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CAMERA! YEAR BOOK "The Digest of the Motion Picture Industry" Page Thirty-three THE MOTION PICTURES ABROAD Motion picture entertainments have become a most popular form of amuse- ment all over South America. Indeed, in some of the smaller cities and towns the "cinema." as the show is generally called. % is about the only di- version that draws the aristocrat and the artisan; the young and the old. In the leading cities of the continent the business has developed to enormous proportions, and, in many cases, new buildings have been designed and erected especially for this class of pub- lic amusement. In the different coun- tries there are local conditions and tastes that affect the popularity of the business in its details; but in the main, the crowds, their likes and dis- likes, time of attendance, musical phases, etc., are much the same. In Rio de Janeiro the best motion picture theatres do not follow the cus- tom of allowing patrons to drop in and out at will. A film is advertised to be- gin at a certain hour of the afternoon or evening; at the appointed time doors are closed, or in most cases a heavy and highly decorated curtain is dropped, and the show in the audito- rium begins its functions. A rather novel arrangement, also noted in other Brazilian cities, is, the waiting lobby immediately in front of the entrance proper. After purchasing a ticket the patron enters the lobby or corridor, takes a comfortable seat and waits until the termination of the first sec- tion of the play, the time of which may be a few minutes or half an hour. While waiting one may listen to the band of music, which may be heard equally well by those within the lobby or in the audience. At times the crowds become congested, and all the lobby seats are occupied; in such cases the ticket seller withholds fur- ther admissions and tin crowd re- mains in the street, but the brilliant electric lights (if night) and the music of the band continue to swell the num- ber of waiting patrons. In most of the larger cities of South America the motion-picture theaters represent a considerable outlay of cap r ital. If they have not been construct- ed especially for this class of business, they are in most cases buildings that have been remodeled and modernized, and elegance and attractiveness are leading features. In recent years some of the finest playhouses have thrown open their doors for moving pictures, a fact that permits the humble citizen to get within the marble palaces of amusement that adorn most South Am- erican capitals. The opera is always beyond the financial reach of the aver- age resident, and the advent of the "cinema," especially when held within the best theatres, proves doubly attrac- tive. After attending motion-picture shows and mingling with theater crowds in scores of cities and towns of nine coun- tries of South America the writer re- turns fully convinced that such diver- sions and amusements are quite as popular with the Latins, if not more so, than with the people of the United States. Considering the larger cities only, there may not be as many "mov- ies" as existed four or six years ago; the vast number of these amusements that sprung into existence overnight, so to speak, had their short life of popularity and then passed to obliv- ion. As a rule the majority of those quickly erected and poorly arranged houses or old houses rearranged for motion picture crowds soon ceased to be attractive to the better classes; they were avoided for the newer and cleaner theaters that were gradually springing into the limelight of popu- lar favor. , Today, however ,the city people are not the only ones who enjoy the mo- tion-picture show; the business has made its way to the smaller town and even to the hamlet, where the amuse- ment appears to be just as popular as in the great city. Furthermore, the town often lacking other forms of public entertainment, depends solely on the motion-picture for diversion. In not a few cases the most attractive places in the growing town is the new building or- theater where the movies are shown. In numerous theaters, like those in Sao Paulo, La Paz, Mendoza, etc., the orchestra and orchestra circle, as known in this country ,are used as cheaper seating space, and the higher priced chairs or seat are arranged around and slightly above the first floor. Boxes of course are numerous in South American theaters and are eagerly sought by those able to occu- py them. Glittering uniforms of employees are always in evidence at the best motion- picture houses of the several coun- tries. One massive moving advertise- ment especially remembered by the writer is a good-looking man, 7 feet in height, clad in a brilliant uniform, who stands before a theater in an Ar- gentina city. His enormous propor- tions and pleasant manners are well known among the patrons of the house, and even foreigners'have cause to remember "el hombre muy alto" at the cinematograph. Scenes and pictures that please the average South American audience would probably not be popular in the United States ,and vice versa. A great motion-picture play was recently shown in Buenos Aires daily for some weeks. It was called the "Nobleza Gaucho" (noble cowboy), and it is safe to say that a very large percentage of people of the city saw and admired the exhibition. Films and scenario were Argentine productions, and finer work or more beautiful scenes could scarcely be imagined. The work de- picted the wild, free life of the pam- pas and brought out many of the noble traits of the men and women whose life is spent in the great outdoors. Three-fourths of this film would charm an American audience, but the latter section would hardly be popular in this country. On the other hand, some of the pictures which have proved great drawing cards in the United States have been almost failures as regards appreciation before South Am- erican audiences. , In many sections the American film is growing into popular favor, for the reason that the producer is devoting time and attention to the study of what the Latin temperament likes and demands for amusement. Some of our early efforts in supplying film service to South America proved thoroughly unsatisfactory and were abandoned European films and especially the Franch make, have been more popular with the average South American aud- ience. One of the reasons is. that the people are always interested in French styles, and of course many of the char- acters seen in the pictures are attired in the latest Parisian fashions. This fact is also quite as pleasing to the men as to the ladies; and probably nowhere in the world does dress play a more important role in one's social standing than in the cities of South America. At present the films that portray va- rious phases of the European war are very popular all over the continent; probably' even