Film year book : 1922-23 (1923)

H. E. Roach Comedies Culver City Joe Rock Universal City Rodeo Comedies S341 Ruth Roland Serials 5341 Russell Prod 6050 Sanford Prod 6050 Mack Sennett 1712 Melrose Ave 2 Melrose Ave 31 Sunset Blvd 2 Sunset Blvd 2 Glendale Blvd Hunt Stromberg Prod 6642 Santa Monica Blvd. Universal Universal City Vitagraph 1 708 Talmadge St. . Jack White Corp 5341 Melrose Ave.. Ben Wilson Prod 5821 Santa Monica Blvd. Elsewhere Betzwood Film Co Philadelphia Bray Prod, Inc Norwalk, Conn Bruce Carter Prod San Francisco Commercial Film Studios, Inc 21st St. and Olive, St. Louis. Essanay Film Co Chicago, 111 Paul Gerson Pict. Corp San Francisco Harter-Wall Prod Bakersfield, Cal Pathe Pathe Pathe Federated Patiie State rights State rights Asso. First Nat'l Asso. First Nat'l Asso. First Nat'l Metro Universal Universal Universal Vitagraph Educational Federated Federated Educational Forward Film Dist. Rialto Prod. F. B. O. Rothacker Film Co 1339 Diversey Parkway, Chicago... Sacred Films, Inc Burbank, Cal 1 Worcester Film Corp Worcester, Mass *These companies operate in no regular studio. Addresses given are business State rights addresses. EARLY DAYS IN AUSTRALIA A few particulars regarding the early introduction of long feature pictures in Australia, by Millard Johnson, American representative of Australasian Films, Ltd. In 1900 the present King and Queen of England came to Australia and about 10,000 feet of negative was taken for the Australian Government by Mr, J. Perry, depicting the ceremonies, processions, etc., when Australia became a nation. I bought about 4,000 feet and made a feature of over 3,500 feet long and toured Victoria and Tasmania with this, supplemented by other short subjects, but lost money. This is the first record of a long feature. In 1903 Charles Urban made a four reel feature called "Living London" without any titles. Mr. W. A. Gibson and myself, in conjunction with Taits, exploited this through Australia and India and did enormous business, so much so that in 1904 Taits asked us to make another and we produced in 1905 "The Kelly Gang," a five reel feature life story, the first ever made, and even now no picture has reached the great financial success of this in Australia. Every six months we made another of these including "Robbery Under Arms," "Mystery of the Hansom Cab," "Called Back," "The Bells" and others. Each of these were over 6 reels long and a whole night's entertainment. These cost about $2,500 to make and we shot 7,000 feet of negative and showed 6,500 feet of positive. I am therefore justly entitled to be ranked amongst the very earliest in the world who introduced and saw the great possibility of the long 6 reel feature. For "The Bells" Mr. Gibson and myself engaged Arthur Steyn, Melbourne's leading actor, and hired all the stage scenery from Williamsons for our production. Mr. Spencer produced about 1908 "Sweet Nell of Old Drury," paying Miss Nellie Stewart about $5,000 to act her leading stage role, which was considered an enormous salary in those days. When I arrived in America in 1913, long pictures were absolutely unknown, no orchestras of 24 and 30, but these were very common in Australian pictureshows, and pictures of 30 to 35 feet diameter were the usual size there. I personally contracted with Adolph Zukor for his first year productions at their earliest commencement, but my firm had previously bought in London Bernhardt's "Queen Elizabeth" before it was shown in America. The Nordisk Biograph with Asta Neilson made the best 5 reel features in the earliest times prior to 1912. COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY IN 1922 By Carroll H. Dunning, Vice-President, Prizma, Inc. Progress during 1922 in the field of color motion photography has been marked by the announcement by several new companies of the acquisition of patents and their intentions to make color films, by the demise of at least one company whose initial wark in 1921 gave some promise; and by the gradual acceptance by the trade of the value of color in their productions and willingness to cooperate with color companies to get those results that can be secured in no other way than by means of color photography. Prizma, Inc., pioneer color company working under the patents and processes of William Van Doren Kelley, has pursued the even tenor of its way, making improvements in its methods, building new equipment in its laboratory and getting better results in its product. During the year Prizma made and released a series of 26 short subjects comprising the only regular short subject service in the world using color photography exclusively. It made for Music Films, Inc. the series of exquisite little dances in synchronization with the music, that proved to be such a distinct novelty and at once acceptable to the leading first-run theaters in the country. It made the release prints for J. Stuart Blackton's first Prizma color drama "The Glorious Adventure," handling the largest color order ever placed, in its Jersey City laboratory with double shifts working five nights a week for the entire summer. It made color titles, prologues, inserts or embellishments for practically every prominent producer in the industry. Such work as that appearing in Mae Murray's "Broadway Rose" being typical of the improved methods and results secured. It opened a new office in Hollywood in charge of Captain George Stone to take care of producers on the Coast needing color in their productions, and it saw its product meet with profitable acceptance by exhibitors and public in England, France, Belgium, Holland, Scandinavia and Czechoslovakia. The principal event of all in 1922, however, m the field of color motion photography from a historical standpoint was undoubtedly the premiere showing of "The Glorious Adventure'' at the Capitol, New York, in April. Much depended upon the initial reception by the public of this J. Stuart Blackton production because it was the first full length color in the film feature ever to be shown. The favorable reaction of the public at that time and since as reflected in the box-office both in this country and in Europe furnishes the encouraging answer that color motion photography has a place in the industry. 171