American cinematographer (Feb-Dec 1929)

fen AMERICAN ClNEMATOGRAPHER September, 1929 Hoof and Mouth Disease ONE of the most delightful evenings this writer has experienced in years was the night he went to Warner Brothers' Theatre in Hollywood to see and hear Al Jolson in "The Singing Fool." Unashamed, the writer wept with the other hundreds as the inimitable Jolson, the comedian, rose to the heights of tragedy. The cross-section of the life of a singing waiter who rose to fame was interesting, intriguing and novel. In other words, Warners had given the public something different; and, with Vitaphone, had enabled the vast public to hear the singing of Jolson. Then came the sheep! The public had received a singing picture with open arms — and purses. So the great producing minds decided that there should be more singing pictures. Pictures showing life behind the scenes. The hearts of the chorus girls must be bared, along with their legs, so often ill-shaped and bowed. Some were excellent, some were good, some were bad and others should have died a-borning. Girls! girls! girls! Dressing rooms! Half -clad girls! Spiral stairways down and up which crowds of girls scamper with lead in their aching hearts — apparently also in their aching feet ! Footlights before which you see a long line of under or over-nourished calves! Long lines of girls in short dresses doing dances apparently limited to the few steps the stars can do! Squeaky voices laboring like a suffering woman to reach notes never meant for them! What a relief to sit in a theatre and see and hear a picture like "Dynamite." The writer hesitates when someone suggests a picture show, because he fears he will see another "hoof and mouth" affair. Even another court trial would be better, although it does seem a shame to turn our theatres into courthouses. However, even that is better than trying to turn them into fourth-rate musical comedy halls. We have had sufficient musical comedies for a while. Some companies are planning glorified "Westerns" in talkies. May they be blessed forevermore! Give us the great open spaces of the wild and woolly West any day in place of the countless lines of open mouths and apparently weary feet of ambitious extra girls who overnight try to look like New York show girls. This is real service. Let us hope that the "powers" of the picture industry will some day realize the worth of these men; will appreciate the fact that they are the life-blood of the industry and will give them the material reward that should be given for service. Service "D EALIZING that there is a crying need for a remedy for the present chaotic aperture variation that is adversely affecting theatres in the United States, members of the great body of technicians have again come to the front in an effort to do something that will be of material benefit to the motion picture industry. The American Society of Cinematographers, the Technicians' Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Pacific Coast branches of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers and the American Projection Society are the organizations fostering this move. A committee has been appointed, composed of members of these organizations; and they are undertaking the investigation and comparison to draw up a set of standards for camera and projector apertures which it is hoped will do away with the present condition. This is a very commendable step on the part of these technical bodies, and is typical of the spirit that is found among this great group of men. Always, when the industry faces a technical crisis these men can be depended upon to step into the breach and save the day. They do it solely in a spirit of honest helpfulness and interest in the welfare of the industry. They do it "on their own time," after they have worked their required number of hours at the studios. When talkies presented the problem of incandescent lighting it was the American Society of Cinematographers and the Academy that came forward and by their experiments advanced the talkies by proving the worth of incandescent lights. And now when a crisis in the aperture situation arises and we see the tops of scenes clipped off in the theatres, these men are again solving the problem. Scenario Writing for Amateurs ^\ NCE in a blue moon an inspired soul sits down at a typewriter and produces a piece of work that means something more than a collection of words. Not often, 'tis true. Since the advent of the 1 6 mm. camera for use of amateurs, the world and his wife have been writing this and that with the hope, apparently, that the amateurs would pour out the American dollars for same. There have been some good volumes printed, it is true; volumes that are of material assistance to the home movie maker. And now comes another book. It is "Scenario Writing and Producing for the Amateur," by Marion Norris Gleason, published by the American Photographic Publishing Co., of Boston. A careful perusal of this volume leads the writer to give it the stamp of approval and say that the writer of this book has given the amateur something that should be really not only interesting but decidedly helpful. Written in dear and simple English, the writer contributed something that is instructive, and it should be of great influence in amateur circles. Pictures in College T"1 HE University of Southern California is to be congratulated upon its decision to emphasize the importance of the motion picture. When the Fall term opens, a new course will start in "Social Aspects of the Motion Picture." There will be laboratory work and lectures. The "labs" will be motion picture studios in Hollywood. Profesor B. V. Morkovin will head the new course. He has been doing research on the subject for the past three years. An interesting angle which he has been studying is methods of detecting scientifically the kind of motion pictures that makes the greatest "hit" with the greatest number of people at a certain period, from both an artistic and social standpoint. We imagine many a studio ear will be glued close to this course. The University of Southern California last year took a forward step in instituting courses dealing with motion pictures; and is one of the first universities to give the cinema serious consideration. Progressive heads are leading this university along its path, and show common sense by realizing that motion pictures are a big factor in life of today. Thank You! ONE of our readers sent us an interesting letter recently in which he congratulated us upon our decision to give the amateur Cinematographer an important niche in our scheme of things in this magazine. "You show real vision," declared this reader, "in emphasizing the amateur department. Surely no organization in the world can do more for the amateur than you of the A.S.C. We amateurs appreciate what you are doing, and we appreciate the opportunity to keep in touch with the professional. "Without doubt, the amateurs will contribute something really great in cinematography some day in the future. But they need the teaching and aid of the professionals as they start to creep along cinematographic paths. I, for one. realize the great benefit your magazine is to us." Words such as those are inspiring to those of us who are really trying to be of service. The general rule, however, is to receive only adverse criticism. It seems strange, but is true, that most people think there is but one kind of a comment. When we do receive a kind word it warms the heart and makes us glad we are an editor. To say we are thankful is putting it mildly.