more so than in the United States, for the reason that from the cosmopolitan population of the larger cities hundreds or thousands of young men have been recruited. Any- thing, therefore, that can bring home to the wives .mothers, fathers, and sweethearts a story of loved ones at the battle front is eagerly awaited. The price of the film from the United States is usually higher than the same article received from Eu- rope; furthermore, it requires a long- er time to procure it from a North American house; the shipping facili- ties, even during war time, being less convenient than European service. In Brazil, which is somewhat typical of other countries, the import duty on films is about $5.50 per pound; while an average motion picture machine costs approximately $30 to bring it in- to the country. To the above amounts must be added certain smaller taxes, stamps, brokers' fees. etc.. all of which act as a check against more active im- portations. Accordingly, the admission fees to the shows must be higher than in the United States; 25 to 75 cents is not an uncommon charge. In a new motion-picture theater in Rosario, Ar- gentina, the writer paid 42 cents for a ticket which was good for only an ordi- nary seat; a box seat in the same house was quoted at $1.27, in addition to the general admission. In oilier cit- ies the admission to ordinary class houses is from 15 cents up, and no- where was the price of admission as low as 5 cents, so common in this country. Buenos Aires, where there are sev eral large distributing agencies, is the headquarters for films and motion-pic- ture machines for many other cities and towns. Asuncion. Paraguay, for instance, receives practically all of its films from the Argentina capital. They are shipped by river steamer (water being cheaper than rail),- packed in tin. in an outer box made of wood; it requires 9 to 15 days for the round trip, including service at the play- houses at Asuncion. In the latter city the theater managers pay more or less than $500 a month for a service of about 4000 feet of film per day. In Montevideo, where films can be re- ceived overnight from Bueno.s Aires, the rental service is about $100 less than the charge to Paraguay. - - One of the most practical uses to which the motion picture is applied in South America is the service at the Argentine Immigration Bureau in Bue- nos Aires. In normal times that coun- try receives about a thousand immi- grants per day; these people are kept a week at Government expense at a well equipped immigrant hotel, and during their sojourn a series of mo- tion pictures not only entertains but instructs the newcomers in the agri- cultural activities of the country, shows them glimpses of home life on the vast pampas where they are soon to be located, and otherwise imparts general information that the immi- grant should know. Thus, by means of the moving picture he forms a fair idea of his adopted homeland, and. m a way. sees his future possibilities more clearly than could be explained in any other manner. , In one leading church in the Argen- tina capital the writer found a good moving picture outfit. It was operated at frequent intervals, showing mainly educational and religious subjects; and judging by the immense gather- ings of children clamoring for admis- sion, which was free, the innovation was proving popular, and the young minds receiving lessons and uplift sto- ries that can never be foigotten The cafe and the open-air theater have always been popular in South America, and the advent of the motion picture has added to the attractiveness of such resorts. It also affords the vaudeville artist a slight breathing spell and permits him to extend his circuits, covering more of the smaller places than formerly. In many sec- tions the warm climate makes it pos- sible to continue outdoor amusements during the entire year, and the sum- mer garden with its moving picture performance is well patronized. Para, at the mouth of the Amazon, furnishes a good illustration; there some of the theaters have open sides, the roof pro- tecting the audience from the sun or rain and the absence of closed sides affording free ventilation. The custom of the Latin is to keep late hours, and the evening motion picture show rarely begins before 9 p. m. In the better class of humes the hour for the evening meal is abou 7:30 or 8 o'clock; and even when the show begins at 9 o'clock there are usually late arrivals. If the theater caters to afternoon crowds, the popu- lar hour is about 5 p. in.; this enter- tainment closes sufficiently early for the patron to reach home in time Cor dinner. The afternoon is the special time for ladies and children to attend the shows without the male members of the family; for in most Latin coun- tries the lady rarely goes upon the streets at night unaccompanied. The night is the most popular hour for the crowds, as at that time the whole fam- ily turns out, and everyone who can afford an automobile presses it into service. At one of the best motion- picture houses in Buenos Aires the writer counted more than 200 ma chines drawn up in lines awaiting the closing of only an average attraction. The hour was near midnight and about as much ceremony was observed as if the finest opera company had been the star performers. Generally speaking, the South American wil remain through the en- tire program of a performance, which may be of two or more hours' dura- tion. Those who have not secured tickets for the full show may remain in their seats and secure additional ones from the ushers who pass freely among the patrons, or procure them at intermission, which occurs about twice during a long bill. The motion picture is destined to perform a far greater service than simply amusing the people; it is carry- ing education to the masses all over South America, as in other lands. The educational film, however, has not yet been so extensively used in public amusements and educational institu- tions as in the United States. In the latter almost every phase of education has been to a greater or lesser extent touched upon. For instance, thousands of children as well as adults in Amer- ica are familiar with the common housefly and its dangers to the com- munity; they have been taught largely by the motion picture, with the result that every child is an enemy of the fly and knows the best methods of ex- terminating them. Were the fly film exhibited as extensively in South Am- erica as in North America the good re- sults would be incalculable. The fly film, the making of paper, irrigation methods, a moredn dairy and pure milk, highway building, pub- lic baths, city markets, methods of street cleaning, recreations and amusements, garbage disposal, the manufacture of steel, and hundreds of other films of known educational value could be more extensively distributed in South America to the advantage of all concerned.