Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1917 - Feb 1918)

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always in the form of speeches, though very often they are. It is left to each actress to choose her own method in trying to reach the conscience of America's young manhood. One daring "movie" queen was strapped to a 5teel girder and lifted aloft on a crane to the top story of a high building in Xew York. The incident attracted thousands of spectators. Recruiting officers got busy in the crowd and persuaded many young men to join the colors. In this case, and in many others, the appeal to courage was made through an act of courage. Some of the higher-salaried players have demonstrated their patriotism by generous contributions to war benefits. One idol of the films is said to have given one hundred thousand dollars to the Allied cause. There are numerous cases wThere not only gifts of talent and service, but also material aid have come from the ranks of the cinema celebrities. Xot only have producers and players been -active in furthering the work of preparedness, but motion-picture directors have lent invaluable aid. In some instances their services are unsung, but it must be kept in mind that the excellence of a patriotic picture and the good results which follow its showing are due in no small measure to the man behind the camera. Further, there is a tendency among the directors to coordinate their efforts. Soon after the declaration of war the Xew York Association of Motion Picture Directors, assembled at a banquet in that city, pledged their support and service to the President, and telegraphed him to that effect. Motion pictures, as they bear on the war, are beneficial in a subtle and almost imperceptible way. In war dramas we see the conscious efforts of producers to awaken patriotism. As regards the personnel of filmdom, again we see the purposeful activity of individuals that contribute to the honor and credit of the profession. AYe recognize, however, a less definable and more indirect way in which the screen industry serves a patriotic purpose. The nerve strain, the mental tension and distress which war imposes upon a people cannot be endured without some diverting and relaxing influence. It is the motion picture which, more perhaps than any other amusement, ministers to the psychological needs of men and women. The good which the cinema does in thus relieving the solemnity and sorrow that war brings cannot be overemphasized.