New York Clipper (Jan 1916)

39 THE NEW YORK CLIPP. FREULER ANALYZES FILM CONDmOHS- RUTDAL PRESmERT SATS BIGGEST THIRGS iltE TET TO COML ER January t ■She yeas Just oidlne haa been crowded wUi tiia Boat dsnlflcart deTeTopments in the history ol Cie motion picture IndnstiT. Toong Nineteen Six- teen cornea m -wltli bosy prospects. Hie last few montha of 1916 liave seen more really big things liAppot thu any similar period In the derelop- ment of tbe business. A gUmpse of the past may CiTe OS a peak' at the future. Wlien J consider some of the g^eat releases that tile year has seen I recall, with a degree of amase- ment and Interest that day when, some years ago, Samnel S HutcbinsoD and I determined that we ■woald plonge out into the film market with a RTolotloDary product—a photoplay that should be * whole thousand feet long. We dared to abandon |m practice of the day of putting Ave or six sob- Mrts Into a reel, and to attempt to tell a real story in tbe screen. If anyone at that time had sug- Mtted the Idea of making a multiple reel release se wonld have been suspected of Insanity. Tet this memorable year of 1935 baa seen a great 8a> CUB achieved by a conttnued photoplay of sixty (eels—"The Diamond from the Sky." All of which serves here only to call forcefully te the attention - the remarkable development of tbe power of the film to tell a story to sustain Interest, to be real art and real< drama. I believe that 1016 will see yet further im- Bnt developments in this direction. The really at scenarios are yet to come. Mechanically the "are la rather a satisfactory product now, and He important and revolutionary developments ta that direction are of course always poealble, there do not appear to be any near at band. Meanwhile the "etory," the real ebaracter and aoalUy of the thought and matter conveyed by the dim, will come In for a great deal more active Attention. It is interesting' to note that within the year 1816 we have seen almost every American author of prominence become a writer for tbe motion pic- tures. It Is only a few weeks ago that the Mutual Film Corporation announced '^he -Girl and the Game," a special release, which Is the flrat motion picture work of Frank H. Spearman, latest of the America^ novellsta of note to come "Into the pictures." This wholesale capture of authors by the motion ¥lcture can really be credited to the year 1916. t Is true that there were a few who ventured with timidity and questioning into the film field In 1014; those of tbat year were relatively so few In number that we may call them pioneers, for all practical purposes we may say that tbe creat body of skilled writers became related to motion picture expreaslon only wltb tbe yeu 1916. It Is without the least intent of dlsparagonent tbat I now insist tbat these writers have not yet learned the motion picture. They do not yet imow this new craft of aim expression. We have seen, bowever, some great work from their pens In dim drama. Giving them acquired experience with ^Is new medium. stUl so new to them, what may iwe not hope for to come? Tbe situation Is, perhaps, as ttaongh some master {)oet has just been taught an alien tongue. We should not at first expect more of Mm than suc- cessful prose. His real art work would come witb the greater familiarity with his medium of ex- presaTon. (The year 1916 by thla token must be exiKcted to develop tlie wrlteia for the film drama into tetter artut better buUdecs with, the materials of _ . . . ttl tTohs of the range possibilities of the camera—and I am Inclined to agree with President HutcbinstiD, of tbe Ameri- can film company when he says the motion pic- itare has no limitations of expression. ' With cmr master writers equipped with this knowledge of their newly adopted medium we can look forward So Improvement of the film drama In tcrma tha± iwUl make the great achievements of the past look celaUvely insignificant. f photoplay construction. They will leam .to StBk In pictures. They will have gained concn^- rohs of 'Uie range of both the limitations and the enlistment of writers at abUIty and note for tSba productiCD ot scripts, meeting and encouraging a Tapldly. improving ponllc taste in scre«si Art. CenaorsMp—(Ehe beginning of a pnbtlc awak- eulnc to the evils and perils of censorablp, exem- plified Importantly in a number of communities where public iittelllgence ovei^mled the absurdity and prudery of censors who sought to bar "Dan»- eged Goods'' and other great feature releases. Awakening of the Lay Press —The establl<aimeiit of photoplay departments In many newspapers and other pobllcatlona of genera] circulation, and a more tntellgent