the Cinema

It was a great surprise for the English “Archer” family when they discovered that their daughter had cinematic gifts — and what happened to their child “June” may happen to any little girl...

Between rehearsal hours June is allowed to play with her companions — and jump-rope is the favorite!

its morning, a glittering star! It is a great change that has come over the modest Archer family: the father deals in secondhand household furniture, and the mother is a housewife of the first order, and neither of them ever dreamed that fortune's arrow, with its feather, would strike them... June spends these days persevering at learning her part... her mother helps her, teaching her the words and hearing her recite them before she goes to her bed; and when she accompanies her to the studio for the daily rehearsal, and leaves her in the charge of the management and returns, she peers from the tram window at her daughter's colored picture hung at the entrance of the cinema, and addresses the strangers around her with great pride, pointing to the picture: “Look... that is my daughter!” And this is something quite natural, for June has proven so far that she is equal to this broad glory that awaits her; and yet the loveliest thing that adorns this girl is that she is natural... utterly natural; her conduct and her behavior have never been touched by the poisons of fame and pride... Perhaps the first credit for this goes back to her parents, and the sound upbringing they secured for her, and the serene family atmosphere in which she grew up. There remains a fear that flutters at the parents' hearts. What if June should fail in the end, and not reach, in her climb, the top of the ladder?? Even for this possible outcome they are preparing themselves, though its chances are slight, and all the signs indicate that the film “Innocent Sinners,” which will appear soon on the screen, will plant June's foot firmly in the world of the cinema and guarantee her a great name and standing. June's mother lives in watchfulness and prayer, and she has begun to save and economize so as to provide in advance money enough for June to study the art of the cinema and acting. She lives on a sweet hope — that her little one may soon become the darling of thousands! What great joy awaits the happy family? This story, which seems as if woven of imagination, is true in every part, and it may happen to any family and to any boy or girl — for fortune advances or turns away, and when it advances the opportunity must be seized — not for our own sakes alone, but for our children and their future...

Helen, who almost became a star, but luck passed her by!