Reel Life (Sep 1913 - Mar 1914)

Reel life, AWEERLY MAGAZINE OF KINETIC DRAMA AND LITERATURE PUBLISHED BY , MUTUAL FILM CORPORATION, NEW YORK New Yorkj November 39, 1913 CLARENCE HERBERT NEW, Editor WM. H. PECKHAM, Business Manager MUTUAL FILM CORPORATION, Publishers, 71 West 23rd Street Five Cents the Copy Circulation This Week 24,000 $2.50 by the Year An expression of opinion from eight different exhibitors, during the past month, crystallized into this unanimous verdict. Outside of Feature Plays in two to six reels — which draw a higher average class of people — • the picture plays which now draw the largest continuous audiences are Rough House Comedies and Society Plays — especially the sort dealing with divorcees and matrimonial entanglements. Battle Stuff, so-called, and Foreign Stuff are much less in demand than they were last year. And even Cowboys and Indians would seem to be losing somewhat in popularity. In a large number of localities, there is a strong prejudice against Prison Scenes. This condition of things, of course, is merely one phase of motion-picture development — but it is a pretty strong indication of the rapidity with which the public taste changes and of the great future possibilities in the business. There are phases of human existence and endeavor which, as yet, have not been touched upon at all. There are others which have been tackled in a half-hearted, unsystematic way, which has given an erroneous impression of their possibilities. The general method of procedure, thus far, has been the "hit or miss" kind, with no attempt to develope the industry upon a logical basis. And the Film Company which first gets down to business on a definite, systematic basis is going to — slowly but surely — "put it all over" the others which persist in adhering to the old plan. One primary mistake which has been made is the assumption that because the masses in the tenement districts seem to prefer Rough House Comedies, they are capable of understanding or appreciating nothing else. In various Settlements of the East and West Sides, Educational subjects have been shown to large and appreciative audiences whose average grade of information was hardly that of our Primary Schools. The Tuberculosis and Child Training pictures have seemed to attract people of all classes, wherever they were shown. The Army and Navy pictures already promise to do more in the way of securing enlistments than any other method ever tried in times of peace. The pictures of Railway and Manufacturing life are unquestionably raising the standard of efficiency. All this is "handwriting on the wall" for those Manufacturers who have sense enough to read and profit by it. Thi. next two years will see many developments in an industry already phenomenal for its startling changes and growth. And each individual Exhibitor will do well to study the people in his neighborhood a good deal more carefully than he has yet done before he decides that lack of book education means lack of intelligence. As a matter of fact, the two are by no means synonymous. Many a man in New York or any other large city has been denied the advantages of proper schooling — may not even be able to write a letter — but unless he is intelligent, he can't support himself or his family against the overw^helming competition in the struggle for existence. For this very reason, he is in a most receptive condition for any motion-picture exhibition which enables him to have a better understanding of the thousands of things which intimately and vitally concern him. Give any man the same variety of amusement long enough, and he will tire of it. Our yellow journals couldn't exist two weeks if they printed nothing but the cartoon and funny sections. The business of life is fully as interesting to every individual as the play-time — usually more so. An illiterate man is barred by his limitation from filling out a Correspondence School blank and improving himself through such a course of study — but shoiv him, in moving-pictures, how to cut a screw-thread on a gas-pipe — how to fit any measure elbows — how to wind a dynamo and make electric-light connections — how to wire a house for telephone or bell systems — and seven evenings at the Movies will give him enough knowledge to get a specialised job as a "helper" at double the salary that he can earn with his hands alone. We have in mind one recent acquaintance — Manufacturer and Exhibitor — who will say, if he happens to read this: "You're wrong — you can't run that "high-brow" stuff on the regular programme of any motion-picture theatre in the tenement districts and get away with it. The people want to be amused, not educated." And the certainty of his taking just that view is one of the reasons for our publishing this editorial with little fear of giving away something valuable to our esteemed competitors. As he puts it, he is dead right in his contention — for the present, at least. But some of the Mutual Companies — working along lines which this gentleman and many others like him have overlooked — are branching out into new fields which are practically inexhaustible. Inside of another year, they will have added developments to the motion-picture industry which were never even dreamed of up to a few months ago. The Companies which, to-day, are satisfied to progress a little more slowly than some of their competitors— in a systematic, far-sighted way — are certain to control a large percentage of the business when others are still turning out films which have lost both their novelty and their drawing attraction. Exhibitors will do well to watch very closely the developments of the next few months in the motion-picture industry — and keep in touch with Manufacturers who are building for the future as well as the present.