Hammond Times, Volume 10, Number 52, Hammond, Lake County, 14 January 1922 — Page 7
January- 14, 1922.
THE TIMES
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ffC-J h5 Itl- : v ? THE ARRIVAL OF THE hV " ' 'Aiilf i J i S -n QUEEN Of SHEBA AT IJnJ kl"J',r JfkM lft feT cdi 'SO KING SOLOMONS COURT N' tVTC::;I . -, tV; Itrl 1' " . lVTTt A VtfygMf
L,E? IfS' JrVfeJ (THE QUEEN I SOLOMON jp'V tlf C iyMX PWT-osHEBa
xReasontoBetieve p
4 1 if ?e worlds most v Beautiful and
jmpassionea Lor
iicle of Love was
Written under In
fluenceof the Siren
1 0O It 1U
PRlNCEo
V SHEBA fr
By WILL A. PAGE
DID tlip Qne?n of Shoba inspire the immortal lovo snngs of Solomon? 'I'hat is the question which has tp-rentlj-rnrae to the front because of the presentation in screen form by M'illlam Fox of a great moving pictnre spectacle. "The Queen of ShetV and the fact that the love story of the famous Queen and the cele
brated King has rroven of Interest
to thousands of people on Broadway as one of the tnost interesting pro
ductions of the entire season.
Thronghout the Eat a hundred
legends and traditions, mostly un
Ti-ritten, keep alive the memory of
the great Queen who came from I he
Sou!h and won Solomon's heart
Her fame in Asia is beyond that of
leopatra and that of Helen of Troy, in spite f the fact that Cleopatra bad Shakespeare and Helen hud Homer to sing their praises, while Sheba's lovo has never until now been set forth in the written word. Yet for proof of ner strong intlu,oce on King Solomon, and through m, probably, on the whole curse of history, one roust turn to the Songs of Solomon, which, according to inany commentators, contain many passages which can refer only to the Queen of Sheba. It Is trtio that a strong school of thought holds that In theso poems, vhich form the collection known as Oe Songs of Solomon, the King used his lore for Sheba as a religions
symbol ; but they contain every indication tlwit they wpre written by a man who had experienced the deepest of human emotions, that of love between the sexes. It is also undonbted-iy true that tlis Songs of Solomon were written sonn after the visit of the Quoon of Sheba to Solomon's kingdom. Dazzled by her beauty and the magnificence
of her retinue, Solomon descended from his throne to greet the Queen who had journeyed over the desert to gaze upon bis glory and hear his wisdom. And, not for the first time In history nor the last, wisdom and power bowed low and humbled itpelf before beauty. It was Sheba's smile that moved Solomon to such a song as this: "I have compared thee. O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. "Thy cheeks are. comely with rows "We will make thee borders of sold of jewels, thy nect with chains of gold. an'd studs of silver. . . . Behold,
thon art fair, my love : behold, thou art fair: thou hast doves' eyes. . . . "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely; thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks. "How fair and now pleasant art tbon. O love, for delight! "Many waters cannot qnench lov. neither can the floods drown It: If a man would give all the stibstnncp of
his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. And that glorious pastoral poem, the gMn of the Songs of Solomon: "For. lo. the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. '"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of ilie singing of birds has come, ami the voice of the turtle is hoard in our land, "The fig tree puttetb forth her green figs, and the vines with 1h tender grapes give a good sine 1. Arise, my love, my fair one. and onio away." Considering that: Solomon had n thousand wives before Sheba ;uiic. it is. easy to see ttmt the beauty o" Sheba must have been superlative. Voltaire, the Freiwh critic, who was
not fond of Solomon, has given hint i
his due in the following passages of the Philosophical Dictionary: "Several Kings have been good scholars, and have written good books. . . . The present Kmpoptr of China. Kien Iong. particularly. T.s considered -a great poet, but Solomon of Solyman. (he ITebrew, has st;ll more reputation than Kien T.onT. the Chinese. "The narne of Solomon bjs always been revered in the cast. The work"
for hii ready money, his wives or his books. "It was not becoming for a prince no.sspssing so many chariots to '.v bounded in fhe article of women ; he therefore possessed seven hundred women who bore the name of Queen : :ir.d. vhat is strange, he hal but three hundred concubines; contrary to the custom of kings, who have generally more mistresses than wives. "The books attributed to Solomon have lasted longer than bis temple.'" Short extracts from the love poems
of King Solomon are used to good effect in the motion picture, "The Queen of Sheba." being thrown on the sereetl its 1 1 1 lew. One wonders. ince Solomon wrote his f;Hiinu songs about the original Queen of Sheba. lust what the celebrated King would write if h" could see Betty P.lythe in her portrayal of the historic lady. Perhaps he would write somethlnsr different. In connection with the big production of "The Queen of Sheba," in which the love story of Solomon and Sheba's Queen has been so vividly exploited, one of the greatest and most spectacular features ts ftip chariot race. There are reallv two
Vnshtl. played by Miss Nell Craig. ! company from a 75 foot tower, an The mere statistics of this race and eighth of a mile from the arena. Tli the preparations convey a rough idea j rc.vt was ordered on a semi mi'i-
tary plan, with a captain to e,t
believed to be hi", fhe Annals of the races, the frst being between a num
Jews, .md the fables of the Arabs, have carried bis renown as far as the Tndles. "It Is a great question in theology.
