Motography (Apr-Dec 1911)

170 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. VI, No. 4. The business being comparatively new, there seems to be an abundance of operators throughout this country, as many imagine operating is a soft snap — nothing to do but take the money. Of course, this does not mean that all are competent operators — far from it. About the lowest salary paid by a good house in Chicago, with three hours' show a night, with Sunday matinee, is $15 a week. Up to $25 is paid by the larger houses, with a grind of seven to eight hours daily. \Vill the Picture Playhouse Survive? M. A. Pyke may be considered the pioneer of the sumptuously appointed picture playhouse as it exists in London to-day. He is the managing director of Amalgamated Cine. Theaters, Ltd., and also of a chain of subsidiary companies operating in London and the suburbs. In answer to a question by the Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly, he says : "The question you have asked me to answer is 'Will the picture playhouse survive?' It is hardly necessary for me to publicly expound my views upon such a subject. The fact that one company alone in which I am directly interested has upwards of £150,000 ($750,000) invested in this popular form of amusement, added to which I am concerned in other companies whose combined capital totals a similar figure, should be sufficient to convince even the most skeptical that I am a firm upholder of the theory that the people's theater has not only a present but a future. I am aware that it has been compared to a soap bubble, easy to make, fragile, alluring, appealing to children, empty, worthless, and unenduring. All of these epithets I look upon as utterly unapplicable to the kinematograph theater. In many quarters the picture theater has been abused, indeed, it might be said with a considerable modicum of truth that upon no other form of amusement have the shining lights of the church, endowed and unendowed, poured forth to such an extent their wrath, while the members of the local governing authorities have taxed their ingenuity to the utmost to regulate it out of existence. Still, this mechanical mirth-provoker has come to stay, for it has evolved as the climax of a popular demand for cheap amusement, and its rapid growth, perfection of construction and ease of operating entitle it to a definite place among important factors in our modern life. That so wonderful an invention as the kinematograph picture has in some instances, no doubt, been used to pander to the depraved tastes of a section of the public is undeniable, but the solitary instances where such a thing has happened have simply been the exceptions necessary to prove the rule and emphasize more strongly the excellent judgment and tact displayed by those whose capital is at stake, in the selection of their programs and the management of their houses. In the earlier days, when the kinematograph was in its infancy, it was but natural that those who were alive to its possibilities commercially should endeavor to apply the discovery to whatever lent itself to the purpose best and most cheaply. Interest in the animated picture, however, quickly developed. The scientific side of the invention and its educational value was not slow to assert itself, and the electric theater rapidly forced its way into public recognition as the great exemplar of scientific wonders and educational principles, and to-day the moving picture has risen to a place and a plane entitling it to rank as a civilising factor. Cynics point to the large number of picture palaces which have passed into the hands of official receivers, but this is a phase of the question which I think need cause no alarm among speculators who have put their money into the moving picture house. It is but an example of the survival of the fittest. Houses badly constructed and worse managed which sprang into existence at a time when any site was considered adapted for the erection of one of these homes of the silent drama were bound to feel the pinch of competition and eventually to be ousted from the field, but it is a noteworthy fact that so far from there being any decrease in numbers, in the Metropolis alone there is an increase of over two per week throughout the year. Nor can it be said, even with this abnormal multiplication, that London in comparison with the capitals of other countries has as yet been fully exploited, the total number in the Metropolis being but 203, compared with -1,500 in other cities of similar size. Upon the public, of course, must depend the future prosperity of the picture theater. And here I can assert without fear of contradiction that the public demand for moving pictures certainly does not show any signs of waning. In the true spirit of Oliver Twist they ask for more, and they continually repeat their request. And while the populace still show a marked avidity for news in animation, comedy and comic films, what has the up-to-date exhibitor to fear? Naught. The horison is clear and undimmed. There is not a cloud in the sky and I see no reason why the picture theater should not, like Charley's Aunt, be still running long after — given even the span of life allotted to man — King George has been succeeded upon his throne by him on whom his mantle shall fall." Moving Pictures of the Stomach At the twenty-fourth annual convention of the American Association of Obstetricians, held at Louisville, Ky., one of the features was the cinematograph study of the phenomena of the stomach. This is really a moving picture study of its operations. The pictures are taken by means of the X-ray without any discomfort to the subject. A food, such as buttermilk or porridge, containing a little bismuth to stimulate the activities of the organ, is introduced before the lantern slides are made, and the results are said to be really wonderful. Moving Pictures to Advertise Hawaii An unique form of publicity has been adopted by the federal government to advertise Hawaii. Moving pictures illustrating the scenic wonders of the islands and the gorgeous festivals held there are being sent throughout the United States. The subjects include ; The native sport of surf-riding, the annual floral parade, the Shriners' parade, the Atlantic fleet in the harbor of Honolulu, the sugar cane industry, Prince David's funeral, the cattle industry, and a view of the great volcano of Kilauea in action.