treatment of tbe film drama among publications of all classes—a somewhat belated recognition of the increasing imnortont luimber of readers who are anxious for the news of the fltans. Looking aliead to developments to come I can see nothing Ihat looks as more Important than tha ioecessl^ for growth and betterments In tbe trastnesa ot exhibiting pictures. Great big Import- ant strides have been made in the construction of pictures, in the distribution of pictures. In ■the adverttslng of pictures—and now there Is a ■Viy great deal up to the exhibitor. Certain investigations made near tbe close of tbis year by tbe Mutual Film Corporation, looktne Into the operating methods of many thousands .ot theatres In all parts of tbe county convince me Uiat tbe exhlbttor haa many more opportunities Tor a growtb ahead of him than he has achlev«i- Qents Dchlnd iiim. The art of "prcsentln?" pictures to the public is just Beginning to be recognized. Those exhi- bitors who have developed tne business of "ex- Ubltlng" pictures Into the buelneos of "present- ing" tnsm liave reaped big profits. I have yet to hear of a well conducted motion picture house loelng. The exhibitors as a class mnst l>e aroused to new eSoits. The exhibitors as a vital factor bi the Indnstiy are In danger of lagging twblnd both the development of the picture and tbe de- velopment of the public taste for tha pictures. Great TesponalbtUty for the growtb of the mo- tion pictures as an art and as the material of an industry rests with the exhibitors I do not wish to' condemn—rather I want to inspire. I want to Bbcnt It so loud tbat (:very exhibitor In America can hear me, that they must Tuore worthily give the pictures to the public. And I speak here as a member of the great bodv of exhibitors who are responsible to the film fouowlng public for their entertainment. In every one of the several the- atres In which I am interested we are worMng our problems of fltm presenration constantly. The reports that come to my desk here In New York dally point to the necessity for persistent study and nnrelcntlng application. Nobody in tite world knows how to run a pei^ feet molUm picture house. It there was nay flnal and absolute standard or model the ex- hibitors' problem would be ended. But there are certain men In the vanguard of film theatre pro- gress, and from their experience and successes we may all take inspiration and gather new zeal. With this condition and these necessities in mind the Bothapfel-Motual tour was conceived. I know that not every exhibitor can have a house on Broadway, and that not every exhibitor can be on S. L. RotbapfeL But I do know that the energy and Ingenalty with which he made his beginning from that Forest City, Fa. village show into ti>« brilliant achievement of tbe Strand, in New Toric can Inspire every exhibitor. Mr. 'Bothapfel and those who. with him, have achieved these remark- able successes have no patent on hard work and sincere application and thought, or tbe use of com- mon huslnesB sense. The Rotbapfei-Mutual tour has been concluded hut a few weeks, yet I con say with considerable assurance that it has been a most effective con- tribution to the welfare of the motion picture theatre, end worthy of a place near tbe top of 13is colunm of 1915's film events. It I were to attempt the somewhat difficult task of ennmcration the other important develop- ments of the year ia the motion picture industry, ■I should name: "Uutual't Growth."—Most recent of aU. the an- noifpcement ot the release of three five reel Matnal jDoater pictures, de luxe edition, and the expansion of. the $8,000,OCO Mutual program to Include a 4hlrd three reel feature, a development of big Im- vortanee entirely aside from tbe particular mter- cat of the Untnal Film Corporaticoi or personal Interest. Service Beyond the Films. — Tbe birth of a new xelatlon between the distributors and the exhibitors of film, by which the exhibitors receive more than a mere supply of pictures but also aids in publicity, mnsic cues, exploitation methods and general as- sistance in the suecessfol operation of the motion Slctore theatre. This service betterment Is re- eeted in the increase of the number of Mutnal 'branches to the present total of slx^-elgbt, cover- ing the Dnlted States and Canada. Bigher Admtaaion Prices. — A strengthening treild toward higher prices of admission in a very Jorge number of theatres, moving upward from 4ke five and ten cent level to the class of tea. aftnu and twenty-five cent admissions—this re- mittal, in part, from tbe improving standards ot Ob Ilims. and in turn resulting In the prodnctloa e£ better flhns. Setter Picture Art.