Camera (May 1922-April 1923)

ESTABLISHED 1918 — A FILM MAGAZINE AND A FILM NEWSPAPER IN ONE Entered as second class matter, August 11, 191S, at the postoflice at Los Angeles, Cal., under act of March 3, 1879. S. W. (DOC) LAWSON Publisher and Manager DEUBERT E. DAVENPORT _ Editor FRED W. FOX Advertising Manager C. NEIL LYKKE, JR Associate Editor DORIS MORTLOCK Studio Editor H. H. CONGER COMPANY, National Advertising Representatives Marbridge Building First Nat'l Bank Building HoLnROOK Building NEW YORK CITY CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO Price 10 cents per copy, $2.00 per year in Los Angeles County. Outside Zone, $2.50 per year. Canada, $3.00; Foreign, $3.50 Issued on Saturday afternoon of each week at 4513 Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. Phone 595-179 Address All Communications to Camera! VoI.V. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1923 No. 43 In a Little Closer Focus The outlook for motion pictures was never better. Hence it is a good time for a look-in for the much needed "new blood." One of the producers announces he will make no more pictures with unhappy endings. It might be well to make sure there are no unhappy beginnings, too. Let's let the oft-scuttled friendship sail as it never sailed before — straight by the compass of magnanimous reconciliation to the shores of universal harmony. Or, without such a lot of words — be pals to everyone! Camera! heartily and whole-heartedly agrees that the motion picture industry is an institution of service, and hereby reiterates its determination to push the principles herein involved forward constantly as one of its most important policies. Once more it is declared by a high authority that motion picture conditions in Europe are improving. But, every day the newspapers convince us that if this is so, all other conditions are not improving. Hence, it is difficult to grasp the logic of the situation at all. Some English journals are spoofing because American film producers seem so adverse to unhappy endings for stories. And those same English journals would probably "cry their eyes out" if such finales were made the rule . The answer is, nobody can please everybody. "Nothing succeeds like success" may be true, but it is truer still that nothing succeeds in bringing brick-bats one's way like this same success. Envy began with the first human family, and it will survive even unto the last family. Why? There is no reasonable reason. It is high time for the exodus of would-be axe-grinders and indiscriminate hammer-wielders. There is a noticeable influx of construction people in Filmland nowadays, and their advent is inevitably the impressive signal for the iconoclasts to lay down their destructive tools and reform or get out. Now that the world knows Charlie Chaplin and Pola Negri are engaged to be married, it will just naturally shift its interest to speculating on when some other prominent couple will do likewise. Meanwhile, congratulations, Charles and Pola. May the world of joy be ever at your feet, just as cinema-lovers are at your feet! If reports are true, Metro has contracted a bonus fever all its own. After giving Jackie Coogan a half million dollars as a gift for signing a contract, it is said this firm gave both Buster Keaton and Ramon Navarro substantial sums for the same reason. It's a safe bet that most World War veterans would be pleased to have Metro placed at the head of our national government long enough to show some of this bonus inclination in behalf of the soldiers. Now if somebody will only nominate Metro for congress, the presidency, or something! It's a four-cylinder, high-powered family machine, is that Warner Brothers group. There are four boys from the same parental domicile doing big things for motion pictures in the same film domicile. It's almost like saying the alphabet to call out all their initials. It's equally almost like tearing whole pages out of the Blue Book of Contemporary Literature to name the great works they are placing on the screen. It all goes to prove once more that in families or otherwise, united they stand and advance in the standing! Now that we have praised them, we suppose someone will jump up and call 'em all crooks. The Chicago Tribune wants Will Hays to persuade Douglas Fairbanks to play Romeo, Mary Pickford to interpret the character of Juliet, and Rodolph Valentino to portray Mercutio, in an elaborate screen version of Shakespeare's masterly "Romeo and Juliet." It is more than likely that it will be most unUkely that Mr. Hays will enjoy being picked on in this fashion. Between settling Valentino's difficulties with Paramount and settling his own status with Doug and Mary, Mr. Hays would not be in anything like the midst of joys, if indications are true. Our supreme faith in the certainty of all things working out for the best makes us happily immune to all forms of propaganda unfavorable to us. Nor do we bear malice towards those who are perhaps unfortunate enough to be unfair in their words and acts. Moreover, we have no fear of them or anything. We believe this is the ideal age for mortals to start thinking seriously of making a reality of the comity of humans as a logical forerunner of a more general comity of nations. And, more to the point, now is the time for the birth of motion picture patriotism — for a zeal in serving the industry for the benefit of the whole rather than this thing of wasting time on trivial personalities and giving vent to petty animosities and jealousies. Verily, things WILL work out perfectly.