ber of chnriot each drawn by four hordes. rnd the second being the srieeil contest between the chariot of Sheba. driven by Mis Betty Blvtbe.
whether Solomon Js most renowned and that of liep rival, the Prince?
01 ine Tremendous task trm confronted the director. The const ru (ion of the hippodrome for the races took 8." men six weeks. It. is an immense nvaf? il.2o0 feet py 3,100 feet, the track being three-quarters of a mile around and 1.j0 feet wide, giving room for ten chariots to race abreast, with four horses to each chariot. Completely inclosing the course is ,iwal eight feet high, and surmounting this wall an imposing colonnade of 75 Assyrian pillars. It stands in a natural amphitheater between rolling hills, about eight miles from Iots Angeles, Cab, useless now that its task is don It was built according to the plans of Richard E. Sibley, art director, who patterned it upou the arenas of the ancient cities of fhe Kast. which flourished hundreds of years before Rome. It is worthy of note that the chariots used were not Roman, but Assyrian and Egyptian. The arena is deserted now, but; on the days when the races were filmed it presented a gorgeous and animated scene. Solomon, in all his glory, surrounded by his eourt. sat in his royal box. splendid with canopies, high above the arena. The oval snace surrounded by the track was filled with spectators, and thousands niore. a mighty crowd, were gathered around the outer wall, their Oriental costumes a riot, of color. Fesfoons and banners waved from
every pillar
group of fifty. Orders were -.'Won to these captains by telephone from M, Edwards' tower, while general .s;u'nals were given by means of buglers stationed at various point around the arena. Many of those who mingled in th;' crowd were interested (spectators from Los Angeles and tourists from all parts of the world, who were allowed torejnain within seeing distance oniiiXn condition that they donned Oriental costumes, supplied by the Fox costume department, lest ortp of the ten cameras, stationed at strategic points around the arena, shonld get them into the film, which would have been ruined by a modern costume. All these lookers-on had to promise not to smoke. When all was ready the races began. Tom Mix. William Fox's most expert rider, had been on the set for days, picking ot the fastest and gamest horses that could be obtained and rehearsing the chariot drivers in their parts. Mix on his trusty "Tony" hovered close to the racers, out of shot of ihe camera most, of the time, yet wearing an Arabian tunic in case he should "show." Those who hare seen "The Queen of Sheba" know that the most remarkable th'n about the races 1 that the chariots are kept in the foreground of the screen all the way around the course. This unique result was accomplished by means of a
panoramic camera of a pattem set
Mr. Edwards directed this vast dom r never used in feature pictuv-es
before. Tins camera, h later devf opinenr. of a device used by Uaitad .Mate observers in the war. can foiow a last moving object, keeping it always in the field of vision. The jjanoramlc camera swept th track (iron: the top of an K5 fot column in the middle of the vaU 1 he ornamental column was built t revolve at the wlil of the cameraman. the camera lens being pointed thro n-li a narrow- gift. O lier cameras of the same typ were pi.-ieo ) behind slits in r,e oval v.-.il siirroj'oding the track, o that c. r. tHit of Hie races from start t, i.it-h was til met". This, hinvever. does not explain th "cl'M'-nps" of the race, where Vasbli ii::d Sheba are seen driving directly towards- the camera. These, perluips. ore the most thrilling scenes of all. for the very expression on tb women's faces can he spen as they urge on their horses. This was don by means of cameras mounted on automobiles, keeping always just ahead of the horses. There were two accidents during tie races, but fortunately none was serious, a wheel came ofT a chariot and Jim Murphy. ..fT"d river, had to leap for life. He rolled over anil over on the arena, and .iti't as h was about to get up he saw coming straight towards him a second chariot, the horses going too fast to draw up. He tried to roll out cf their way, but could not. The outside horse bore down straight upon him. and then, suddenly catching sight of hiri. swerved, reared and by an effort avoided hi body. Murphy was able to roll out of reach of the chariot wheel. It is a well known fact that a horse will not intentionally step on a prostrate man. but to stake one's life at a second's notice on a horse's Intelligence is not a comfortable thing, according to Jim Murphy. The second accident was 8 collision between chariots, bnt this, too. ended happily.
