
 
 Kindness 
 
 Cruelty 
 
 Pathos 
 
 Grief 
 
 Despair 
 
 Agony 
 
 Suspicion 
 
 Threatening 
 
 Indignation 
 
 Caution 
 
 Anxiety peevish 
 
 Anxiety a mother's 
 
 Madness 
 
 Taking each of these emotions separately, think 
 of some sentence or lines cloaking that emotion, and 
 the pose then taken should be the result of the 
 feeling awakened by this thought and your sym- 
 
 42
 
 MISS GWENDOLINE PATES, A LEADING LADY WITH THE PATHE FRERES CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 pathy with its meaning. Notice particularly your 
 facial expression in these attitudes. Many of the 
 emotions above can be clearly expressed by the eyes 
 and other features alone. 
 
 Get in sympathy with your subject, practice in 
 this way and you will be amazed at the results 
 and the force and control gained over the art of 
 expression. 
 
 IV. OBSERVATION 
 
 The school of observation is among the best one 
 can attend. Follow its principles in every part of 
 your daily life. When watching a photoplay, do 
 not merely enjoy its story and the unraveling of 
 its plot, but take from the actors portraying it 
 lessons which will be of vital assistance to you in 
 your personal training. Note the grace of move- 
 ment, walking, rising, sitting, bowing, management 
 of trains, etc., handling of objects on the stage, 
 etc. Take an idea or situation from the play and 
 later practice its portrayal yourself, but do not imi- 
 tate. In imitation one loses individual touches and 
 personality. Strive for originality, practice dili- 
 gently and remember: 
 
 "The more we work, the more we win." 
 
 43
 
 PARTY 
 
 HOW A MOTION PICTURE ENGAGEMENT 
 IS OBTAINED 
 
 If the "stage-struck" one lives in or near New 
 York he probably knows from hearsay something 
 of the opportunities of this work. If he is so un- 
 fortunate or shall we say, so very fortunate as 
 to be distantly removed from the Great White Way 
 undoubtedly he knows little or nothing of the busi- 
 ness end of motion picture acting. 
 
 Though some openly affirm that it is impossible 
 to become a photoplayer without having had pre- 
 vious professional experience on the legitimate 
 stage, yet the fact that there are to-day many suc- 
 cessful photoplayers who had no previous training or 
 experience whatever disproves this assertion. Their 
 natural abilities and talent, coupled with an alert 
 sense of study by observation, etc., enabled them 
 to go on the "picture stage" immediately. 
 
 Naturally these players did not begin as "leads." 
 Few do, either in legitimate or picture work. 
 Whenever an actor or actress starts at the top, those 
 on the inside of theatrical circles are quick to as- 
 sert, possibly with a tinge of jealousy or merely 
 the repetition of Dame Rumor, "Oh, he's in all 
 
 44
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 right got influence," or "Well, why shouldn't she, 
 when she's got a pull?" This is one of the weak- 
 nesses of human nature and will always be thus. 
 However, those who do start at the top are very 
 few and far between and cannot be taken as ex- 
 amples. 
 
 THEATRICAL AGENCIES 
 
 In practically every line of work there are em- 
 ployment agencies which make a business of filling 
 outside positions in return for a certain share of 
 the salary earned by the successful applicant. 
 Some agencies demand a fee for registration, but 
 this usually applies to those furthering the interests 
 of business, not "art." Few theatrical agencies ask 
 more than one-half of the second week's salary, or, 
 its equivalent, five per cent, of the salary earned 
 for ten weeks. The latter form of payment is cer- 
 tainly more convenient to the player. Then, too, 
 some engagements, especially in the legitimate (and 
 it has been known in picture work, too), are so 
 unfortunate as to be of less than ten weeks' dura- 
 tion, due perhaps to the failure of the company or 
 the failure of the player to "make good," and in 
 that event the full commission is not due. 
 
 In "The Windy City of the West," Chicago, 
 which is rapidly becoming a producing center, there 
 are many theatrical agencies, and one or two here 
 and there in the larger cities of the country, but 
 
 45
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 the majority of them are located on THE Broad- 
 way in New York City the real center of all 
 amusement interests. 
 
 In times past theatrical agencies had nothing to 
 do with picture work. However much they may 
 have desired the commissions, yet, following the ex- 
 ample then set by the legitimate managers, they 
 scoffed at the idea of placing "artists" with a film 
 company. They became haughtily indignant when- 
 ever a "hard-up" actor, with poor prospects, even 
 suggested such a step. The players were, there- 
 fore, engaged by the picture producers direct, fre- 
 quently through newspaper ads. Now, however, 
 with the complete change which public opinion has 
 undergone in its attitude toward motion pictures 
 in general, there has come a similar change in the 
 stand taken by the legitimate managers of first 
 rank and by their near neighbors in the business, the 
 agencies. Managers are no longer averse to engag- 
 ing actors and actresses who have taken a plunge 
 into picture work and agencies are likewise ready 
 and willing to accept the business and furnish the 
 players from their seemingly infinite list. 
 
 A splendid evidence of this is the recent con- 
 tract made by Mr. David Belasco, the world-famous 
 dramatic manager, with Miss Mary Pickford, lov- 
 ingly known -all over the country as "Little Mary," 
 formerly star with the Biograph and the Imp Com- 
 panies by which Miss Pickford was to leave the 
 pictures for a time at least and appear as "Juliet," 
 
 46
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 the little blind girl, in his fairy play production, 
 "A Good Little Devil," one of the biggest Broad- 
 way successes of the season of 1912-1913. 
 
 Mr. Belasco's decision to secure Miss Pickford's 
 signature to a contract covering her appearance 
 in this production was the result of his impressions 
 after seeing her on the screen in one of the Biograph 
 releases. Her salary in motion pictures was re- 
 ported to be $12,500 a year, or an average of $250 
 a week, and she is said to have accepted Mr. 
 Belasco's offer because it meant an even better 
 opportunity financially and otherwise. In its criti- 
 cism of the production, The Theatre Magazine, 
 February, 1913, issue, stated: "If Mary Pickford, 
 who plays the blind little girl, is a product of 'the 
 movies,' then commend us to the photoplay posing 
 as a school for acting. Contrary to expectations 
 her facial expression was restrained rather than 
 overemphatic and her diction was rarely fine." 
 
 The attitude of the managers is best conveyed 
 by the interest which Mr. Daniel Frohman has 
 taken in motion pictures. Some time ago Mr. 
 Frohman was quoted as saying : 
 
 "I can't see why a dip into the moving picture 
 business should hurt any good actor. This outcry 
 against the new business seems to me much like the 
 fuss made over vaudeville when it was a new thing, 
 fifteen or twenty years ago. 
 
 "When the old time variety acts were baptized 
 vaudeville a good name because nobody knew 
 
 47
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 what the word meant then and most people have 
 respect for what they don't understand it was said 
 that no real artist would ever descend to vaudeville. 
 "Look at the situation now. Almost any artist 
 will now go into vaudeville if the terms are big 
 enough, and when the player wants to, he or she 
 may return to the legitimate stage work and find 
 as warm a welcome as ever. Miss Rose Coghlan, 
 Messrs. W. H. Thompson, Robert Hilliard and a 
 lot of others here, with Mme. Sarah Bernhardt, 
 Mme. Re jane and Lady Beerhohm Tree on the 
 other side, have played in vaudeville and some day 
 may play in moving pictures." 
 
 (In passing, it is interesting to note that so far 
 as Mme. Bernhardt and Miss Rose Coghlan are 
 concerned his prophecy has already proved true. 
 Miss Coghlan recently appeared as "Rosalind" in 
 the Vitagraph Company's feature film of Shake- 
 speare's comedy "As You Like It," while the 
 world's greatest actress, Mme. Sarah Bernhardt, is 
 delighting and mystifying the world itself by her 
 wonderful acting of favorite characters which she 
 has played for the screen.) 
 
 Thus Mr. Frohman not only approves of legiti- 
 mate players "dipping" into motion picture work, 
 but the fact that he has given up his personal in- 
 terest in legitimate productions and is now an im- 
 portant figure ifi the motion picture business, being 
 one of the organizers and moving spirits of The 
 Famous Players Film Company, featuring the pic- 
 tures of Mme. Bernhardt and other renowned 
 
 48
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 artists, is proof positive that he regards the in- 
 dustry as a vital component of the amusement 
 world of to-morrow as well as of to-day. This is 
 the attitude taken by many of the other high-class 
 legitimate managers as well as the agencies. 
 
