Motography (Jan-Jun 1918)

394 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XIX, No. 9. sighs, but entertainment that will make people leave a picture theatre the happier for having attended." Emery Newell Downs of the Knickerbocker Theatre, Cleveland, O., writes : "The public does not want 'violent war dramas' and is showing a strong taste for stories with a lighter vein such as 'Uneasy Money,' 'Tom Sawyer,' 'Stella Maris' and the like. "These subjects gained universal approval, while the so-called gripping war dramas brought an alarming number of depreciating remarks. "People want to be amused when they go out for an evening's entertainment, and to show them horrors and tragedies is not the way to do it in this age of conflict. "Reorganization for a downward revision of the high cost of amusement will be the salvation of the industry, for even if this war is brought to a close at an early date the war tax will have to be continued for several years after the actual conflict and a chaotic state is bound to exist in the industrial world during the years following peace. "The photoplay is the 'family man's' amusement and will remain so as long as the price of admission is kept within reach of his pocket-book. This statement should be in the minds of all the big producers, for when they lose sight of this fact they will have killed the proverbial 'hen that laid the golden egg.' "The Knickerbocker has an almost exclusive patronage of the better class of patrons. Our prices are 15, 25 and 35 cents, but this scale of prices is positively the limit for even them, with the war tax added." Charles H. Ryan, manager of the Garfield Theater, Chicago, writes : "Women make up 60 per cent of the average neighborhood audience. It is the fair sex who bring the men out evenings to see the movie plays. They study our weekly programs, and it is they who generally are the ones who pick out the nights he and she will attend our theatre. They will not come seven nights a week, but they may come three or four. "Now what they judge by is first, the popularity of the star in their estimation, then the title might seem catchy, or it may be a well-known book or stage play. Girl stars are bigger box office attractions than the men because the women like to see the pretty clothes they wear and the men like to admire them. "Our house has a steady patronage which varies, according to the popularity of the star. There are many so-called stars on the producers' payroll that don't draw an extra admission into our box office. "Let the producers share some of their huge advertising campaigns with the exhibitor's rental. Exhibitors have to pay for the campaigns, with positively no result, which has been proven to us. "Our patrons do not care for historical or costume plays. They like modern domestic plays, good love stories, comedy-dramas and farce comedies. Of the pictures that were really big features in regard to being box office attractions and that pleased the people after we had boosted them during the year of 1918 are : 'Civilization,' 'The Slacker,' 'The Honor System,' 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,' 'Within the Law,' The Whip,' 'Rasputin, the Black Monk,' 'The Barrier,' and 'Draft 258.' " W. E. Drummond, manager of the Special Features Company of Knoxville, Tenn., writes: "Being one of the owners of the largest house in Knoxville, and also the Palace Theatre, Maryville, Tennessee, another large house, after carefully studying my public and conditions, I feel that the day is past when you can get real money for certain kinds of pictures. "The present crisis is gradually forcing movie patrons to take more notice of the play and less notice of the star. I find a great many people all over the South, who kick about so much mush and racey scenes. I find a great deal of complaints regarding the use of so many close-ups in scenes of Catholicism used in seven-tenths of the pictures. "Directors, when they desire to create a sad impression, seem to find the crucifix hanging just in the right place in a scene. "The public is gradually tiring of the eternal triangle question and it seems that one-half the pictures of today always have their story, or a part of it, based on a home wrecked by the husband's best friend, and this thing is growing tiresome to the public. "We don't need amalgamation at the present time. We don't need combines and trusts, but we do need pictures with punch, thrills and real heart interest stories with action and good direction. "Give us stories of country life; good, wholesome, broad, outdoor stories, pictures that will make people glad they are living and create a desire in them to see a movie show every night in the week. "Under the above conditions there would be less talk of hard times and more satisfied customers." H. M. Thomas, secretary and manager of the Strand Amusement Company of Nebraska, which has affiliations with theatres in Des Moines and Davenport, la., writes: "To my mind, scenarios are the important factors just now, as it does not matter if you have Mary Pickford, plus William Hart and Douglas Fairbanks in one production ; if the story is not 'there' the public goes away dissatisfied. "I do not know how to remedy this defect myself. Everything has gone ahead in picture production except the story, and about three-fourths of all the stories in film form, at least of those I see, are enough to make people kick themselves for spending the time looking at them. "I believe in stars, but they are of no earthly good except when in a good story. Mary Pickford in 'A Poor Little Rich Girl' or 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm' meant capacity to any house playing her, while 'Less Than the Dust' and 'Pride of the Clan' meant just the opposite. Miss Pickford is clever, but neither she nor any other performer is clever enough to put over a poor story. "Personally I believe a whole lot of the blame is with the different scenario departments. I know that I have submitted several scenarios, built to fit the peculiar traits of well-known stars, but these scenarios were returned because they did not contain any original ideas. Now then, my idea is that the scenario departments demand such high averages in scenario-writing that the average author cannot meet them, and I doubt if many of the department heads themselves could pass the requirements they demand. "If a few scenarios were accepted and paid for, rather than some of the ideas unconsciously absorbed by the scenario departments and used in their own scripts later on, I believe that a number of real scenario writers would soon be lined up ; but with the amount of consideration shown embryo writers just now, we will have nothing to look forward to in the future but the worn-out ideas of the scenario departments themselves. "I am not writing this because of 'sour grapes' on my part, as I simply submitted my scripts for fun, but