ueeno
An Alluring Story
'Yhf. ancient king-don1 of Phcba :;rcan1 titkIht the usurper's heel. Vrmud. th tynnt. taking tb throne br treachery, held it. by ruthless deed". Th maidens of Kbeha shuddered at hhi nam-, and men who had wives or 4 A-Jghtrs jnu;"i'-d in impotent ra?.
Shehn. the heauf if; "i-'.i;r. dwelt with ber 'em. by thr seashore. Loverly, she .ird h. r r : v thai i n ' 'oIr v
. the rtshtfnl t'nther in their t'ron d i n 't he i r Huer NnmU I'K flo- d ' he
t.:-'cd of kitii?.-. Had prayed for the day hen hho pe.-pt. , r .-u-'.d to f .iry by Ami. id cru !: .:. w oulj ri.e ami do- : hreuo him 'Ctt ; n' i n to rtcl : rir-;!rh blow to hi. enemies. A'maH eiy.od .Vnmis and carried her off to h' j-r8.'.ace. Seornitis? Ms embraces, r.he drowned herself in a V "eO . Shehn wore to avenge Iter Ftser snd lay the usurper low. I v n h'- w er t;i;:i. !n tn;t r r In -c lo .-lu i'i lie s-v bis -.,; rt .inity lo .--tretialben h' throne ,'i.t.d i n the -eo' T ncctaim. I'-iK on the wfdding nutht, h fore, aii the fcMfiin tzitf-m i. while t he sl;i.vo-Ririi danced nod the minstrels 5a.nc Sheba stabbed liin in tho h-?art. Then Sbeba. brought forth the ancient, crown of Sheba. which, in fulfilment of the old prophey. had been thrown up by th-; uar. i f the ocean fore h i- eyes. .Sheba von the heori of t h- people i y lier wise itil'. The ancient story . " the rfalin returned, and its fame --.learl'to all the nnji.ii; of th" earth. I Pst. more s!ni ietis Than all the tr-'as-itrce of th kinirtlnm wa.s the beauty of its queen. "f tlii." m-:;i spsike every -,v'nre. so that its renoxvn reached the srs of great Kinc Solomon himself, far away. .cross the deserts of Arabia ;tnd the hiiTnfngr plain.-? r f Egyvt . To him Sheba went, with a c2;t teriti a.rs.an ef e'ephant.-" and camels ite. ked with troll and x ,i:;.i pv:--;.us stones: and Solomon himself was dazzled iy beauty f Che Meti. All his wisdom and nil his powei he laid at her f-e, and P-heba. herself
looked ini. hi.-i eyes and knew she loved him. 3ut they knew they must part . Adonijah. brother fo Sol.vnion, 5W now his chance to s-eize the throne. Profitiner by the ejalous amtii"n of lh Princess VaJihti. who raw tha.t. sh had lo.t Holomon's loe, ho. p'ottc!
with her MjLiast the, kine: but
he
found Shcha always a stumbling' block to his pla.ns. The tinio r:me wlien Sle'bft must depart and the heart of Kin Solomon wa.s luair as he bade her farewell. Sheba visited n:at.y lands and her beauty received the hoimfe of many kinjr.. but she headed none of (hem. remertiberinc ftolomrn. When, a.fter much wanderinir. sl'e reached he-r own hind, she brought aj a p-ift to her people a baby prince, whom the people hailed a- their k'nn lo be. SoiebA. more c-.-i-jous than eVer n'" with the beai'.y of tnotnerhood. ann a vx iser rule.r now a ill i t lo faith that sjoioinon had criven her. marie her people happy. iter lovr endured. and when the iittle prince v.is five years old she sent htm a? an envoy to Solomon who received him with gre-it The traitor A.V.-jn; ja.h saw in the hoy a r. "W peril to his plans. He. must strike now or not at i.ll. tie ealled Va.shti -to his aid. and Vashti, soutrht he'p -from f!prypi. the land of befathers. Solomon, warned of the plo;. banished Adonijah from the icaim, but Adonijah raised an army and stormed the pa!a.rj end the tempi. while Vashti, hy a trick, seized th little prince and had him locked in the vast To m of the Kings.