 These latter mediums, both dramatic and musical, 
 are conducted along similar lines. An agency con- 
 sists of one, two, three or more rooms, according 
 to its financial responsibility, or perhaps according 
 to the extent of its faith in advertising. Many con- 
 cerns are prone to believe that much space in a 
 large office building gives the impression of big 
 business, and while this may be an expensive way 
 of placing your wares before the world, yet we 
 must admit that advertising in any form should 
 and does pay to a certain extent. Suffice it to 
 say, however, few of the high-class agencies can 
 be said to do business in a "hole in the wall." The 
 majority of them have nicely furnished offices, both 
 public and private. They have what might be 
 called a "Consultation Room" in which Dr. Man- 
 ager or Director interviews the "patient" applicant ; 
 they have the private offices of the owner of the 
 agency in which are kept records of business, and 
 last, but not least, the "outside" room in which 
 applicants may take a seat if they happen in on 
 those rare occasions when it is not crowded or 
 stand, and await their turn to be interviewed. In- 
 cidentally the beginner can gain a deal of valuable 
 information from the conversation overheard in 
 
 49
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 these waiting rooms. It is most interesting, though 
 frequently pitiful, to listen to the stories (some 
 of them hard-luck tales) of both photo and legiti- 
 mate players. What is truer than one could imagine 
 and most difficult to understand is the fact that 
 even all this fails to discourage real ambition 
 which is as it should be ! The one who "gets there" 
 is the one who "sticks," and these experiences of 
 others, however bitter they may be, should serve 
 to separate the goats from the sheep to utterly 
 discourage and weed out those who are entirely 
 unfit for the work, and to bring into the minds of 
 those really qualified more serious thoughts of their 
 undertaking, since it is to be "playing" which will 
 mean work, hard work, and not all pleasure and 
 happiness. 
 
 Since many of the motion picture artists are 
 now placed through the agencies, all players readily 
 realize that their assistance is invaluable and it is 
 well to register with them. Among the most im- 
 portant dramatic and musical agencies in New York 
 City, who are licensed to secure engagements for 
 players and players for engagements, are the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 Betts & Fowler. ., 1402 Broadway 
 
 Packard Exchange. . . ., 1416 Broadway 
 
 Bijou Fernandez 214 West 42nd St. 
 
 Chas. A. Goettler 1482 Broadway 
 
 Paul Scott ,. . . 1402 Broadway 
 
 50
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 see me again." This same answer greets you on 
 your next visit and perhaps your next and next, 
 unless it is the busy season and he has calls from 
 managers or directors for your type of player; but 
 "never a lane without a turning," and to any one 
 who has not the patience to stand these disappoint- 
 ments the theatrical ladder will be an almost infinite 
 height, and he is best off before he seeks to climb it. 
 
 This is but one path to tread in seeking an en- 
 gagement as a photoplayer. Another more suc- 
 cessful method is to appeal direct to the film com- 
 panies themselves. 
 
 Every company has its general director or super- 
 visor, and two, three, four or more subdirectors, 
 including those assigned to comedy subjects only, 
 and those whose specialty is dramatic work. All 
 permanent or stock players engaged are subject to 
 the approval of the supervisor after he has seen 
 the player's work on the screen, but trial engage- 
 ments are made by the subdirector who uses the 
 players thus employed for parts in the particular 
 photoplays consigned to him for production. These 
 directors, as a matter of fact, usually select the 
 entire casts for their respective plays. If the cast 
 is a small one it is selected from the regular stock 
 company those players who hold a contract with 
 the management, stipulating a certain weekly com- 
 pensation, regardless of the number of days they 
 work. Their services, however, are at the com- 
 mand of the director daily, though unforeseen cir- 
 
 52
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 cumstances, such as inclement weather, an exceed- 
 ingly small cast production, etc., frequently give 
 such players an occasional "day off," though their 
 salaries continue the same, if under contract. 
 
 The number of players carried in the stock 
 organizations differ with the various film com- 
 panies. Some have as many as thirty or more on 
 the regular list, both at the principal studio and 
 in the western headquarters. Such a company in- 
 cludes five or six emotional and ingenue leads 
 (actresses) ; about the same number of leading 
 actors; three or four "heavies" (both actors and 
 actresses) (this type is sometimes called the villain 
 of the play) ; three or four character artists; two 
 children for juveniles, and half a dozen or more 
 minor players who serve for general business, play- 
 ing various parts requiring some versatility. Other 
 companies have perhaps ten or fifteen only in each 
 stock organization, especially when playing in the 
 New York studio. Some companies have only one 
 stock organization, including both the comedy and 
 dramatic players in each location. Others have 
 separate stocks, one for comedy subjects, another 
 for dramatic work, each set of players working 
 under the supervision of the corresponding director. 
 
 JOBBING 
 
 Many of the photoplays produced to-day require 
 larger casts than the regular stock covers, and thus 
 
 53
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 require the services of many extra people. These 
 players are employed for what is known as 
 "jobbing," which is similar to "suping" on the 
 legitimate stage, though a far more important call- 
 ing and one which is followed in New York con- 
 stantly by many most excellent actors and ac- 
 tresses who have no desire to work into the regular 
 stock organizations. They are content to play with 
 the different companies, deriving a varying income 
 as a result the amount ranging from $15.00 to 
 $40.00 a week, according to the productions and 
 weather conditions. 
 
 The largest film companies are located in or 
 near New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, and 
 also in the far West, California particularly, the 
 latter companies having nothing but a business 
 office in the East. These companies, as stated 
 before, employ regular stock organizations at their 
 principal studios and also maintain western head- 
 quarters and studios in California near the Pacific 
 Coast. In addition to this, other stock organiza- 
 tions are formed and sent out from both eastern 
 and western headquarters to find new scenery and 
 atmosphere in various sections of the globe south 
 to Florida and Mexico, west to Colorado and 
 among the Rockies, and north to British Columbia, 
 Alaska and Canada. These companies, too, require 
 the services of extra players, and it is frequently 
 possible for a talented aspirant living in the neigh- 
 borhood of such a company's location to thus lay 
 
 54
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 the foundation for a successful career. However, 
 Greater New York City is the center of all such 
 interests, and sincere ambition, determination and 
 patience will eventually lead to that point. 
 
 In the beginning the scenario or plot of the photo- 
 play is accepted and reconstructed by the editor. 
 He then submits it to the supervisor, who consigns 
 the production to one of the subdirectors and he in 
 turn is held largely responsible for its success. He 
 must accept suggestions from the supervisor re- 
 garding any detail connected with the production, 
 but he is usually given full authority so far as the 
 cast is concerned and it devolves upon him to select 
 from the almost infinite list on hand those players 
 who are the types for the extra or jobbing parts. 
 
 Thus, the best method to pursue in seeking an 
 engagement as a photoplayer is to apply to the 
 various studios in person, if possible, on the special 
 day set apart for registration, or whenever most 
 convenient meeting the gentleman whose duty it 
 is to see the players, note their types and advise the 
 directors of promising photoplayers. A visit to 
 the studio might also give you an opportunity to 
 interview the directors personally. You then file 
 a photograph and card, giving personal informa- 
 tion such as name, address, phone number (if in 
 the same locality), age, height, weight, color of 
 hair, eyes and complexion; your measurements are 
 also taken, to be followed by the company in fitting 
 you with costumes for feature productions. 
 
 55
 
 Or, if not possible to call, a personal letter ad- 
 dressed to the film company in which you are most 
 interested inclosing a photograph, personal de- 
 scription as above, and some general facts regard- 
 ing individual circumstances together with a self- 
 addressed stamped envelope for reply will usually 
 bring you the advice and opinion of the company 
 as to your availability for the work and your 
 chances for success as a photoplayer. You may be 
 the type for some particular line of parts, and for 
 this reason secure the interest of the film company, 
 inducing them to give you a trial engagement at a 
 later opportunity, all circumstances considered 
 favorable. 
 
 Your application to the film company thus places 
 you on their list of available players and puts you 
 in line for a possible opportunity to job, which is 
 the first step toward a permanent engagement with 
 the regular stock organization. 
 
 The principal film companies throughout the 
 country are as follows : 
 
 NEW YORK CITY: 
 
 Ammex Film Co. (office), 145 West 45th St 
 *Biograph Company, n East I4th St. 
 Comet Film Co., 344 East 32nd St. 
 Thomas A. Edison (Inc.), 2826 Decatur Ave., 
 
 Bedford Park. 
 
 General Publicity and Sales Co., 145 West 45th 
 St. 
 
 56
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Great Northern Co., 7 East I4th St. 
 
 Helen Gardner Motion Picture Co., 145 West 
 
 45th St. 
 
 *Kalem Company, 235 West 23rd St. 
 Lux Film Co., 10 East I5th St. 
 *Melies Company, 204 East 38th St. 
 Majestic Motion Picture Co., 540 West 2ist St. 
 Reliance Film Co., 540 West 2ist St. 
 Republic Film Co., 145 West 45th St. 
 Kinemacolor Co., 1600 Broadway. 
 Keystone Co. (office), 42nd St. and Broadway. 
 Kay-Bee Co. (office), 42nd St. and Broadway. 
 Universal Co., Broadway and 48th St. (including 
 the following, but all communications should 
 be addressed to the Universal Co. direct) : 
 Ambrosio American Co., 15 East 26th St., 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 Bison 101, Hollywood, California. 
 Champion Co., 145 West 45th St., N. Y. 
 Eclair Co., Fort Lee, N. J. 
 Crystal Co., Wendover and Park Aves., 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 Gem Co., Coytesville, N. J. 
 Imp Co., 515 West 56th St., N. Y. 
 Nestor Co., Hollywood, California. 
 Powers Co., 422 West 2i6th St., N. Y. 
 Rex Company, 573 Eleventh Ave., N. Y. 
 Victor Co., 573 Eleventh Ave., N. Y.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 NOT IN NEW YORK: 
 American Film Co., 5th floor, Ashland Block, 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Atlas Co., 414 Century Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. 
 Broncho Film Co., 1712 Allesandro St., Los 
 
 Angeles, Cal. 
 *Cines Co., Geo. Kleine, 166 N. State St., Chicago, 
 
 111. 
 *Essanay Film Mfg. Co., 1333 Argyle St., 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Gaumont Company, Flushing, N. Y. 
 Gene Gauntier Co., 737 Tallyrarid Ave., Jackson- 
 ville, Fla. 
 Kinemacolor Co., 4500 Sunset Boulevard, Los 
 
 Angeles, Cal. 
 *Lubin Mfg. Co., 2Oth St. and Indiana Ave., 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Monopol Company, 1339 Gordon St., Holly- 
 wood, Cal. (Office, 145 West 45th St., N. Y.) 
 *Pathe Freres, i Congress St., Jersey City 
 
 Heights, N. J. 
 Pilot Film Corporation, 120 School St., Yonkers, 
 
 N. Y. 
 *Selig Polyscope Co., 20 E. Randolph St., 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Solax Company, Fort Lee, N. J. 
 Thanhouser Co., New Rochelle, N. Y. 
 *Vitagraph Co., E. I5th St. and Locust Ave., 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 NOTE. Of the above those marked are licensed companies; the others independent. 
 
