The Bioscope (July-Aug 1912)

The Bioscope, August 1, 1912. 335 Interview with the President of the Vitagraph Co. (By Our SpectaL CoRRESPONDENT, JOHN CGER.) The fame of Vitagraph pictures is world-wide; in every corner of the globe where the cinematograph entertains, one is sure to find the company's Ims to the fore. I make this statement because I know the number of languages the titles of Vitagraph films are printed in at the company's large factory in France. The fact, moreover, proves that these picture plays from America are appreciated by cinema-goers of all nations. Here, in Paris, from my own observations, I state, without hesitation, that Vitagraph productions are the most popular of foreign films. Week after week, month after month, Parisian cinemas display the vosters advertising the productions of this great sompany. : I was fortunate enough to obtain an interview with the president of the Vitagraph Company, of America, Mr. Rock, on the occasion of his recent visit to the French capital. Mr. Reader, the manager of the company’s Parisian office, introduced me to Mr. Rock, and the moment we shook hands I knew that my interview would not be a task, but a pleasure. “You speak English, I suppose?” were the first words Mr. Rock said to me. “Yes; I am an Englishman.” “And so am I,” Mr. Rock smilingly replied. “And so is my friend, here” (patting Mr. Reader on the back). “Likewise are my two partners, Mr. Smith and Mr. Blackton, who are in America. Rather a funny thing that we had been working together for three years before Mr. Smith or Mr. Blackton discovered that I came from England, although I knew they were English. So, you see, the Vitagraph Company is really British, although ‘ts home is in America. Yes,” continued Mr. Rock, “T was born in Birmingham. I went out to the States in ’sixty-four, and I have been in the show business all my life. I have worked in every branch of it, from circuses to moving pictures. The Vitagraph Company was formed in 1898. Of course, things in those days were very different to what they are now, and the moving picture business was full of ups and downs. I remember trade was truly horrible just before the Spanish war ; however, it picked up very soon afterwards.” “But now everything is going smoothly?” I suggested. “Well. no,” was the reply. ‘We still have our ups and downs. I believe, of course, that the nictures of to-day are just making way for something very much more advanced in the future. I see that Frohman is going to exploit moving pictures which have been acted by famous artistes. That is just the beginning of great things in the moving picture world. By the bye, you know the Vitagraph Company were the first to engage tegular stage actors and actresses? People laughed at us when we produced our first 1,000 ft. reel, and Google look at the length of the films nowadays! Though millions of people go to the picture theatres every week, I believe that 50 per cent. of the population of the world have not yet become interested in the pictures. But, from what I have seen, I have no hesitation in saying that Americans have become really educated to moving pictures. They understand them, and know how to appreciate them. I'll make you a wager that nearly every child in New York could tell you the names of the film manufacturers and the names of the actors and actresses in the pictures. Americans pop into a picture theatre when they see their favourite actor or actress is featured in one of the films, just the same as Londoners or Parisians go to the theatres to see popular artistes. New York would not be New York without its picture theatres; one might almost call them a national institution. It may surprise you to know that they open at 9 in the morning, and continue till 11, 12, or 1 o'clock at night.” Mr. Rock chuckled, and continued: ‘‘One day, when I was in Philadelphia, I saw people coming out of a picture theatre at 9 o'clock in the morning, and they hadn’t been in there all night, either! A performance is usually composed of three reels, and lasts about an hour. Five or ten cente are charged for admission.” I asked Mr. Rock about exclusive films. He said that considerable business was done in America by selling State rights for films; ‘“ but,” he continued, ‘‘I certainly think that the time has come when the price of films should be regulated according to their value, for it. i3 certainly unfair that we should have to sell a film that has cost us, say, $20,000 to make at the same price as one that has cost. practically nothing.” T suggested that some pictures were not worth the price they were sold at, and Mr. Rock agreed ; but he thought that, generally speaking, the big preductions were worth very much more than what thev were sold for. “While on the subject of films, Mr. Rock, what do you think of French photography compared with American?” “T think French photography leaves nothing to be desired ; but, then, you have fine weather over here, compared with what we have to put up with in the States. Why, sometimes it is three weeks before we can get out of the studios. When I was in London, I went over one of the largest film company’s works, and I was particularly struck by the very careful wav in which they rehearse their productions. And that reminds me of a little incident that happened many years ago, when the Vitagraph Company were very young, and had their offices in the Morton Building, in New York. We had a studio on the roof, and one day I was sitting working in my office, when one