Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1921)

16 MOVING PICTURE AGE January, 1921 Taking Movies to the Great Lakes Sailors Using motion pictures in the Navy as a cure for nostalgia among "rookies"; as a means of curing unrest among the more unruly; as amusement for all By Chief R. P. Manion, U. S. N. Aviation Mechanics' School, Great Lakes Naval Training Station THE sailor of a few years ago was truly an "old salt." Before modern appliances came into use on battleships and destroyers the prevailing notion was that the sailor should spend his spare time at work. In other words, spare time was scarce and when it did come the poor sailor was so anxious to relieve the monotony of his labor that he hied himself ashore with his accumulated wages and proceeded to earn for himself and his mates the now rightfully extinct phrase, "He spends his money like a drunken sailor." In those days, when occasional leisure time was alloted to the sailor while he was on the seas, he turned his hand to most anything to while away the time. Sometimes the time was well spent and sometimes it was simply allowed to spend itself. As a consequence some of the old sailors became expert at cordweaving, canvas drawing-work and embroidery. Things are different now. The young man who is contemplating joining the Navy need have no fear that he is being put into seclusion for the term of his enlistment. But this article is not written to show the many manifest improvements in Navy Life during the past decade. It is written to show the public that Uncle Sam provides amusements for his boys that are on par, if not superior, to those enjoyed by the boys on the outside. Here at Great Lakes I am in charge of the theaters and in that capacity I am able to judge what a great thing the exposition of good moving pictures is in the building of the morale of the Navy. The Kind of Films Which Are Used We have five theaters at Great Lakes. At the Main theater we give nine programs a week in addition to one night of high-class vaudeville and one night of athletic exhibitions. At the Radio School theater, the Eighteenth Regiment theater, and at the Hospital theater we give two programs a week, and at the Hospital School we give three. The Main theater seats 3,000 persons and is used every night in the week. On Tuesdays and Saturdays a special showing is given there at six o'clock for the benefit of the boys in Detention who cannot be mixed with the other boys. Our programs are arranged just as though the theater were being run by a private concern. We show a feature, a comedy and one reel of news, interspersed with an occasional educational or industrial reel. It must be remembered that these showings are solely for amusement. Attendance is voluntary. We select our pictures carefully but not prudishly. We realize the boys are really men and are capable of judging a production for themselves. Of course, we do not tolerate .i picture which might be construed to offend, but on the ■hole we find very few of the present feature productions objectionable for our class of work. We do not try to spare expense. Only the best and the newest productions are used. These are rented in the regular way from the various agencies and are frequently shown weeks and even months before they appear in the theaters in the surrounding towns. As an example of the service we furnish the boys it may be noted that we showed "Humoresque" at the station a full two weeks before it opened at Orchestra Hall in Chicago. During the week of October 18, for instance, we showed the following features: "The Fourteenth Man," Famous Players ; "Prince of Avenue A," Universal ; "The Little Cafe," Pathe ; "The Right to Love," Famous Players ; "Polly of the Storm Country," First National ; "Two Weeks," First National; and "The Peddler of Lies," Universal. In addition to these features we showed numerous comedies, news reels, and topical features from Fox, Pathe, Universal, Silee and the Educational Film Corporation. This is by no means an exceptional week. We frequently have more expensive features than those mentioned. On the whole it may be considered representative of what we do all the year around. We do not have much trouble with the theater owners in the adjacent towns. It has only been necessary to Owing to their protests we after release before booking On the whole, however, we find that the boys realize the foolishness of spending carfare and ticket money to go to a show in town when one better, or at least just as good, is on the screen right here in camp, free of charge. Having music at the shows means imposing on the band boys continually. They enjoy their spare time as much as the other boys so we get along with piano only except on vaudeville and show nights at the Main theater and when we show a production with a special musical score. When such a production is booked, I venture to state that our musical setting is as elaborate and as artistic as can be found anywhere. We have six Simplex machines of the newest type. Our operators are selected from among the station personnel and are all trained men. The machines are all installed in fireproof booths with outside ventilation. In the main theater the booth is slung from the rafters about halfway between the screen and the back of the change one arrangement have to wait two weeks Paramount productions This Main theater, one of five, seats 3000, and is used every night in the week with programs arranged as though the program were given by a private concern