I .Assault after assault by Adonijah I hroupht hitn nearer to victory. Many
i ime.s Ills men IrntTfil the tra.t.es of tile i
paia e. only to he driven forth, aeain. )
; hi' -. omen ..f -.c co iri took refuge in tlie e'-cat spiral Tower of Pavjd that stood In '.he tniddl- of the city. Adopijah and Vas-hii bad reckoned without S'heba. When she learned o,'
the loss of her wort she despatched :t Krcat army across the de-frt. : So-..-mon'j; aid. herself ieadinrr. Site a 1 her mighty , host arrived at the crucia' mrxtpent; Adonijah's army had entered the cat tts and was storming the Tower of la.vid. .h.;ba's army fell upon tin attacker w;Ui great. sbuisrh tei Adon;jah liirn.s.if as killed ami ,.!.,- in on wounded. I; was one of Adoni j.i h's fallen soldiers who revealol to Pheba. the hidingplace of the prince. She brouffht htm out of the Tomb of the Kings, and Solomon went for joy when he m.v h i m . For tlie second time Sheba turned her face to tho South, and she an1 her prim e. the fruit- of Tier P.ve. journeyed nicht and day. acrosthc d'-fo-rt of Arabia and the burning plans of Ktrynt to the land of Sh.;ba.
In New York and Chicago this WorldFamous Picture Played at $2 Top Presented exactly the same in Hammond at POPULAR PRICES AFTERNOONS Children, 15c Adults, 20c-30c EVENINGS Children, 22c Adults, 33c-44c
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AM. M-:V KIRK M HICit.O hi;i nu r nt;i iu:rrv am. llt.HHOM) Wlil, TOO.
Ballet Show Dances of Ancient Splendor Tiic ia.ncrs contributing- so much verve and pe.p constituted one of the most important details of the lengthy relK-ar.sa.ls; that accompanied the making of the ptct trc. jwhich consum"d nearly a year. Frederic Ko Vert, a .special danivr
J in the production, had charge of tio
training n? tU' thirty-six profeiouai dancers eiilis'ctd-- most of whom had formorjy the lutelngre of pome of the most nctel dancing ins-trttitors in the world . Four hundred dancers applied '"or the enprarjeiner.t. and from this army if r . FvoVert seiected tie thirty-six. Th- selection took three nays' time. The dancers wore f.rratir.ed in rows, and the most promising ma.teru.l npraduai'y advanced until the vi t front row comprised the crea.rn of tin candidates. One of the jrreatet obstacles rnconntered. from the standpoint of settins live action into the dances, was the fact that, according to the d;ita srather' -1, the dmcins of Sheba'.s time consisted of popTitringr that was cert. -monial. ami telig'ious, accompanied by weird music that wa j-merdy rhythmic. A onitinromiie wa effecter bjexeeuting the authenticated dance postures and moving' the dancer about .slightly, so that all tho action and grace o,f the. nncient danco is really heng-hteneti. and the completed dance is a beautiful, symbolic affair. The dancing feature of the bier production atiraeUnt; c jfr-at deal of attention particularly that part where the solo dancersj appear in galih "costumes of huse feaihet. )ein2r made up as peacock and the like.
Through all the Ages man has loved the woman, but the lore of the woman is ever for the love of the man. This never-dying truth is beautifully told anew in the marvelous, wonderful, fascinating, gorgeous and enchanting screen spectacle.
Queen of Sheba Presented by WILLIAM FOX Directed by J. Gordon Edwards
" 'Queen of Sheba' in for a long run. Gorgeous spectacle a love story of exquisite tauty. Chariot race takes one's breath away." N- Y. Journal. " 'Queen of Sheba is realistic film filled with action. Exciting chariot race one feature of beautiful picture. The most exciting race ever put upon the screen.' N. Y. Herald. "The producer has aimed at the ultimate in the spectacular and has achieved his end. Lavish sets , gorgeous display and scenes sensationally huge.. A wonderful piece of direction and camera work."
N. Y. Mail. " 'Queen of Sheba is ornate, elaborate and spectacular. Has many of the characteristics of a gorgeous cricus." N. Y. Times. " 'Queen of Sheba" is a milestone that even the most elaborate productions of the past have not achieved. A marvelous super screen spectacle and such it turned out to be." N. Y. Telegram. "The chariot race in 'Queen of Sheba was the last word in thrills. Historic love story a great success." N. Y. Eve. World.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST MOTION PICTURE Commences Its Big Local Engagement at the DELUXE (Tomorrow) Continuous (Except Sunday) 10:30 a. m. to 11:30 p. m. DeLuxe "Sheba" shows start 11:15, 1:15, 3:15, 5:f5, 7:15and9:15.