Motography (Apr-Dec 1911)

May, 1911. MOTOGRAPHY 85 at entertainments and in young people's meetings as a sort of a lure to gain the attendance of these young Americans. The only thing required of the films was that they should be educational, or at least free from vulgarity. Entertainments that in past years had been of doubtful interest proved extremely so when the "pictures" became a part of the proceedings. They are recognized now as a part of the weapons that are to be turned against unrighteousness, loose living and immorality. The manufacturers have caught the idea and they are turning out films that carry a moral lesson in each picture of the hundreds that go to make up a reel. But yesterday over 25 per cent of the American made films contained pictures that had to do with crime, and the criminals were not always caught and punished, either. They were often represented as getting away and enjoying the "fruits of their ill gotten gains" in surroundings that were anything but moral. In the pictures that were imported the proportion of criminal and immoral films ran as high as 50 and even 55 per cent. The criminal was often represented as an extremely fascinating gentleman, who had been driven to a life of crime by the persecution of his enemies. Every man, woman and child who saw the films could hardly keep from unconsciously sympathizing with these lovable crooks. Finally the church saw that the best way to fight Satan was to seize his guns and turn them upon him. A moving picture machine can be made to drive in a moral with just as much force as it can tell a tale of successful banditry. Forthwith there arose a demand for machines and reels suitable to be used in the assembly rooms, Sunday school rooms and auditoriums of churches, and the manufacturer responded at once. The board of film censors has had a much easier time of it since. "The Life of Moses," as staged by careful hands, is not apt to contain many pictures that can offend even the most fastidious. Two years ago the church, generally speaking, was looking askance at the moving picture show. There were cities where the "shows" were crowded on Sunday nights and the attendance at the churches anything but heavy. It was suggested to a Chicago minister that his church should install these machines and lure the crowds back. He was indignant. He felt that the church was being insulted. The suggestion made him impatient. However, in the end he and his church did install the moving pictures and spread before the congregation such pictures as "Joseph Going Into Egypt," "The Relief of Jericho," "Pharoah's Daughter" and "The Wisdom of Solomon." They were stories that these people had been listening to for many years, but the pictures were watched with the most intense interest. Then the young people, the "picture fiends" of the congregation began to come back and found to their surprise that they could see stories of thrilling interest unrolled before them during the course of a religious service. Tales from the Old Testament, the career of Absalom, David and Jonathan, the beautiful stories from the Book of Ruth and others of the wonderful incidents scattered throughout the ancient book have been dramatized by the stage managers and moving picture actors, and are finding their greatest sale to churches and church organizations. The churches, however, are not pinning all their hopes to the pictured stories of the scriptures. They are realizing that a picture showing modern conditions and telling a story of Christianity and goodness will be more effective than a similar tale in ancient setting. People like to read stories that have to do with folks in their own professions and in their own walks of life. The moral tale that has the most interest and therefore the greatest chance of an effect is the one that has to do with ordinary folks who overcome evil and find good. If a hint of crime creeps into one of these special films the fact that the "way. of the transgressor is hard" must not be lost sight of in the end. A few years ago no one suspected that these pictures ever had any moral force. It was known that in some instances they hal led to crime, but no one ever took the trouble to find whether or not the sad and depressing tales of crime and infrequent repentance ever led a wrongdoer to "go and sin no more." About two years ago two little boys in South St. Louis saw a picture of a bank robber blowing a bank open. The next morning a St. Louis policeman was astonished to see a little lad of about 13 years perched by an open window on a fire escape and peering into a room above one of the south side banks. His white companion was inside anxiously searching for some way to get down into, the banking room, where they both felt quite certain that there would be no trouble at all in opening the safe and carrying off loads of wealth. When arrested they told how they were inspired by the pictures of the cracksman in the show of the night before. Every one heard of this instance and deplored the evil effects of the motion pictures. Few, however, happen to hear of the homes that are held together and of the wandering lads that are kept straight by the same flickering-, flashing films that 4,000,000 or 5,000,000. Americans see every day. Satan will find the moving machine a terrible force when it begins to fight him. The appeal of pictures is universal. Rich and poor alike crave the sensation of watching the reels spin out their length of magic. It appeals universally to children and all that is childlike in the grownup. One of the long and bitter complaints of the church has been founded on the apathetic crowds that for some reason or other will not attend the regular religious services. The churches and the churchmen realize that they can not bring the great mass of the population into the congregations, and within reach of the preacher's voice. They hope that the pictures will be able to help in the breaking up of this age long apathy. "Once get the average man interested and you have a chance to hold him," is the way the leaders feel about it, and this they hope to do to some extent, at least, through the more popular way of pointing a moral. The things that Christ preached during his stay on earth are to be and are being shown to the audiences in church lecture rooms and entertainments. All the wonderfully splendid moral laws laid down in the sermon on the mount can be, and are, already being shown by pictures drawn from real and everyday life. Many of them are sad, some are grave and but few of them are gay, but, after all, humanity can not laugh all the time, even in the moving picture show. The beatitudes lose nothing of their solemn power when shown upon the white screens, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" announces the first of the films, and the quiet almost breathless audience in the semi-darkened room sees a moving tale of slums — of the mean streets and of morality that glows in the gloom like a lily in the