Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

"LIFE EXPECTANCY" INCREASING By SIDNEY FRANKLIN* "life expectancy” ol a modem talking picture has become an even more important factor in Hollywood than the length of time it requires for production. Many great pictures in the past have lived to be issued and reissued, but it has only been in the past few months that a systematic analysis has been made of this "life expect-' ancy." Today, for the first time, producers are definitely aiming at the making of pictures that will have definite duration on the screens of the world. No longer do producers aim at pictures that will live 90 to a 100 days. A great picture, involving huge expenditures, must be of such a nature that it can be seen again and again, and thus be assured a screen life that far exceeds the time required for its making. over again must have, besides entertainment, which is always the primary object of a picture, a certain uplift or inspirational quality, and one that depends on no time element. In other words, it must be a story about something important enough to make it worthwhile filming on a scale that will carry it down the years. "The Good Earth," four years in the making, for instance, is expected, from careful calculations, to have a steady life of at least five years, with reissues even long after that. "Romeo and Juliet" is destined by Hollywood computation, to live far info the future. Producers, in choosing stories today, are definitely examining stories for this "long life" qualify, that will justify extraordinary efforts in picturizing these. When Irving G. Thalberg decided to make "The Good Earth," he had this idea very definitely in mind. It was one of several pictures Thalberg chose, primarily because of a universal appeal that would make it popular entertainment in any nation on the face of the earth. This is the first requisite for a picture definitely intended to live down the years. A story that time cannot pale, is of course, essential. Such a story, always timely and always entertainment, can justify extraordinary expenditures in time and money, because it can be shown for years to recoup the cost. Obviously, there would be little use in spending millions on a picture which in a few months would be out of fashion, so to speak. With this principle in view, producers today are aiming their major or special productions toward the "long life" class of picture. Kipling's "Captains Courageous" is calculated as a long-life picture, and its entire production budget was built on the principle that its life in the theatre would cover a long period of years. "Kim," another Kipling story, to be produced shortly, is also slated as a "long-life expectancy" production. Designing pictures especially for long runs will, incidentally, lengthen the life of their stars, producers point out. Under past methods, with pictures rapidly replacing each other, stars have dropped from high boxoffice positions with alarming frequency. On the stage stars like Bernhardt, Irving, Modjeska, and others have lived down the years, becoming tradition. But in pictures this same permanency in the affections of the public has not occurred so frequently. Selection of a story that could reasonably be expected to make a "long-life" picture will develop into a very exact branch of the science of showmanship. Its elements must include a universal appeal to all people, all over the world. The story must be on a theme important enough to justify the great pains and lavish production. Absolute authenticity would be a necessity. History will furnish many such plays. There are hundreds of episodes in history that afford glorious dramatic material with popular appeal. A picture that people will want to see over and "The Good Earth" is a perfect example of the "long-life" story. The Pearl S. Buck novel, read by millions all over the world, and still being reissued after more than 19 printings, established the "long-life" foundation before the picture was ever started. Any great book that lives down the years has the germ of a film story that can do likewise. The screen has demonstrated it already with Dickens and Shakespeare. The field of truly great literature has not as yet been scratched by motion pictures, but the developments of the past two years have definitely pointed the way. The picture from the past that probably boasts the longest life today is "Birth of a Nation," reissued many times, and even today seen in reissues. "The Big Parade" disclosed a life far beyond the expectations of the producers when they filmed it. "Trader Horn," similarly, disclosed a longer life than had been expected. But in the days when these pictures were made, the life expectancy of pictures was never considered or studied. It was in 1933 that Thalberg first began considering this factor in connection with the making of ambitious productions, when he began balancing life expectancy against production time, in the case of more important works for the screen. Today the principle is recognized by the studios as a definite factor in laying out plans for future production. The increasing popularity of opera in pictures has afforded a measure of life expectancy for musical productions, such as "Maytime," "San Francisco," "Rose Marie" and others. The life of great historical romances has been calculated as a guide to such productions as "Madame Walewska," Napoleonic romance with Garbo and Charles Boyer, or in the plans for "Marie Antoinette" and other forthcoming specials based on great stories that have lived through history. The problem is being worked out in the studios as accurately as insurance companies work out their expectancy tables for their own business. It will mean screen permanence for the stars, the producers point out, and will mean giving the public a finer quality in the literature of the screen for the years to come. ‘Producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.