Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

October 11. 19 3 0 7 Theatres for 3 Millions in Iraq, Says Gov't Washington — Like other neighboring countries, Iraq is greatly underseated and presents doubtful possibilities of American manufacturers furthering their export business in that region. This is the highlight of this week's installment on foreign equipment conditions which appears weekly in Motion Pictue News, from reports sent to the Dept. of Commerce by its attaches abroad. John Randolph, American consul in Bagday, in the following report, discusses theatre and equipment conditions in Iraq: Iraq is a country with an estimated population of 3,000,000, ul whom nearly 2,000,000 are Bedouins pasturing their flocks in the deserts or cultivators living along the river banks. Bagdad has three theatres, Basrah two, and Mosul and llmaidi one each. Hinaidi is a British military cantonment, and its theatre offers two shows a week only. The theatres in Basrah were closed for over a year because of lack of patronage, but reopened early in the fall of 1929. The theatre in Mosul closes five months during the summer, there being no patronage, and the three theatres in Bagdad are playing to very poor houses and sometimes to empty ones. Projectors. — There are three different makes of projectors in use in Iraq. The Central Cinema and the Iraq Cinema of Bagdad and the Depot Cinema of Hinaidi cantonment are all equipped with Gaumont projectors; the National Cinema of Bagdad, the Basrah, Cinema of Basrah City, and the Royal Cinema of Ashar, Basrah, are all equipped with Pathe projectors; while the National Cinema of Mosul is equipped with an American projector. It has been impossible to ascertain the cost price of these different projectors, as all of them are comparatively very old models. The Gaumont projector of the Central Cinema cost, it is understood, in the neighborhood of $725 several years ago. Also, it is understood the owners of the National Cinema in Mosul actually paid for their American projector about $545, but it was purchased secondhand from some one else who had imported it with the idea of opening a theatre and then abandoned the idea and sold the projector. It is difficult to say what special features made the three above-mentioned projectors appeal to the parties who imported them. The appeal of the American machine was undoubtedly its low price and immediate availability. The appeal of the Gaumont, it is understood, was its good reputation of durability and service. There are no equipment dealers who might be interested in handling American projectors, as there is no demand for projectors for theatrical uses, nor is there a demand as yet for projectors for non-theatrical uses. Perhaps the demand for projectors for non-theatrical uses will develop as educational methods develop and school equipment is improved. The different theatres in Iraq are each equipped with one projector only. The projectors in use in this country, as mentioned previously, are all old models. The Gaumont projector of the Central Cinema is about five years old, but was rebuilt two years ago. and a new arc lamp added. The Gaumont projector of the Iraq Cinema is about four years old and was also rebuilt two years ago, and a new arc lamp added. The Gaumont projector of the Depot Cinema at Hinaidi is an old projector rebuilt quite recently. The Pathe projector of the National Cinema of Bagdad is about six years old, and those M o tio ii P i c t u r e A e w s of the Basrah Cinema and the Royal Cinema of Ashar, Basrah, are still older. The American projector of the National Cinema in Mosul is seven years old, but was rebuilt two years ago ana1 a new arc lamp added. It is difficult to say whether or not \merican projectors are considered to give better service than other makes. Generators. — The possibilities for the sale of American generator sets for use in theatres in Iraq to convert alternating current to direct current is said to be nil. The Central Cinema of Bagdad, the Iraq Cinema of Bagdad, and the National Cinema of Bagdad all have their own Ruston Hornsby engines producing direct current of 110 volts and "120 amperes. The Depot Cinema at Hinaidi also has its own engine. The Basrah Cinema, the Royal Cinema at Ashar, and the National Cinema at Mosul have generator sets which convert direct current of 220 volts to direct current 110 volts. Arc Lamps and Screens. — High-intensity and mirror-reflector arc lamps are in use in some theatres in Iraq. The screens in use are cotton cloth. Until recently the Iraq Cinema had a whitewashed wall, but a cotton cloth screen was installed. Visual Education. — The only visual education attempted in Iraq so far consists of a collection of photographs showing the Arabic or Moorish architecture in Spain, brought in by Saty Beg al Hasri, who is now the head of the High Training College, and a collection of photographs of the works of great painters, brought from Paris by Mrs. Alma Kerr, principal