 58
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 TYPES 
 
 Scene: A manager's office. Stern manager, in 
 brief monosyllabic conversation with ambitious 
 actor (or actress) who stands cringing before the 
 mogul, "putting up" a good plea for some particular 
 part in a particular play of which he has heard, or 
 perhaps seeking an engagement in a feature film 
 to be made. He is sure he can play the part and 
 makes an earnest effort to so convince the manager 
 or director. That worthy personage, however, gives 
 one glance at the aspirant, and with a wave of his 
 hand he brings the brief interview to an abrupt end 
 by saying : "Sorry, but you're not the type for the 
 part. You might come back and see me again. 
 There may be something later." 
 
 Oh, that word "type"! In days of yore, an 
 artist was always an artist. By the aid of make-up 
 and artistic temperament a young man or woman 
 played a character many years his senior, or an 
 older player was likewise considered capable of giv- 
 ing an artistic youthful characterization. The ad- 
 vancing years, however, have changed this opinion. 
 To-day the cry of the managers is for types ; a child 
 must be played by a child, sweet sixteen must be 
 sweet sixteen, not only in years, but in appearance 
 "off stage" as well as on; the stage mother, aunt, 
 old maid, etc., must be played by actresses possess- 
 ing the appearance in private life; the handsome 
 hero, the gallant old gentleman each must look the 
 
 59
 
 part to a certain extent when engaged. Managers 
 are fully aware that facial make-up is a marvelous 
 aid. By its intelligent use a complete change in 
 appearance is possible. It is a wonderful disguise. 
 There are other ways, too, classed under the sub- 
 ject of "make-up," by which a small or large 
 physique can be changed to suit the character. A 
 striking physique or a bent withered figure is at- 
 tained by skillful padding and costuming. Of 
 course, it is necessary in the creation of some 
 characters to adhere to these old methods, but for 
 the most part managers to-day demand "types." 
 
 While it is a great asset to the legitimate stage 
 to have each character played by that distinct 
 "type," if that type is also an artist, yet it is far 
 more important in photoplays. The camera is so 
 accurate that every little detail counts. Hence the 
 film companies find it more satisfactory to keep on 
 file a photograph of each applicant for an engage- 
 ment and thus when casting a new picture the direc- 
 tor has access to these photographs, judges the ap- 
 plicant accordingly, picks his "types," and then 
 phones, telegraphs or occasionally writes the player 
 that he or she can work in the new picture. 
 
 Thus your opportunity! Sometimes it takes 
 weeks and months to secure it. This depends on 
 many things your own photo, the demand for your 
 type of player or the cast required for the different 
 photoplays. However it may be, once your op- 
 portunity comes and is grasped by you, your future 
 
 60
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 success or failure lies in a large measure in the 
 hollow of your hand. Patient attentiveness to 
 every detail, every minute instruction, and careful 
 observation at all times will do much to further 
 any career, and these qualities are especially es- 
 sential in the moving picture studio, once you have 
 gained access to one of these most interesting and 
 fascinating workshops. 
 
 61
 
 PART VI 
 SALARIES OF MOTION PICTURE PLAYERS 
 
 Naturally the most important point to be con- 
 sidered, aside from the fame resulting from a career 
 on the screen, is the financial reward it brings. In 
 comparison with many other professions the salaries 
 on the legitimate stage are small fortunes at least 
 to some but the salaries of photoplay ers are even 
 greater. The salary itself is about the same paid 
 to the player of a similar line of parts on the 
 legitimate stage, but consider the difference in 
 seasons! There are no weeks of long tedious re- 
 hearsals without any remuneration whatever and 
 with the fear of failure and sudden closing, even 
 after only one performance, if the play does not 
 "get over." On the screen stage, rehearsals are a 
 part of the regular work covered by a stipulated 
 daily or weekly salary. The motion picture artist 
 has a profession which pays him a guaranteed 
 salary all the year round 52 weeks unless he 
 wishes to take a vacation, and this is usually sub- 
 ject to his own volition. In comparison with the 
 regular legitimate season of an average of thirty 
 weeks (in rare cases thirty-five or forty, but in 
 
 62
 
 MISS MIRIAM NESBITT, A LEADING LADY WITH THE EDISON CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 many instances not more than twenty weeks), think 
 of the added income allotted to the photoplayer 
 whose season is both summer and winter, with 
 hardly any deviation except in the nature of the 
 photoplays the summer being given over to those 
 requiring more woodland or exterior scenes, rather 
 than studio sets. 
 
 The weekly salaries of motion picture artists in 
 the regular stock companies range from $35.00 to 
 $60.00 for minor players, and from $75.00 to 
 $250.00 and even more in exceptional cases for 
 the leads and stars. 
 
 The beginner or one engaged on trial or for a 
 minor part in a large cast production receives from 
 $2.50 to $10.00 each day he plays in the pictures. 
 From this position he graduates into the guaranteed 
 class that is, one of a number of players who 
 hold a "guarantee" contract with the company stip- 
 ulating employment for two, three, four or five days 
 weekly at a specified daily compensation of from 
 $5.00 to $10.00. If their services are needed for 
 more than the guaranteed number of days the ad- 
 ditional time means extra salary in the pay envelope 
 the stipulated remuneration for each day over 
 the guarantee. For instance, a player holding a 
 four-day guarantee contract at the minimum rate of 
 $5.00 a day receives $20.00 a week. If his services 
 are required for an additional day, or two days 
 perhaps, to complete a picture begun under the 
 guarantee, this adds $5.00 or $10.00 (or more ac- 
 
 63
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 cording to the fixed rate) to his amount for that 
 week. 
 
 The next step up is to a position as one of the 
 regular stock company, thus ranking in the $35.00 
 to $60.00 class. Then as the player adds to his 
 experience, becomes identified with the productions 
 of his company, his name and work attracting the 
 attention of motion picture spectators the world 
 over and thus giving him universal fame and popu- 
 larity, his value to the film company likewise in- 
 creases, and thus he advances to the position of 
 lead or star at the very high salaries. It is truly 
 a most profitable profession and one in every way 
 worthy of the ambitions and efforts of talented 
 amateurs all over the country. 
 
 64
 
 PART VII 
 
 DO'S AND DON'TS TO THE PROSPECTIVE 
 PHOTOPLAYER 
 
 Always do your best. 
 
 Consider no part of so little importance as to 
 warrant anything but your best portrayal. The 
 majority of the leading players and stars began as 
 "extras," and by infusing into roles which were 
 really little more than "mob" parts all the sincerity 
 and natural emotion within their scope they were 
 chosen for regular stock companies, and have thus 
 risen to the heights of fame and success. 
 
 Don't look at the camera when acting in the 
 pictures. It detracts from every vestige of natural 
 work. 
 
 Don't argue with the director. He knows his 
 business well or would not hold the position, and, 
 since the burden of responsibility for a good pro- 
 duction rests upon him, follow his methods and 
 directions for mutual good. 
 
 Don't exhibit a "know-it-all" disposition. Be 
 ever alert to add to your ability by any suggestion 
 which may be offered from one of authority and 
 
 65
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 judgment, accepting it not as a criticism, but as an 
 incentive. 
 
 Don't lose your wits and poise if the director 
 reprimands. It is seldom intended for anything but 
 your own good and the success of the photoplay. 
 
 Don't overact ! Be natural in all your portrayals, 
 actually living the roles for the moment, of 
 course. Natural actions and expressions are the 
 secret of success on the screen. 
 
