Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

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20 REEL and SLIDE Policy Standards of Review Board (Continued from page 15) Those which use as a basis the antics of a sexual degenerate will be condemned. Infidelity to marriage ties must not be treated improperly or suggestively as a comedy theme apart from the situations of a flirtatious nature which are wholly innocent in themselves; those which emphasize loose marriage relations should be condemned. Suggestive leers, winks, glances and actions which provoke sensuality of thought are also objectionable. The dress of comedy characters must be applied with existing standards of propriety and not be used for the purposes of evil suggestion. This applies to characters in one-piece bathing suits where they_ are obviously used for suggestive purposes and also to excessively short skirts for the purposes of display. All loose, suggestive comedy "business" between the sexes should be removed. It is unnecessary to list various examples. The members of the committee will recognize those which are suggestive as well as those which contain a salacious vulgarity. So much depends upon the individual presentation that a certain degree of freedom must be given to critics in deciding upon individual pictures. ' Those subjects which are immoral, indecent or innately criminal cannot be allowed on the excuse that their treatment is unusual and therefore disarming. The same principle which applies to comedy applies equally to these classes of film. Many themes are made immoral when their true importance is ridiculed and shown in a farcical and burlesque light. Marital infidelity, degeneracy and sex irregularities are notable examples. The Board will critically scan each picture when there appears to be an attempt to make vulgar and indecent the serious relationships of life. Satire should not be permitted to offend the moral sense in its attracks on existing customs, beliefs and manners. The National Board realizes, however, that satire has always been one of the chief forces in tearing away the conceits and hypocrisies of society. As such it must be regarded as a legitimate and desirable form of expression in the motion picture drama. The drama necessarily emphasizes action and movement, including struggle and deeds of violence. This is particularly necessary in the motion picture where there is an absence of dialogue. Indeed, the spirit of struggle and of opposition is native and essential to man. The actual encounter of men in a life and death struggle may be viewed with aversion. It has, however, no inherent force for evil if it is fair and does not descend to excessive trickery, brutality or wanton cruelty. Such action should not be condemned unless it is shown with shocking and unnecessary detail. A struggle should not be robbed of elements of treachery and trickery. There should be no dictation as to the winner, the type of weapons, or even who the principals shall be. The National Board will not permit, however, the rough handling of women and children, the aged and infirm, or cruelty to animals. There may be some exceptions where the life depicted is tribal, classic or pioneer. (To be continued in the March number) Standards the Need in Production of Short Length Motion Pictures By George Wieda FOR the good and welfare of the motion picture advertising business, it is necessary that something be done to place this work, which is now being conducted in a haphazard way, on a solid footing. Until the advertiser feels that he must look at motion picture advertising as a profession, and until the advertiser knows for a certainty that if he places a contract with any moving picture advertising agency he is going to get the advertising that he has been promised and service fully worth the money he is paying, motion picture advertising is going to be looked upon as a scheme, a novelty, and a freak. Until such time that all motion picture advertising agencies work upon 'a definite standard of intelligent service, the business, as such, will continually drop off. The fact remains that up to the present time no one in the motion picture advertising business has made any big money, and that fact in itself condemns the business as such. The advertiser would rather do business with an agency making money than with one that is just getting by. The fact that an agency makes big money is proof that it must be a success and it could not be a success unless it had satisfied patrons, patrons that would repeat rather than to give up, patrons who would not give up the service because of the increased sales it had developed for them. Early Mistakes Not Overcome It is also a fact that no motion picture advertising agency can make big money unless the advertiser himself first, through efficient service, secures big returns. It therefore behooves all motion picture advertising agencies to study this matter deeply to locate the cause, and to place the service on such a high standard that results will be imperative. Perhaps a short review of the business will help us to arrive at its underlying difficulties. The motion picture lantern slide was undoubtedly the father of the present day motion picture advertising film, and the agencies of to-day inherited all of the defects, the abuses and the good or had reputation of the slide. There is no use mincing words, but a great deal of objectionable practice and sharp methods were used in the slide advertising business, which left the best and largest advertisers with a bad taste, and this has not been fully overcome even to the present day. Should Study Ad Standards The early film advertising was conceived with the very best of intentions to improve upon the old slide, but it soon fell under the spell of some, who grasped upon every possible new and novel, just or unjust method of unloading his scheme upon a credulous public. Firms were sold on motion picture advertising which was represented to equal the highest feature film productions and which were a disgrace to have ever been brought to the light of day. In many instances, clever salesmen sold film advertising space, collected the money, and left the town; and many other similar practices created an atmosphere hanging over so many motion picture advertising agencies that it will take considerable time, stern effort, fair methods and liberal service to correct. Most of the motion picture advertising agencies to-day are aiming high in service and in most instances are gradually making headway. The business being yet in its infancy, and the possibilities still undeveloped, it is necessary that the way should be felt gradually, keeping constantly ahead of the times, supplying service in the highest grade theaters available, securing projection under ideal conditions and paying the theater owners a rental price that warrants them to display the film in such a manner as to give every advertiser full value. Next to that, but of equal importance, is the kind and grade of motion picture film used. Considering the limited knowledge the advertiser has of what it takes to produce a high-grade moving picture, no one can blame him if he expects to see in his moving picture all of the most attractive features combined that he ever saw upon the screen. And, as a consequence, often the agency and the advertiser reap disappointment, dissatisfaction and lose business. Not only are such motion pictures a disappointment to the agency and advertiser, but they are as much to the theater manager and his audience. Fight Vice in Canada With Moving Pictures The Committee of Sixteen in Montreal, Canada, which is leading a crusade against commercialized vice locally, has obtained a print of the "Fit-to-Fight" picture which has been shown at army camps throughout the United States. Announcement is made that the Montreal Y. M. C. A. has arranged for the showing of the picture to soldiers at the Red Triangle Hut, Dominion Square, at regular intervals. ' The Committee of Sixteen also arranged for a very private presentation of the release December 6. Invitations were extended to five hundred citizens of Montreal and the latter were required to make written application for an admission ticket for the performance. Only males were admitted. The Military Training Camps Association recently exhibited a series of films at Hotel Sherman, Chicago, to illustrate infantry drills. The films were made and used by the government and, according to Wharton Clay, executive secretary of the association, will be used as part of the instructions to be given at Camp Pershing, a citizens' training camp, opened January 6. The Extension Division of the University of California has just completed and is about to distribute to schools of California a series of educational films, the first under the title of "Making the Home Gardens." This film is in four parts, one for each season, under the subtitles, "Early Preparation for Spring Gardens," "Spring Planting," "Garden Culture," and "Conservation of Surplus Products." Eleven reels of 750 feet each are used. Popular education is to be established in Japan via motion pictures. The establishment of such an educational system, with a proper censorship, is to be founded on motion pictures as they are shown in Los Angeles and other American cities. To this end Dr. Segeru Namata, special emissary of the Japanese government, has arrived in Los Angeles for a three months' study of motion pictures in the United States.