Camera (May 1922-April 1923)

TED TAYLOR, PUBLISHER Entered as second class matter, August 11, 1918, at the postoftice at Los Angeles, Cal., under act of March 3, 1879. Ruth Wing Managing Editor Fred W. Fox Advertising IVIanager ^= ^= Doris IVIortlock Assistant Editor Ora Brook ...Circulation Manager ^= ^= Price 10 cents per copy, $2.00 per year in Los Angeles County. Outside Zone, $2.50 per year. Canada, $3.0 0; Foreign, $3.50 ^= Edited and printed on Saturday afternoon of each week at 4513 Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. Phone 595 179 ^= Vol v. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1922 No. 23 Needed: Think-or-Quit Orders ((/^~\UR people as a whole are suffering from movl } ing pictures and neivspapers that save them the trouble of thinking." William Peter Hamilton is quoted as saying that. Hamilton is editor of the Wall Street Journal. Although Wall street is popularly supposed to run the motion picture business, Hamilton is not talking as an expert on motion pictures. He is talking as an observer of motion pictures — and of life. Motion pictures can make people think and still be entertaining. Outside of "Nanook of the North," Camera ! can't point out any examples, however. Anyone who has other examples is hereby invited to present them for proper credit. Why should so many trashy fiction stories be elaborately picturized and solemnly "presented" ? The old, thumb-marked excuse of giving the public what it wants is no answer to that question. If the public now reached by pictures "wants" trash, why not go after a new public? The present picture public is not more than 20,000,000 — there are 85,000,000 more persons in our states alone who should be given some interest in motion pictures. What bright young producer will break the ice? What ive need in this industry is a think-or-quit order. * * * Lots of onlookers wondered where the camera was concealed when William Russell rescued a woman from drowning at Yenice. Some day some persons will realize that screen thrills are not all faked, and that screen heroes can te real-life heroes, too. * * * Ideals from Hollywood "nn 00 many of our people are getting their ideals A from Hollywood and not from heaven," said Dr. Clarence True Wilson, urging censorship of pictures at the Oregon conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. Maybe Dr. Wilson hasn't heard of "The Pilgrimage Play." Maybe he doesn't know half of Holly wood spends three evenings a week on a hillside listening to music. Probably he visualizes Hollywood boulevard as one long Cecil DeMille set with buxom bathing beauties lolling on every corner. Probably, too, he had just read the joke in Judge about the applicant before the pearly gates. St. Peter asked where he was from. "Hollywood." "Well, go on in," said the saint, "but Pm afraid vou won't like it!" ^ % 5jj Muriel McCormick spurned a $1,000,000 film offer (thought those days were gone forever!) to study music in an attic. The attic is across the street from Mother's home. Mother is John D. Rockefeller's daughter. Muriel has self-denial! * * The Camel in the Tent TITE censors are getting bolder. We've been trying to tell the world that, with motion pictur€ censorship as a precedent, further inroads on the American right of free speech would be made. A new attempt is reported from the east. A group of purists has written book publishers suggesting that a committee be appointed to pass on the morals of manuscripts before they are printed. Motion picture censorship let the camel's head through the tent flap. Book censorship will be the camel's forelegs. Magazine censorship and newspaper censorship — logically following books — will be the camel's back. Radio broadcasting censorship comes next — the camel's hindquarters. A final swish of the camel's tail and we must move out of our little tent of freedom — sans right to see, read, hear or talk of anything not censored — all to make room for the ugly beast of censorship.