 66
 
 PART VIII 
 HEIGHTS OF SUCCESS AS A PHOTOPLAYER 
 
 In general, the profession of photoplay ing is not 
 only one of the most progressive of the day, but 
 it is in reality a world in itself. Its members have 
 formed social clubs, managed benefit entertain- 
 ments for sundry good purposes, and in every way 
 aided in the progress of their profession and its 
 good to the community at large. It is a calling 
 which affords an opportunity for pleasant and very 
 profitable results to both amateur and professional 
 alike not merely an employment for to-day, but a 
 work which is rapidly forging ahead as one of the 
 principal professions of life. The fruits of its labor 
 are a source of infinite pleasure and instruction 
 within the reach of all classes, rich and poor alike, 
 and it is little wonder then, in view of the wide- 
 spread success of motion picture films, that the ar- 
 tists shown therein are the recipients of universal 
 praise, and within two or three years enjoy a fame 
 and fortune which the legitimate player, in many in- 
 stances, struggles through long years of disappoint- 
 ment to attain, and more often than otherwise drops 
 from the race before the goal is reached. The legit- 
 
 6 7
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 imate player is subject to the hardships of constant 
 and hurried travel to display his talents at least 
 until he has created a demand for his services as a 
 Broadway artist ; while the photoplayer "sits steady 
 in the boat," having the satisfaction of knowing 
 that his work is entertaining thousands all over the 
 world, and his name is known everywhere, even in 
 the smallest towns, while he goes on with other pro- 
 ductions. His work necessitates travel, too, but not 
 with such inconveniences as that of his brother be- 
 hind the footlights. He remains longer in one lo- 
 cality, has a chance to make friends and enjoy social 
 diversions without the thought that to-morrow 
 means "moving on again," perhaps to a series of 
 "one-night stands." 
 
 In addition to this, the opportunities for the ama- 
 teur and less experienced professional are greater 
 than on the legitimate stage. After a player has 
 obtained a stock engagement with one company his 
 position is "made" and a change from one film com- 
 pany to another is entirely voluntary, usually for a 
 greater financial inducement. There are apparently 
 no limits to the heights of success. Many of the 
 "screen stars" have made small fortunes by their 
 work in the pictures and have accumulated suffi- 
 cient to invest in another company. That charming 
 comedienne, Florence Lawrence, is a notable ex- 
 ample of wonderful success, due to talent, person- 
 ality, and perseverance. After being featured by 
 the Imp, Lubin, and other companies, she later 
 
 68
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 graduated into her own company, the Victor. She 
 has subsequently severed her connection with the 
 Victor, which has entered the Universal combina- 
 tion, and is now said to be making plans for still 
 another Florence Lawrence Film Producing Co. 
 
 Then, there is the Helen Gardner Co., the Marion 
 Leonard Monopol Film Co., and the Gene Gauntier 
 Co. All of these actresses began in small parts with 
 different companies, rapidly forged to the front, 
 and accumulated capital for investment in new com- 
 panies, thus becoming their own managers. The 
 latter, Miss Gauntier, one of the most clever and 
 attractive actresses on the screen, was, until re- 
 cently, a Kalem star, appearing in many notable re- 
 leases of this company and traveling thousands of 
 miles around the globe, through the Holy Land, 
 Egypt, Ireland, and other countries of the Old 
 World, to secure natural settings for many two and 
 three reel subjects Biblical and historical the ma- 
 jority of them her own adaptations or produced 
 from her original scenarios. She is now at the 
 head of her own company, releasing historical and 
 other two-reel subjects, which have made marked 
 success. 
 
 The world-famous favorite, G. M. Anderson 
 "Broncho Billy" is part owner of the Essanay 
 Film Co., located in Chicago, as well as its star 
 actor and principal director. Many other well- 
 known photo-actors have risen from minor salaries 
 as small part players to topnotch positions as actor- 
 
 69
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 directors, not only playing principal parts, but also 
 directing the production of various photoplays. 
 Harold Shaw, formerly with the Edison, Arthur 
 Johnson and Romaine Fielding with the Lubin, and 
 James Kirkwood with Victor, are notable examples 
 of success in this double capacity. 
 
 These few instances merely give a faint idea of 
 the success and fortune which may be acquired in 
 the "movies." It is little wonder that talented ama- 
 teurs are daily entering the lucrative ranks of mo- 
 tion picture players and climbing to the heights of 
 success, but with it all there is still a demand and 
 opportunity for the capable player. It has been 
 demonstrated in every film company that the tal- 
 ented and capable actor and actress amateur or 
 professional experiences no difficulty in "breaking 
 into" this delightful and fascinating work. It of- 
 fers a wonderful field for individuality, and, judg- 
 ing from the rapid progress in the past and present, 
 no ambition to attain success is too great to be real- 
 ized. The limits of perfection in motion pictures 
 both in photography and in character portrayals 
 are yet to be reached, and, in the words of Mr. 
 John Bunny, the famous Vitagraph star and great- 
 est comedian on the screen, "There's nothing like 
 it!" 
 
 70
 
 Muriel Ostriche 
 " Eclair StocK Co.' 
 
 MISS MURIEL OSTRICHE, THE YOUNG STAR OF THE THAXHOUSER CO.
 
 PART IX 
 PRODUCING A PHOTOPLAY 
 
 THE MOTION PICTURE STUDIO 
 
 It is doubtful if there are any two studios which 
 are alike in every particular. Some of them (the 
 American Pathe, located in Hoboken, N. J., for in- 
 stance) are topped and walled with glass, thus giv- 
 ing daylight and sunlight for work. However, this 
 is said to be of very little advantage, since the 
 weather conditions are so changeable that few per- 
 fect picture days, when work in the studio can be 
 followed without artificial lighting, are available, 
 and even these open studios have installed a multi- 
 tude of special electric lamps of untold voltage ca- 
 pacity which are hung from the ceiling in every 
 studio above stage and also on movable frames 
 which can be adjusted to reflect on the stage at 
 just the right angle desired. The lighting system 
 perfected for the vast rooms, almost auditoriums, 
 fitted up for studios, is nothing short of wonderful. 
 The lights are so strong as to reveal to the naked 
 eye the most minute veins on the face and hands of 
 a player, casting over everything a purplish tint 
 which is sometimes blinding. 
 
 71
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 THE STAGE FOREGROUND AND SIDE LINES 
 
 The motion picture stage, whether for interior 
 or exterior scenes, is very much smaller than the 
 legitimate stage, and much smaller than it would 
 appear to be when the picture is shown on the 
 screen. The front line, foreground, or footlights 
 is less than ten feet across. This, of course, in- 
 creases as you go "up stage," away from the cam- 
 era, but there is a corresponding decrease in the 
 size of the figure and in the effect of the expres- 
 sions. 
 
 The term "foreground" is used to designate the 
 front line "down stage" (closest to the camera or 
 the footlights in the legitimate stage), and the "side 
 lines" are the left and right limits of the space fo- 
 cused by the camera. All action within these lines 
 is caught by the camera. Woe to the player who 
 steps beyond the boundaries ! He is then out of the 
 picture, usually spoiling the scene, necessitating a 
 retake. 
 
 The foreground and side lines of the studio stage 
 are chalked or roped off on the floor and are usually 
 "fixed," though sometimes the action requires a 
 larger or smaller space (making a corresponding 
 difference in the size of the figures on the screen), 
 and the lines are adjusted accordingly. The lines 
 of an exterior stage are marked by rocks, rope, 
 stakes, or anything at hand and can be set anywhere. 
 
 72
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Nature or the progress of civilization placed the 
 "props," and the di r ector and camera man select 
 the spot for each scene according to the plot of the 
 story and the sunlight available. 
 
 Though not infrequently actual interiors are util- 
 ized, very often the rooms in which the plot was 
 originally unfolded, especially in cases where par- 
 ticular settings are desired for historical or other 
 large productions, yet a majority of the interior 
 scenes are made in the film company's studio with 
 ordinary painted scenery and properties. This is 
 also true of many exterior scenes. Some of the 
 most beautiful "outdoor" settings, which one would 
 almost refuse to believe were not the handiwork 
 of Mother Nature, have been made in the studio 
 with painted trees, artificial flowers, grass and 
 shrubbery, and a sky "drop." As a general rule, 
 however, the players travel out into the open coun- 
 try for woodland scenes or excite the attention of 
 curious pedestrians who gather "like bees around a 
 hive" to witness the "taking" of some thrilling 
 street scene. 
 
 In passing, it is interesting to note that many 
 of these exterior scenes, taken on crowded city 
 thoroughfares, frequently result disastrously for 
 the moment, at least to both players and director. 
 Several years ago, so the story goes, when photo- 
 plays were not quite so well known, the Vitagraph 
 Company was taking a scene on a quiet residence 
 street in New York. The action required the use 
 
 73
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 of an imposing corner dwelling and, according to 
 the plot, the heroine and her father drove up to 
 the house in a beautiful touring car, alighted and 
 entered the front door. At the crucial moment 
 two thieves, who had been "on the inside" appro- 
 priating some of the interior possessions, entered 
 the scene from a side window, having heard the 
 owner returning, and, seeing the auto at the door, 
 they decided to "beat a hasty retreat" by this mode 
 of departure. The scenes showing the arrival of 
 the automobile and its occupants' exit into the house 
 were duly rehearsed and taken. Then the camera 
 was set and the "thieves' " hasty entrance on the 
 scene through the window and their hurried exit 
 in the car were rehearsed, the signal given, and the 
 actual "taking" in operation, when, Presto! around 
 the corner came a bicycle policeman. If needed in 
 such a locality at that time he could hardly have 
 been found, and was doubtless then on his way to 
 give assistance to some fellow custodian of the 
 peace. Whatever his mission, he arrived on this 
 scene a moment too soon. Just as the "thieves" 
 made a dash for the car and drove off the police- 
 man rode up, witnessed the action and, with unbe- 
 lievable speed, followed them and with his trusty 
 revolver prevented their escape. He brought the 
 culprits back to the scene of action to confront the 
 director, camera man, and other players, who stood 
 watching his actions, transfixed with astonishment. 
 Then, in almost breathless exclamations, each 
 
 74
 
 MR. CARLYLE BLACKWELL, LEADING MAN WITH ONE OF THE STOCK 
 COMPANIES OF THE KALEM CO.
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 sought to explain that they were merely taking mov- 
 ing pictures, all working together and they suc- 
 ceeded so well in convincing the policeman that 
 they were "working together" that he (with visions 
 of promotion as a reward for his "haul" no doubt) 
 marched them all to the station house. Of course, 
 the matter was there satisfactorily explained, to the 
 embarrassment of the policeman, but the incident 
 caused some little inconvenience and loss of time 
 to the company, as well as spoiling a well-rehearsed 
 scene and about a hundred feet of innocent film. 
 
