The audio-visual handbook (1942)

162 The Audio-Visual Handbook room has attracted the interest of theatrical producers. Thus, Pathe has made available such pictures as "Old Faithful Speaks" — giving the actual sounds as well as sights of Yellowstone National Park — "Craters of the Moon," and "City of Proud Memories." Columbia has released a series of ten "Voice of Experience" radio-theater reels. Paramount offered a series of "exploitation shorts" based on current features such as "The Plainsman," "Maid of Salem," and others. These excellent one and two-reel educational releases were edited by Mr. Ralph Jester, with the collaboration of active visual instructionalists of southern California. For a year, several of these were available to schools on an outright purchase basis and over a hundred prints of "Spirit of the Plains" were placed with visual-instruction centers. The films were then withdrawn, presumably in the interest of making uniform the policy of the producer toward school film distribution. It is anticipated that the sale or long-term lease of this series will soon be resumed. Several major Hollywood producers have released their features and short subjects for nontheatrical distribution, through such national distributors as Bell & Howell, Films, Inc., Gutlohn, and Kodascope. These producers include Universal, R.K.O., Paramount, Grand National, and Gaumont-British, with isolated films from others. In most cases, the 16 mm. distributors are charged with the responsibility for avoiding conflict with theatrical interests, but in some instances the major producer exercises direct regulation of the uses to which 16 mm. prints of his films may be put. The problem of avoiding competition with near-by motion-picture theaters should not be insurmountable, if educators approach the use of films in the school from a teaching rather than purely show-business viewpoint. A year after its theatrical release, the average film has very little further box-office value, and it could well be made available henceforth for school use, if suitable for educational purposes. There is little chance of competition with the theater, particularly since the pictures most desirable for school use seldom rank highest in box-office returns, according to Dr. William Lewin's report at the 1938 N.E.A. meeting. Increasing recognition is being given the use of the feature film in the school for other than purely entertainment purposes. One filmrental library selects and groups its feature films for their historical, ethnographic, or human-relations interest, for occupational or literary background, and for motion-picture appreciation study. Self-censorship is rigorously practiced by the serious 16 mm. film library that caters to school business, and objectionable sections of otherwise good