of the Girls' Training College. Projectors and worthwhile educational films might be a great help and will doubtless come in time. 61 Limited Field For Equipment Washington — There are but two theatres in the Tabriz consular district, and one of them operates only sporadically, which lines up this market as being inconsequential insofar as possibilities of American companies doing equipment business, according to a report by Augustin \V. Ferrin, American consul. The projectors used by both of these theatres are Pathe and Goerz, for which $200 and $300 was paid. The principal reason for preference of those machines was price. There are no equipment dealers in Tabriz, but the company operating the main theatre, Ostfilm, with theatres also in Teheran, Pehlevi, and Resht, would be interested in receiving information about American equipment, as no American projectors are in use. Neither of the two theatres has a second projector. The single projector is, in each theatre, of the latest model. Generators. — No equipment is required for converting alternating into direct current, as the two theatres use direct current created by their own Deutch generators. Arc Lamps and Screens. — Mirror-reflector arc lamps are used, of Zeiss make. Screens are not employed in projecting pictures, which are thrown on to a wall plastered with white gypsum Visual Education. — Visual education has not yet been attempted in purely Persian schools, but the American Presbyterian schools and the Seventh Day Adventist mission use magic lanterns for certain purposes. Recently, also, one of the American missionaries has imported personally a small American machine which she uses somewhat educationally. Arabia Out as An Equipment Mart; Has Only 1 House Washington — American manufacturers interested in marketing abroad are advised to hold up on surveys of Arabia because of the non-existence of a field in that country for theatre apparatus. In the current installment of equipment conditions in foreign countries, Cloyce K. Huston, American vice consul at Aden, gives the lowdown on Arabia's very limited market. It follows : The industry in Arabia has not yet become very highly developed; in fact, there is only one public theatre in the whole of Arabia. The one projector there is a fairly recent model Pathe, which was purchased secondhand in India at an undisclosed price. It is presumed that the machine was not selected because of any peculiar features or superior qualities, but because it was available at a greatly reduced price. Two other projectors are in use of Aden, being employed for weekly showings to exclusive groups of foreign residents. Definite information concerning the projectors used is difficult to obtain, but they are understood likewise to have been purchased in India. Since none of these machines has been subjected to critical demands, they have all proved satisfactory. As may be surmised, only the crudest arrangements and equipment are used in local showings of pictures. Only one projector is used, high-intensity and mirror-reflector arc lamps are not known, and the screens employed are simply plastered walls, which are occasionally given a coating of whitewash. Generator sets naturally would find no sale at present. In the field of visual education nothing at all has been done in Arabia. Education throughout the peninsula is either non-existent or in the most elemental stages, the small percentage of those who are literate confining their studies in most cases to reading and writing Arabic and to the Koran. It seems reasonable to say that visual education by means of motion pictures in Arabia belongs to a rather distant future. Further prospects, rather than the present state of the industry in Arabia, might be of interest to American projector manufacturers. The Arabian peninsula is a vast area containing roughly 5,000,000 inhabitants, an area into which western manufactures, modern conveniences, and new ideas are just now beginning to penetrate. The process of change and development is slow, innovations having a bitter and often a losing struggle with custom, tradition, and long-established habits of life. It seems probable, however, that with continued development and the gradual opening up of the territory to western commerce, even the cinema will find a place in Arab life. As a distributing center for much of Arabia, as well as for the African Somalilands, Aden is the key to the market. At present there are no dealers in equipment there. Sound Studio for India London — Upon return of Biren Roy to Calcutta, work will immediately commence on a new studio for Hindu talkers. Roy now is in London studying production methods. Pathe Moves Branch Office Cleveland — Pathe exchange has moved into its new one-story building at Payne Ave. and East 24th St., immediately adjoining the M-G-M exchange building. Britisher Joins M-G-M Cleveland — John J. Ash, of England, has joined the local M-G-M exchange under office manager Louis Freiberg.