The Moving Picture World (1908)

542 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD Moving Pictures to invade the Church? Notes and Comments Itr. W. 8. Ascb*r. n» Bu Already Utradoced St«r»»> \ lias Vuti Md IUajtnIed Hrmni. TUaki So Under the above title the Louisville Courier publishes a long article on the illustrated sermon and the New York World and Boston Transcript also give large space to the subject. Many clergymen have come out strongly in favor of the innovation. Rev. Dr. Kennedy, of Walnut Street (Phila.) Presbyterian church: "I have used the stereopticon myself with good re- sults. The system reaches the people through the eye as well as through the ear and there are some who grasp pic- ture explanation more readily than that which can be made by words." "Anything that accomplishes good," said Rev. T. G. Brashear, of Parke Memorial church, "is to be commended if the means are right. There has been a tendency, some people think, to make the church a lecture bureau but Christ used various illustrations to make Himself understood." "The idea is generally proper and commendable," said Dr. W. J. Darby. ' The pictures serve to hold and fix the atten- tion, they make the service attractive, they aid the minister in making his sermon of the sort that leaves a good impres- sion. I do not believe that pictures will ever become to be generally used in church services, but the world is traveling rapidly, changing rapidly and in that my ideas may be wrong. Need to Modernize Church. Here is what Secretary Mogge, of the Y. M. C. A., says on the subject: "I believe that the moderate use of the stere- opticon and of moving pictures for illustrated songs and ser- mons in the church will prove helpful in attracting, interest- ing and instructing larger audiences than the usual stereo- typed service. Certainly if modern conditions are handicapping the church in reaching the masses it is worth while to try any legitimate method to gain their attention. Numbers are not the only thing to strive for but a minister might just as well preach to a crowded church as to a lot of empty pews. • "Illustrated songs and sermons appeal to the eye as well as to the,j?a r , therefore should prove more effective. The es- sential thing is to appeal to the heart and the convictions. Entertainment is not enough. Pictures will never take the place of preaching and teaching, but can be made a' valuable aid. The church needs to be modernized to the extent at least of appropriating and applying the best things of the world that are of themselves clean, useful and attractive to the securing of spiritual results. I think we make a mistake to lei the devil have a monopoly on so many of the good things." Overloading with explosives makes many a gun burst. Overloading with too many theaters is bursting up the mov- ing picture business in many of the smaller cities. Harry Marion, formerly chief of the slide department at Helf & Hager's publishing house, is now in charge of the park booking bureau at Len Spencer's Lyceum. The film renters say that just as soon as the dime theater men begin their howl for a general change of film every day. then the rentals will be doubled. Yes, but where is the sup- ply to come from? The Film Association killed the strife and animosities that existed between the film bureaus and brought about an era of good feeling and friendship among the film men. A good strong association among the slide men would do the same thing. A few months ago a downtown firm almost had the monop- oly of the slides used in the better class of theaters in this city, but it looks now as if the game had fallen into the hands of DeWitt C. Wheeler. And, by the way, Wheeler is producing some magnificent work. It is so easy to mistake fox fire for real flame that many people follow the will-o'-the-wisp, believing it to be actual fire. So it is with genius. That is the reason one of the editors* or, for the matter of that, both of the editors of one of our contemporaries mistake the enthusiasm of callow youth for the actual fires of wisdom. That great teacher,. Experi- ence, will in time show them how ridiculous they are. One of the largest film rental agencies of this city and one that has been making the hardest kick about copied films, is serving its customers with copied lantern slides. Consistent, isn't it? Well, several of: its customers have discovered that they are getting copied slides and now there is going to be a ruction. This same firm has been the recipient of many compliments for square dealing, and now they are passing out counterfeit slides. That moving pictures sometimes corrupt the morals of children was brought forth yesterday in the Children's Court, when August Treutle, 15 years old, of 504 First avenue, was arraigned before Judge Olmsted on a charge of grand larceny. He told the Judge that seeing moving pictures had inspired him to become a burglar. He pleaded guilty to robbing his employer's place of business of silverware and other property valued at $88.—From "New York Herald" of June 21. Joe Haffey has left the Imperial Moving Picture Company. Joe was superintendent of the film room and he sent the wrong reel of films to Waterbury. The films came back with a big kick and then Bill Steiner, the general manager, waltzed into the film room_and asseverated with so much pungency that a lambent flame filled the room and glowed with so much refulgency that Joe Haffey thought it was moonlight and went to bed. But he woke up presently and found that Jack Chubb had been made Supenntendent of the film room and that the name of Haffey was no longer on the payroll. Many people believe that the frenzy to open moving pic- ture shows has spent its force. They call attention to the fact that it is well-nigh impossible now to send a film over a circuit like was done when there was only one show in a town, because if the rival house has the film one week and the same film comes to the other house the following week they won't take it, as it means the reputation of being slow and behind time. This, of course, means that film bureaus must carry probably fifty films where ten would have sufficed when the old circuit plan was in vogue. Another reason to. believe that the business is settling down to a solid business basis is that many of the film rental bureaus are leasing the large theaters and buying up the better class of small ones and. conducting the shows themselves. This is not generally; known, but the fact remains. It will, no doubt, soon become difficult for some people to get films if this continues. ■ • T *