 Let us suppose, now, that a photoplay containing 
 about thirty scenes, both exteriors and interiors, 
 has been accepted by the editor and approved by 
 the supervisor who has gone over the manuscript, 
 constructing the director's working papers and giv- 
 ing him instructions as to its production. The pho- 
 toplay is then in the director's hands. He chooses 
 the players for the principal characters from the 
 regular stock organization and they are notified to 
 report at a stated time, nine A. M. or earlier, on 
 the day set for the beginning of the picture. The 
 cast calls for more players than are at leisure in 
 the stock company, others working with the sec- 
 ond and third directors perhaps. He then casts the 
 remaining characters from the photographs on file 
 according to types. These players are notified by 
 telephone, telegraph, or letter, to report at the set 
 time. 
 
 75
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 We will suppose that you have entered the pro- 
 fession, now have a trial engagement with this film 
 company, and are also notified to report. 
 
 COSTUMES 
 
 The majority of photoplayers are expected to 
 furnish costumes or wardrobe for all modern plays. 
 Historical or classic plays are known as costume 
 productions, and the special costumes for these pho- 
 toplays are usually found in the wardrobe of the 
 company. 
 
 This is probably a modern piece and you are, 
 therefore, told to bring suitable costumes for the 
 part of Rose, a college girl, or Mary, a wealthy so- 
 ciety belle; Dick, the hero blessed with riches, or 
 Tom, the ragged street tramp, or Jim, the poor but 
 honest laborer. It all depends on the plot and char- 
 acters, of course. In passing, it is well to know 
 that strictly white materials are usually barred. 
 Pure white is hard and glaring on the screen, so all 
 costumes, for both men and women, to be shown 
 as white (including waists, shirts, stiff collars, ties, 
 etc.) are more acceptable if cream or yellow. This 
 photographs a clear, soft white. Some minor arti- 
 cles of this color, such as maids' aprons, men's col- 
 lars, etc., dyed to a cream tint, are kept on hand 
 in the studio wardrobe. 
 
 76
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 To continue, perhaps the weather is none too 
 propitious for outdoor work, or the studio stage 
 may not be available later, so it is decided to take 
 the interior scenes first. You have received full 
 instructions and accordingly report at the studio 
 at the time appointed. Upon arrival you consult 
 the director, who approves or makes some changes 
 in the costumes chosen, and you enter the dressing- 
 room with several others, or alone, as the case may 
 be, ready for the day's work. 
 
 MAKE-UP 
 
 Rouge, powder, cosmetic, foundation sticks, and 
 cold cream are furnished by most of the studios, 
 but it is far more satisfactory to work with one's 
 own tools. Very little make-up is used for 
 "straight" parts that is, a character very like your- 
 self in age, type, and appearance. The straight 
 make-up is the simplest and most frequently used, 
 especially in photoplays where the question of types 
 is so carefully considered. This consists of a deli- 
 cate foundation of flesh color grease paint, the tint 
 a little deeper for men, in order to give a faint 
 ruddy appearance. Just a particle of this is used, 
 about the size of a pea being sufficient. Before rub- 
 bing it thoroughly into the skin, however, slightly 
 massage with a little cold cream as a first founda- 
 tion to cleanse and keep the pores and tissues pure. 
 
 77
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Outline the lips with rouge. Enlarge the eyes by 
 using a black or dark blue stick to darken the upper 
 lid and also a slight line on the lower lid. Extend 
 a tiny line of black from the outer corners of the 
 eye to add length, and dot the inner corners with 
 just a touch of red. Avoid getting these cosmetics 
 in the eyes. Accentuate the eyebrows with just a 
 line of black following the outline of the brow and 
 extending the line about one-sixteenth of an inch 
 beyond the outer corners of the eyes. The eye- 
 lashes are frequently "beaded" to make them more 
 conspicuous. This is done by melting black cos- 
 metic in a teaspoon over a lighted candle is the 
 usual way touching the liquid to the lashes with 
 a brush sold for this purpose, or, preferably, with 
 an ordinary rosewood stick. The end of the stick 
 dipped in the black liquid and brushed lightly across 
 the lashes accomplishes the result and does not in- 
 jure the eye. 
 
 Do not apply any rouge except to the lips. Bloom 
 on the cheeks would "take" dark, giving a sunken 
 appearance to the face. 
 
 After making-up thus, powder the face entirely 
 to remove the greasy, shiny appearance. It is nec- 
 essary to again "touch up" the lips and powder the 
 face occasionally during a day's work in a warm 
 studio or when out in the air for exterior scenes. 
 
 For whitening the neck, arms, and hands when 
 necessary, any good liquid white preparation can be 
 used. 
 
 78
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Practice and observation of characters in real life 
 will assist one to learn how to make up for any 
 type, age, or nationality. An Indian or negro make- 
 up differs only in the color of the foundation grease 
 paint and in the thicker appearance of the lips. 
 These different tints are carried by all the good 
 make-up manufacturers, or can be purchased from 
 reliable druggists. For some characters, of course, 
 it is necessary to use a wig, mustache, etc., but 
 these are furnished by the studios. 
 
 The directors are careful to see that no partic- 
 ularly noticeable make-up is put on, since this de- 
 tracts from the effect of the picture. Strive for a 
 clear, clean make-up, study your own features, and 
 thus attain the best and most natural results. 
 
 After completing your make-up and dressing for 
 the first scene, you are called to the studio with 
 the remainder of the cast. The stage has been set 
 and the camera placed. The director then briefly 
 explains the plot of the play and you get a hazy idea 
 of what it's all about. A moment later you are 
 wakened from your reverie by the director's call: 
 "Now we'll walk through scene I." He hurriedly 
 explains the action, you take your place and the 
 scene is "walked through" in other words, re- 
 hearsed. After suggestions from the director, a 
 second rehearsal is held. Then, if just an ordinary 
 unimportant scene, a third or fourth rehearsal is 
 usually sufficient. All is then in readiness, and the 
 director gives the call, "Ready, now be careful, 
 
 79
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 we're going to shoot it." He gives the camera man 
 the word, a moment later shouts "Go," and the play- 
 ers begin the scene in earnest Throughout its 
 action may be heard the cranking noise of the cam- 
 era, the dialogue of the players, and the voice of 
 the director as he anticipates their lines, lest they 
 forget, and hurries the action of the scene. "Now 
 enter, see the boy ! Good afternoon, Yes ! Look at 
 the girls ! Give him the paper ! Good-bye, I'll call 
 again! Exit!! Stop! How many feet?" turning 
 to camera man. If the scene is too long, it is re- 
 hearsed again and re-taken. Before and after each 
 scene, the number of that particular scene is held 
 before the camera and taken, for guidance when 
 developing the picture. This is the procedure with 
 every scene, both interiors and exteriors. Perhaps 
 the action of other scenes takes place in the same 
 setting. If so, the intervening scenes are passed and 
 these taken before the setting is changed. The 
 order of taking does not affect the completed film, 
 since the scenes are pieced together and connected 
 when developed. 
 
 Exterior work is, perhaps, more interesting than 
 interior, especially during the summer season. A 
 big touring car transports the players, directors, 
 camera man, assistants, and all necessary parapher- 
 nalia to the location selected, and here the same pro- 
 cedure takes place as for interior scenes. 
 
 To continue the supposition we will say that the 
 first two or three days are spent in the studio on 
 
 80
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 interiors. Then the call is given and two or three 
 days (a week or more being required for the taking 
 of an average full reel photoplay, under ordinary 
 conditions) are devoted to the exterior scenes. You 
 arrive at the studio as usual or earlier, make up and 
 dress, and are then given a "joy ride" to the site 
 selected for the day's work, carrying with you such 
 articles of make-up and costume as will be needed. 
 If the day is bright and sunny, the scenes can be 
 taken without interruption, but if clouds darken the 
 horizon it is frequently necessary to stand idly by, 
 after carefully rehearsing a scene, to await the ap- 
 pearance of "Old Sol" and his willingness to con- 
 tribute his cheery rays. The setting sun gives the 
 signal for the return trip to the studio, and thus 
 your day is done. 
 
 To the player taking exterior scenes is more plea- 
 sure than work. Usually a light lunch is carried if 
 the day is to be spent in the woods, and thus the 
 atmosphere of a picnic prevails. Of course, some 
 exteriors, water scenes, etc., are fraught with haz- 
 ardous risks which have met with fatal but unavoid- 
 able results. However, every precaution is taken 
 to insure the player against accidents when engaged 
 in daring scenes, and, as a rule, little or no fear is 
 felt. 
 
