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MUSINGS OF A PHOTOPLAY PHILOSOPHER 143
I shall never forget the first time I wrote and attempted to sell a scenario. I was very proud of my effort, and when I walked into a Motion Picture place and offered it "for nothing" I imagined that they would grab it greedily. But, the cruel man looked it over and calmly said: "You offer this for nothing? "Well, you have placed the correct value on it ! " Not quite comprehending, I . asked what he meant. "Do you make a business of writing these?" he inquired. "Oh, no," I replied, "this is only a side-show of mine; I have many irons in the fire." "Well," said he, handing me my manuscript, "I advise that you put this where the other irons are." It looks very simple to write a scenario, but it requires a certain education and seldom comes naturally. The art must be acquired by careful preparation. While it is not a long or a difficult study, it is a study, and only very rarely can a person hope to sit down and write a successful scenario without previous instruction.
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He who does things, even tho he be wrong, is better than he who does nothing for fear he will make a mistake. The former plants seeds, which, if good, will grow : the latter will soon go to seed.
Now that some of the theaters in New York are charging $2.50 for the best seats, and the grand opera patrons have to pay $6 a seat, is it any wonder that the attendance at the Motion Picture theaters is increasing? What New York needs is a few first-class Picture Theaters. Belfast has one of the finest in the world, so Miss Gene Gauntier informs me, and in the South and West there are hundreds of high-class houses. New York and Brooklyn may be far ahead of the smaller cities, in some things, but in other things they are not.
The Edison Company seems to be the premier producer of that class of films known as ' ' educationals. " If I mistake not, the future will bring an ever increasing demand for this kind of Photoplay, and it is these that are doing so much to raise the standard and to elevate the general tone of the whole business.
The National Board of Censors may be a necessary institution, but it would be a good thing, for the whole industry if there were a Board of Dramatic Censors whose duty it was to see that no Photoplay was put on the market which contained mechanical and dramatic defects. It is remarkable how exceedingly excellent some Photoplays are, and how exceedingly poor are some others that are produced by the very same company. If the manufacturers would only realize that every poor film that goes out is doing harm to the whole business, perhaps they would be more careful. Of course, accidents are bound to happen, and the best of directors are prone to overlook little things ; but there should be less of this carelessness. Inferior Photoplays, and those that contain glaring defects and inconsistencies, are bound to antagonize regular patrons and to disgust newcomers.
Over the walls of a school in Germany, hangs a sign bearing this motto: "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost ;
When character is lost, all is lost. ' ' Very good, but it is just as well to save all three, if we can.