The Moving Picture World (1908)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 7* Published Evehv Saturday. ffea World Photographic FoblisMng Company, Now Tort ALFRED □. SATOJDBQS, Editor. J. P. Cbalxaen, Asaoclato E£ifc»r and BeatnM* HuM*r. Vol. 2 FEBRUARY 1 No. S SUBSOEIFTIOH: 02.00 per year. Post free in the United States, Mexico, Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands. CANADA AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES: $2.50 per year. All communications should be addressed to P. 0. BOX 450, NEW YORK CITY. Net Advertising Rate: $1.75 per inch; 15 cents per Mne Editorial. The U. F. S. P. A. At last! After two postponements, the United Film Service Protective Association is announced to meet at the Hotel Lafayette, Buffalo, N. Y., on February 8, 9, 10, 1908. We trust that the association will remain in session until it has fully decided upon the policy it intends to fursue. The executive committee, sitting in New York anuary 25, passed on the by-laws suggested at Chicago, which wfll be adopted at Buffalo. We are given to under- stand that the proposed Manufacturers' Association is as yet non-existent, and that no notices have been issued for them to meet, sq that the film renters will be un- trammelled in their deliberations. They should rise to the occasion and prove they are men of business, capable of managing their own affairs. There are rumors, thoughts of rumors, and rumors of rumors floating about, but at present the renters are masters of the situation and should continue to be so. They have built up the business to the position it now occupies. It is theirs to make terms, and not be dictated to. It is theirs to select the films they shall purchase, and not be forced to buy those they cannot exhibit, and which as a consequence are a dead loss on their shelves. So here's to the success of the Buffalo meeting. TB&© Operator® of New YorK. Ten months ago, in an interview with Mr. F. A. Brown, of the New York Board of Electricity, Gas and Water (Electricity Department), we urged the appointment of an inspector to examine all the operators in the city. We suggested to him that no one under the age of twenty- one (unless he could prove superior fitness for the post) should be allowed to operate a machine; that every opera- tor should be tested in his knowledge of electricity, an- swering a few pertinent questions, which we outlined; that it should be a criminal offense for an operator to smoke while in the booth, or anywhere near films. We are pleased to note that this board are now carrying out some of the ideas then formulated, but they do not go far enough. The examination is fair, but not quite so practical as we would like to see, and when the examina- tion is over the operator is just as he was before, so far as he has anything to show for it. We suggest that each operator passing the examination should be furnished with a card showing his qualifications, or an aluminum case showing in one recess his photo for identification, his signature and number in the other, and that this should be provided free or at cost price to each operator, who would then be in a position of greater security. The following are a few of the requirements: Only set rheostats of enclosed type can be used. They must be mounted on steel or marble, as previously stated; they must not draw more than 25 amperes. AH terminals to cut-outs, rheostats and lamps must be equipped with clamped lugs. The lugs must not be soldered. All portable lights in projecting machine booths must be provided with armor-covered wire. Oils, cement, waste, or anything of an inflammable nature, when not in actual use, must be kept in a metal box with a metal cover. No- solder must be used in the making of this box. Booths, or "coops" in which the apparatus and opera- tor are located must be lined throughout with substantial metal. This applies to floors, ceilings and all sides. Fur- thermore, the booth must have a practical door for the ingress and exit of the operator. This door must be provided with a strong spring that will hold it securely closed during the time pictures are being exhibited. It must open outward, and not into the booth. The front openings of booths, through which the pro- jecting of the pictures is made, must be equipped with a metal slide, or door, that will 'work automatically and close in case of an accident, so that no flash of flames can be seen by the audience. Our Visits. "Rescued from an Eagle's Nest" is a feeble attempt to secure a trick film of a fine subject. The boldness of the conception is marred by bad lighting and poor blend- ing of outside photography with the studio work, which is too flat; and the trick of the eagle and its wire wing's is too evident to the audience, while the right between the man and eagle is poor and out of vision. The hill brow is not a precipice. We looked for better things. "The Kind-hearted Gentleman" is a film full of humor and good laughs. "Lonesome Junction* is a well-staged, good photo- graphic production. The subject is good, but in our opin- ion the story could with profit be told in a shorter length.' "Slave's Hate" is a good conception, well photo- graphed, but—it is America produced with French sur- roundings and actors, just like the black-faced English comedians taking off the coons and falling far short of the original. "The Irish Blacksmith" shows a fine amount of ener- getic detail, especially the outdoor scenery, which is well photographed. The film is a step in the right direction and shows that America, if she will, can well compete with the European productions. "Caught" is a finely arranged, well-staged production. The only fault we find is, it savors too much of burglary element, which should be eliminated from all subjects nowadays.