 No other branch of acting gives the player such 
 pleasant surroundings nor furnishes such healthy 
 invigorating occupation as motion picture work. 
 During the summer season companies are located 
 
 81
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 in the mountains, on the seashore, near delightful 
 resorts in fact, everywhere to take advantage of 
 all the wonders of Nature as well as the results of 
 man's ingenuity. These settings, used as the back- 
 ground for various photoplays of every type 
 comedy, drama, tragedy, etc. both educational and 
 entertaining carry life and love into lives, and, in 
 turn, into homes, which are probably touched in no 
 other way and perhaps get no other insight into 
 the beauties of the outside world ; and for the very 
 lowest cost possible, within the reach of the masses, 
 furnish a never-ending source of amusement and 
 instruction to the whole known world. 
 
 82
 
 MISS FLORA FINCH. OF THE VITAGRAPH CO.,
 
 PART X 
 [STATEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL PHOTOPLAYERS 
 
 It is indeed interesting to read the opinions of 
 established successful motion picture actors and ac- 
 tresses regarding the profession, its possibilities and 
 opportunities. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MISS GWEN- 
 DOLINE PATES, LEADING LADY WITH 
 THE PATHfi FR^RES (AMERI- 
 CAN) FILM COMPANY 
 
 Dainty little Miss Gwendoline Pates, one of the 
 most fascinating actresses on the screen and lead- 
 ing lady with the American Pathe Company, is 
 most enthusiastic. Her keen ambition and charm- 
 ing personality, which have been so largely responsi- 
 ble for her success, are reflected in her general 
 statement regarding the work, as follows: 
 
 "The necessary qualifications for a successful 
 photoplayer are that you must photograph well, and 
 be able to express facially the idea that you want 
 to convey to the audience. 
 
 "As to salaries, they vary as to the ability and 
 
 83
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 value of the players to the company. Generally 
 speaking, the salaries range from forty dollars 
 ($40) a week up into the hundreds a week. The 
 extras are paid five dollars ($5) a day and some- 
 times ten dollars ($10) a day. I like the work very 
 much as the more I work the more room I see for 
 improvement. The parts are so varied in charac- 
 ters, one week a Sis Hopkins, the next a mother, 
 and each character has its own special interest. I 
 am very fond of light comedy although I like to 
 work in a dramatic production once in a while too. 
 I miss the inspiration that you get from the applause 
 of your audience in the regular theater, so, of 
 course, it is rather hard to finish a big emotional 
 scene to find only the camera waiting to take the 
 next scene. There is a great future for moving 
 pictures and they have been of great help and bene- 
 fit to thousands of men and women and children. 
 I like to drop into a moving picture house and 
 listen to the opinions of dozens of people as to your 
 work. It is of great help to you. 
 
 "One of the most popular pictures of recent time 
 is 'The Aeroplane Love Affair' in which Mr. George 
 W. Beatty, the well known aviator, and myself are 
 featured. 
 
 "I went up with Mr. Beatty six or seven thousand 
 feet, and during the holidays I am going to learn 
 to fly a biplane, taking lessons from Mr. Beatty." 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. CARLYLE BLACK- 
 WELL, WITH THE KALEM CO. 
 
 In his statement which follows Mr. Carlyle Black- 
 well, one of the stars of the Kalem Company, has 
 
 84
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 made a prediction which will not only be realized in 
 the future but is rapidly being felt by the amuse- 
 ment world at large to-day: 
 
 "What are the necessary qualifications for the 
 making of a successful photoplay actor? 
 
 "I would say the same quality that is required on 
 the stage, ability and more ability. The picture 
 industry is advancing so rapidly and with recog- 
 nized writers and actors and actresses of interna- 
 tional reputation entering the field, thus putting the 
 photo-play on the same level with the legitimate 
 play, I feel that more and more the actor of ability, 
 the really capable man as compared with the simply 
 handsome face, the broad shoulders or the trick of 
 lifting an eyebrow, will be called upon to fill the 
 ranks of the motion picture stock companies. 
 
 "The salaries for a picture stock company range 
 about the same as for a dramatic stock company, 
 from forty to sixty dollars for small part players 
 and as high as two hundred and fifty dollars for 
 leading players." 
 
 STATEMENT OF MISS MIRIAM NESBITT, 
 LEADING LADY WITH THE EDISON CO. 
 
 Miss Miriam Nesbitt, leading lady for the Edi- 
 son Company, and the object of the adoration of 
 hundreds of motion picture enthusiasts, is most en- 
 couraging to those who would enter the same field. 
 She says : 
 
 "To your first question : 'What are the necessary 
 qualifications for the making of a successful photo- 
 
 85
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 player?' I should say good features, or rather fea- 
 tures and a figure that photograph well. 
 
 "An actress can never know whether she owes 
 her success on the stage to voice, her coloring, or 
 her appearance (personality) until she has tried pic- 
 ture work. If she fails at picture posing, and yet is 
 a success on the stage, then undoubtedly she owes 
 her success to her voice and coloring alone, and is 
 a poor pantomimist. If she is a success on both the 
 stage and screen, she may not have the divine spark, 
 but no one can deny she is a 'good actress.' So, in 
 a word, appearance and ability are the first quali- 
 fications for success on the screen. I believe many 
 girls of talent and appearance drop from the ranks 
 of the stage, because they have not the physical 
 strength to endure the hardships of travel. 
 
 "To the next question, regarding a talented per- 
 son's chances of entering the profession. I think 
 their chances are excellent provided they can profit 
 their position on the stage. There is no royal road 
 to success in the moving picture world. You ad- 
 vance from a trial scene, to a day poser, then to 
 the 'guarantee' class, and from there to the stock 
 ranks. Regarding salaries I can only speak gen- 
 erally. I have heard that the average price for a 
 beginner who plays a part is $5.00 per day. Stock 
 company people vary largely, but I should say 
 $75.00 per week is an average salary: Many work 
 for less and some receive more. By the year, I 
 think that the stock company moving picture actor 
 fares as well if not better than players in first class 
 New York or traveling companies." 
 
 86
 
 w >J 
 
 ffi < 
 
 z 
 
 MS 
 
 a a 
 u >
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 STATEMENT OF MISS FLORA FINCH, 
 
 CHARACTER ACTRESS WITH THE 
 
 VITAGRAPH 
 
 Miss Flora Finch, that delightful Vitagraph 
 player, whose line of parts is somewhat different 
 from those of Miss Pates and Miss Nesbitt, mod- 
 estly belittles her own efforts but nevertheless gives 
 some most helpful advice and information regard- 
 ing the profession. She writes: 
 
 "In reply to your question, 'What are the nec- 
 essary qualifications for the making of a success- 
 ful photoplayer ?' I think in the first place person- 
 ality! Next Never to think you know it all! 
 There are many lesser requisites but to my mind 
 these two are the leaders. 
 
 "Passing to your next question, I see no reason 
 why a clever person should not easily 'get on' in the 
 moving picture business. But then, any one with 
 brains ought to get on under any circumstances. 
 Plenty of grit is needed in all walks of life. 
 
 "The subject of salaries: Well! here we are in 
 deep water in a minute. In general, one might say 
 that stars draw a weekly salary in three figures; 
 lesser lights range from somewhere around $20.00 
 to $80.00, and lastly extras who are paid $2.50, 
 $3.00 and $5.00 per day according to the company 
 employing them and varying with the work they do. 
 
 "As for my own work, well, I can't say much 
 except that I am very interested in it, tho' sad to 
 relate I dislike nearly everything I do. During the 
 three or four years I have been in the business, I 
 
 87
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 have only been in four or five pictures where I was 
 in any way satisfied with myself. 
 
 "Lately I have been in a picture from Dickens 
 which I enjoyed working in partly because the story 
 was good, partly because the cast was also good, 
 and also because I wore my grandmother's wedding 
 dress, a quaint old affair with short skirt and big 
 puffed sleeves. 
 
 "Lastly, I wish to say a word of praise for the 
 Vitagraph, the most human, the greatest-hearted of 
 all the moving picture companies. Here's to Mr. 
 Smith and Mr. Blackton ! Long may they live !" 
 
 STATEMENT OF MISS MAE HOTEL Y, OF 
 THE LUBIN COMPANY : 
 
 "Jolly Mae Hotely," as she is affectionately called 
 by her friends and admirers at the Lubin studio, is 
 another enthusiast regarding her work in the pic- 
 tures. Miss Hotely has played a number of char- 
 acter roles which in "make-up" and portrayal are 
 really "screams." She is truly an artist and espe- 
 cially "at home" in comedy roles. She writes most 
 interestingly as follows: 
 
 "To be an actor or actress upon the moving pic- 
 ture screen before the public, a good appearance is 
 required above all else. 
 
 "The salaries range all the way from one dollar a 
 day, given to the extra people used in mob scenes, 
 up to one hundred and seventy- five dollars per week, 
 possibly even higher, to motion picture stars. 
 
 "A large and varied wardrobe is also a necessity. 
 
 "The pictures cannot be photographed satisfac- 
 88
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 torily on very dark or rainy days, as a good strong 
 sunlight is required ; therefore, there are a few days 
 on which the actors have a little leisure. 
 
 "The pictures are taken in scenes and a certain 
 space is allotted to an individual to work in, usually 
 the space being marked off by lines. Of course, it 
 is very difficult for an inexperienced person to keep 
 within their grounds, and there are many different 
 little tricks that have to be performed perfectly 
 under great difficulties. 
 
 "While I do not discourage, I do not encourage 
 girls in taking up this line of work, as it is a labori- 
 ous task and a long hard road. In the old days the 
 directors would probably aid in coaching a little bit, 
 but nowadays they do not bother, as they expect 
 perfection." 
 
 NOTE. Judging from the observations and opinions of 
 other photoplayers, however, it is difficult to agree with 
 Miss Hotely's idea regarding the attitude of directors as 
 expressed in the last sentence of her statement. It has 
 been the experience of others, and more particularly of 
 those who have attained success on the screen with no 
 stage training whatever, that the directors have been and 
 are most considerate, and in the majority of instances 
 always willing to assist a beginner and to help the pro- 
 spective photoplayer, whether amateur or professional, to 
 an understanding of the details of the work which make 
 it so different from ordinary acting on the speaking stage 
 and also enable the talented and capable beginner to attain 
 success in the pictures as has been done in many, many 
 noteworthy cases without previous training or experi- 
 ence. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH MISS MURIEL 
 
 OSTRICHE, OF THE THANHOUSER 
 
 FILM COMPANY 
 
 One of the most wonderful examples of success 
 as a photoplayer without having had any previous 
 
 89
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 experience or training in stage work is Miss Muriel 
 Ostriche, a dainty, bewitching little miss of seven- 
 teen summers. Yes, it's true! She is only seven- 
 teen and really looks younger. A bubbling bit of 
 enthusiasm regarding her own work and the won- 
 derful future in store for motion pictures, Miss Os- 
 triche is a most entertaining little talker, and 
 merely being with her imbues one with the same 
 instinct of a determined ambition which means to 
 win! 
 
 After a delightfully informal introduction, Miss 
 Ostriche and her interviewer snuggled up together 
 in the only vacant chair in the Reliance Studio at 
 the time, and Miss Ostriche, breaking the ice with 
 her winsome personality and musical voice, said : 
 "Now, shall I tell you how I began?" 
 Having heard so much regarding this question 
 from outsiders, the truth of the matter from her 
 own lips was just what the interviewer was eager 
 to know. 
 
 "Well, you see, I have never been on the stage 
 at all. No, I didn't even take elocution lessons, but 
 went right into the pictures. It was this way. I 
 was only 15, going to High School. I went to see 
 the moving pictures very often and liked them im- 
 mensely. Then, one day I thought I would like to 
 play in the pictures. Wasn't that nerve? But, 
 just the same, I went down to the Biograph Studio 
 and they thought I looked very much like Mary 
 Pickford. (She was not with them then.) Any 
 way they decided to give me a trial the next day. 
 
 90
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Well, I went down, but Oh! how scared I was! 
 There was a big crowd at the studio it was a spe- 
 cial picture, I think, it seemed to me that five 
 hundred eyes were looking on, though, of course, 
 there were not that many and I was shaking in the 
 knees. But I must have gotten through all right be- 
 cause they told me to come down again the next 
 day. Then, I was to go in their stock company but 
 it was' going out West and to other parts of the 
 country and Mother wouldn't let me go. You see 
 I was too young to go away all alone on so little 
 experience. Well, then a friend of mine suggested 
 that I go over to the Pathe and see them, so I did, 
 never thinking it would bring anything, but the 
 director of the Pathe decided to put me in a picture 
 on trial and in that way I worked with that com- 
 pany too. Then the week following they were to 
 let me know whether or not I was to join their 
 regular stock company, but in the meantime the 
 Eclair Company, who had seen me in the pictures, 
 asked me if I would come up there and play in a 
 picture with them. I thought I might as well make 
 the $5.00 a day with them while waiting for the 
 Pathe, so I went over to their studio. 
 
 "Oh, I was frightened! The picture was to be 
 a school girl comedy and about twelve girls were 
 there that morning. The director stood us all up 
 in a row and then told me what I was to play. I 
 did not know the story then but I found later it 
 was the lead. Just think of it! The Eclair liked 
 my work so well in that picture that they asked me 
 to come into their stock company right away and 
 not wait for the Pathe, so I did. 
 
 "I stayed with the Eclair for a year and a half, 
 and then the Reliance offered me the ingenue leads 
 
 91
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 in their stock company with an increase in salary, 
 so now I'm here with them. 
 
 "No, it wasn't wonderful. Many others have 
 done as well or better and also had no stage experi- 
 ence at all before they went into the pictures. Will 
 I go on the legitimate stage? Well, I don't know. 
 I like the pictures very much but some time I think 
 I will go on the stage. I've had several good offers 
 from managers who have seen my work in the pic- 
 tures and I really think I should like the change 
 some time, though not for a while. I like the pic- 
 tures too well and there is a splendid opportunity 
 in them." 
 
 Miss Ostriche added that she hopes to make a 
 big success in the pictures and is working hard to 
 this end, but judging from her salary of nearly 
 three figures (and she is only 17) and her many 
 thousands of admirers all over the country it would 
 seem that she has made "a big success." 
 
 NOTE. Just before this book went to press Miss 
 Ostriche accepted an offer from the Thanhouser Com- 
 pany and is now with that firm. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting the interviewer also had 
 a delightful chat with Mrs. Ostriche, who is justly 
 proud of her talented young daughter. In the 
 course of the conversation Mrs. Ostriche spoke in- 
 terestingly of Miss Muriel's persistence and deter- 
 mination to climb to the top of the ladder. She 
 said: 
 
 "It is almost impossible to get her out for a social 
 evening. She is perfectly happy and contented if 
 left alone in her room, standing before a large mir- 
 
 92
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 ror, and practicing facial expressions and various 
 scenes and situations which include all the different 
 emotions which bring versatility, and will make her 
 just as clever in strong emotional scenes as in light 
 comedy work." 
 
 STATEMENT OF MISS ALICE JOYCE, 
 KALEM STAR 
 
 One of the most famous actresses on the screen, 
 and perhaps the most admired of all, is Miss Alice 
 Joyce, the Kalem star. Miss Joyce, a tall, strik- 
 ingly handsome young woman, with a wealth of 
 light golden-brown hair, large, dark, expressive 
 eyes, and a most exquisite mouth set in a face of 
 exceptional beauty, is a most unusual personality. 
 Outwardly she is cold, always calm and reserved. 
 She is temperamental to a degree, enthusiastic but 
 not strongly emotional off the screen. On the 
 surface she is apparently indifferent to her sur- 
 roundings, work and success, but underneath beats 
 a heart sympathetic and generous to a fault, alive 
 to every opportunity, quick to grasp any new ideas, 
 and always ready to encourage and praise the work 
 of others. She is a most thorough student of 
 photo-acting. All the tricks of the trade are at 
 her command. Her knowledge of the technique of 
 motion-picture acting is perhaps greater than that 
 of any other player. And she, too, has never been 
 on the legitimate stage. Recently, in speaking of 
 the work, she said : 
 
 93
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 "There is a vast difference between acting in the 
 pictures and on the stage. There are many little 
 tricks and technical points one must acquire to 'put 
 it over' on the screen. That is why so many really 
 clever and famous actors and actresses make a 
 failure in the pictures. They have grown dependent 
 upon their voices, to the neglect of facial expres- 
 sions, and have also acquired a 'staginess' which 
 bars natural work, so essential on the screen. They 
 are usually given to the use of various mannerisms 
 which they cannot throw off, and these are evident 
 and a part of their portrayals of every part. In the 
 pictures, this is bad. No two parts should be played 
 alike. The pictures are supposed to be life, and 
 must, therefore, be natural. 
 
 "When I started in this business, about three 
 years ago, I didn't know anything about acting. I 
 had posed for photographers, illustrating fashion 
 styles and so on, but I had never been on the stage, 
 and so I had nothing to unlearn when going into 
 the pictures." 
 
 "Isn't yours an exceptional case?" Miss Joyce 
 was asked. 
 
 "No, not exceptional. There are many who be- 
 gan in the pictures and are stars now, without ever 
 having been on the stage. My little friend, Irene 
 Boyle, also with the Kalem, Marian Cooper, Alice 
 Hollister, Anna Nilsson, and many others I might 
 recall were never on the stage. Many leading 
 photo-actors have had no real theatrical experience. 
 A number of them were at one time in the chorus 
 singing and dancing but were practically amateurs 
 when they went into the pictures. There is a 
 
 94
 
 
 MISS MAE HOTELY AS AN IRISHWOMAN 
 (SHOWS WHAT CLEVER MAKE-UP CAN ACCOMPLISH)
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 greater future in the pictures, especially for one who 
 photographs well, and the work is fascinating." 
 
 Miss Joyce, who is also one of the highest sal- 
 aried players on the screen, drawing a weekly in- 
 come of three figures, casually said that she, too, 
 might some day go on the legitimate stage for a 
 while, but just now she is quite content to con- 
 tinue in the pictures as star of one of the largest 
 film companies in the United States. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH MR. JOHN BUNNY, 
 STAR OF THE VITAGRAPH CO. 
 
 Perhaps the best known of all photoplayers is 
 Mr. John Bunny, star of the Vitagraph. Mr. 
 Bunny's name is a household word, not only from 
 coast to coast in America, but also in every city 
 and town in the world at all acquainted with the 
 "movies," and the appearance of a "Bunny film" 
 at any theater is really a treat. It is difficult to say 
 whether Mr. Bunny is most delightful on the 
 screen or off. He is a man of marked intelligence 
 and a brilliant personality. He is especially inter- 
 ested in the motion pictures from an educational 
 viewpoint. In a recent personal interview, when 
 speaking of the industry which he says is his hobby, 
 and not only his present but also his future life 
 work, Mr. Bunny said in part: 
 
 "I believe the time is coming when motion pic- 
 ture machines will be a part of the equipment of 
 
 95
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 every school and college in the country, and many 
 branches of learning now so objectionable to chil- 
 dren will be made interesting by the use of motion 
 pictures. My principal worry is the fact that I 
 can't hope to live long enough to do all the work 
 which I've mapped out for myself. I have planned 
 fifty years of activity in the motion picture business, 
 which I fear I will not live to carry out entirely. 
 I want to see Latin and Greek mythology taught in 
 every school and college in the United States by the 
 use of films. It can and will be done and will be 
 one of the biggest gifts to mankind the world has 
 ever known." 
 
 Regarding the motion picture industry as a pro- 
 fession, Mr. Bunny said: 
 
 "There's nothing like it. No other work gives 
 an actor or would-be actor the same advantages. 
 In the pictures, a player gets 52 weeks in the year. 
 Where is the theatrical manager who can offer that ? 
 Not even vaudeville stars can get such 'bookings.' 
 At best, 30 weeks is about all an actor can expect 
 on the stage. He may get summer stock work, but 
 even so it is of uncertain duration. Stage work is 
 a gamble. Even when you have been engaged for a 
 production, rehearsed from three to six weeks, with- 
 out pay, and no doubt bought your own costumes 
 for the piece, you have no guarantee that it will be 
 a success. If the public does not set its stamp of 
 approval, your job is all over perhaps after but one 
 performance, and you can only repeat the procedure 
 by trying again with something else, charging the 
 other to your loss account, with a credit notation 
 probably on the page marked 'experience.' 
 
 96
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 "It is so much different in the pictures. There 
 you get a weekly salary, no long tedious rehearsals, 
 and an occasional off-day as the result of inclement 
 weather, lack of parts for your type of player, or 
 other reasons, and still draw your salary if on a 
 contract basis. 
 
 "In many cases as for instance your humble 
 servant there is an occasional open week when the 
 film company will give a player permission to ap- 
 pear in vaudeville. I have made such appearances, 
 at Hammerstein's, and other theaters, and also in 
 the larger cities of both East and West. I do a spe- 
 cial typically moving-picturesque act which is a 
 novelty, goes big, and I enjoy it, too. It brings a 
 little 'loose change' as well as an intimate acquaint- 
 ance with an audience, which you do not get when 
 on the screen, of course. This shows you what an 
 inducement it is to me." 
 
 Here Mr. Bunny modestly tendered a vaudeville 
 contract, and the interviewer's eyes opened in won- 
 der and admiration when she read the figure $1,000 
 as the "loose change" for this popular screen star's 
 appearance for a week in vaudeville. 
 
 In answer to the interviewer's question, Mr. 
 Bunny continued: 
 
 "Yes, there are many in the business who had 
 no professional experience whatever before going 
 into the pictures. I know of at least six or more 
 now at the Vitagraph who began their theatrical 
 careers in the pictures and are now enjoying in- 
 comes of from two to five thousand a year that is 
 about $40.00 to $100.00 weekly. Among these are 
 
 97
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 Miss Flora Finch, Miss Leah Baird, Miss Dorothy 
 Kelly, and others. The qualifications are essentially 
 talent and the ability to be natural rather than to 
 act." 
 
 At this point the interviewer, like the little girl 
 who said that "every time she opened her mouth 
 she put her foot in it," made a break by saying, 
 "And what about personal appearance, Mr. Bun- 
 ny?" Now, with all due justice, let it be said that 
 no direct personal reference was intended or even 
 thought of, but Mr. Bunny quick to see the hu- 
 morous side of any situation held up his fore- 
 finger threateningly, and, with a contagious laugh, 
 replied, "Now, young lady!" The offender was 
 embarrassed, to say the least of it, but Mr. Bunny's 
 genial nature and even disposition accepted it all 
 as a joke, and after acknowledging effusive apolo- 
 gies, Mr. Bunny supplied the information desired 
 by saying, "Of course, one must also photograph 
 well." 
 
 When asked how he began his wonderful work 
 on the screen, Mr. Bunny said: 
 
 "That's a long story. About three or four years 
 ago, I was one of the foremost comedians on the 
 stage. I have played good parts with the Shuberts, 
 Chas. Frohman's productions and all the biggest 
 managers. However, I awoke to the fact that the 
 stage game was not what it had been and that the 
 'movies' were the coming thing. So I decided I 
 would rather be behind the guns than in front of 
 
 98
 
 JOHN BUNNY, OF THE VITAGRAPH CO.. AS A JOLLY TAR
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 them. I wanted to be with the 'shooters' rather 
 than with the 'shot/ so I canceled my thirty weeks' 
 contract with the Shuberts, threw aside all the years 
 of experience and success I had had, and decided to 
 begin all over again. I went down to the Vitagraph 
 studio, which was then in its infancy, and frankly 
 told them I wanted to work in the pictures. They 
 knew of me and my work and were naturally sur- 
 prised, in view of the general attitude toward mov- 
 ing picture players at that time, that I should be 
 seeking an entrance into the field. However, I ig- 
 nored this and offered to work in my first picture 
 for nothing, so they could judge of my appearance 
 on the screen. I was game and they accepted. 
 
 "Before I had finished my first picture they asked 
 me to play in the next and I agreed, saying nothing 
 till I had finished the first. Then I asked them what 
 they could do for me in stock. I must admit that 
 I did not receive a very enthusiastic reception. 
 They said: 'Mr. Bunny, you are a high-salaried 
 comedian. We have looked up your past engage- 
 ments, and while we realize you would be a very 
 valuable addition to the Vitagraph, yet since we 
 have just started we could not afford to pay you 
 anything approaching $150.00.' So I knew by this 
 that they had looked into my past and learned that 
 my salary was $150.00. This was all true, but I 
 felt that the big future would be with the 'movies,' 
 so I asked them what they would offer, and they 
 said : 'There's no use for us to make you an offer, 
 Mr. Bunny, you would only laugh at the ridicu- 
 lously low sum.' I promised to be a real good boy 
 and not even smile, so they continued: 'The best 
 we could offer you now, Mr. Bunny, would be 
 $40.00 a week.' No, I didn't laugh. I could see 
 
 99
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 the big difference between what I had been getting 
 and the $40.00, but I could see a greater future on 
 the side of the $40.00 with the shooters. So I said, 
 'You're on, I'm game !' 
 
 "And that was my beginning with the Vitagraph, 
 the only company for which I've ever worked or 
 ever will. It is owned by the biggest-hearted men in 
 the world, generous, thoughtful and always ready to 
 help a fellow when he's down! 
 
 "The pictures as an industry and a profession are 
 really yet in their infancy. Not half their possi- 
 bilities have been realized. They offer a field for 
 the ambitious which is not simply for this day and 
 generation but for the infinite future. They have 
 to an extent taken the place of the drama and have 
 wrought a strongly perceptible change in the status 
 of the dramatic stage." 
 
 "Mr. Bunny, what do you think of the report 
 that many of the best known actors and actresses 
 on the stage are thinking of going into the pic- 
 tures?" 
 
 Here Mr. Bunny shrugged his shoulders, rolled 
 his remarkably expressive eyes, and in a most in- 
 imitable manner illustrated his reply: 
 
 "Yes, a few years ago they turned up their 
 haughty noses at people in the 'movies,' and now 
 they are 'thinking' of going into the pictures. Some 
 of them 'think' a long while when they seek the 
 work, for it is very often found that the best of 
 actors and actresses on the stage fail in the pictures. 
 They do not understand how to 'put it over' by 
 action, as they have grown dependent on the effect 
 of the voice. 
 
 ioa
 
 MOVING PICTURE ACTING 
 
 "Just recently one of the stars of the dramatic 
 stage gave a really splendid portrayal of his most 
 famous role before the camera, but when the film 
 was screened, though his expressions and actions 
 were excellent, it was easy to see that he was not an 
 experienced motion picture player. He had not 
 been taught the many little tricks of the work which 
 would have made the picture perfect. Therein lies 
 the difference between acting in the pictures and on 
 
 the stage. 
 
 "The talented amateur has as good a chance as 
 the experienced professional and very often better. 
 He is more apt to be natural, not 'stagy,' employing 
 simplicity in his actions rather than wild meaning- 
 less gestures, and more quick and willing to learn 
 than some of our so-called present-day stars 
 
 "In the end, each must begin in just the same 
 way as I did, that is, 'jobbing' in one or two 
 pictures at a daily remuneration, to give the com- 
 pany a chance to see how he or she appears on the 
 screen, and then, if capable, the opportunity in the 
 regular stock company is sure to come. Again J 
 say, There's nothing like it." 
 
 101
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES 
 
 COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
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