—Oeneraltr nwe active at- tention among manufacturers to tbe plots and Bhotography of the picture drama. reauUlng In the I have felt -the keenest pleasure In reviewing tiie great array of reports tbat have borne to me the enthusiasm of exhibitors along the path of the Bothapfel-Untnal tour. I know now that tbe ex- Mbltors to whom we mnst look as our representa- tives to the public have accepted this effort by 13ie Uotual Film Corporation in the sincere spirit In which it was offered. A review of the flhn history of the year cannot, I think, discover a more significant development than the formation of the new Mutual program— the creation which we have been pleased to label the S8,000,000 program—and the more recent but closely related announcement ot the Uutnal Uater Plctares, De Luxe ESdltion, three big five reel features a week, and again, stmnltaneonsly the expansion of the program to take In yet a ithlrd three reel feature. This gives the Mutual Film Corporation a total output of six features a we*—the world's greatest feature release output for any single film distribut- ing cancem- I refer to these developments In Mutual service, not for the spedfie purpose of directing attention toward them or to what I deem tbe particular merits of Uutnal service, but rather to uolnt to them as markers of the film progress that has made th« closing months of 1915 notable and aa evidences of the trend whldi we may expect ,1Sie coming year to follow. Frankly I came Into the presidency of tbe Mu- tool JHim Corporation most painfully aware of thfl thai low ebb of program efficiency. As on ex- hibitor and as a distributor of motion pictures I have come to know that "programs," with their routine offerings, were not giving the exhibitors tbe box office attractions that business necessity dcsnoBded* I determined to endow the word with a new meaning, to give the exhibitors feature ser- ■vice and feature quality in every release. The Mutual FUm Corjwration created the new pro- gram with the needs of the exhibitor In view, and looking back now over the past few months that we have been giving tbe exhibitors this new. a^l star, all feature service, I am reassured of the cor- rectnes of our policy. The Motnal's pictures as an expression of my conception of the motion picture altuatlon can tell you a tot about flbn development. This new pro gram ond new Masterplcture edition tells for me m mnfariai fom whl(A I mean in pointing to tho swift development of better flhn entertalnmnt— greater responsibility for the manufacturer, the olEtributor and the exhibitor. In this organization there Is cotbtng stereotyped, no cast Iron rulest no set and final view—except the purpose of betterment There Is nothing too big and nothing in picture opportunity that Is put l>e- flore the executive staff of the Mutual Film Cor- poration tbtat Is not -viewed as a possibility for Untnal. service. The year 1915 brought out some astonishing feature successes, and I moy be pardoned for "pointing with pride" to ••'Damaged Goods^' at our big contribution. I do not think that I am going too far in saying that "Damaged Goods" promises to stand for many and many a year an a great film creation. Its success—it has been shown to millions of theatre patrons In the last few weeks—Is based-on a great bmnan fact, no mere art wlilnuy. no picture trickery. It is a cross- section of human life, sharp, sometimes brutntly tmthfuL Tbe power of "Damaged Goods" In our film presentation has met a degree of public appre- ciation that should be an inspinttion to nn ail. it Is a measure of proof of the broader, deeper de- Telopmebt of tbe motion picture. It proveq that the public Is ready for film plays with a mission and a message. "The success of aucb a feature as "Damaged Goods" Is, I believe, of most cheerful slgnlflcance In the-social progress of the country, outside of any photoplay consideration. Considerable satisfaction and eucouragement Is also afforded by the eager acceptance of the op- portunl^ this feature has offered the enterpris- iag exhibitors of the country. Its succesful .run is also demonstrating the correctness of the pol- icy of making any feature, no matter how big tt may be, available to every exhibitor whose fa- culties and capacity permit htm to book such a mm.- But. while we take an Inventory of 1915, we find yet other evidence of the forces that are malCtng for tlie progress of tho Indastry. I turn again to the example of which 1 can speak with the most authority—tbat is th<- re-organlzstlou of the methods of operation of tbe Mutnal Film Cor- poration. This has Included the establishment or seven new branches, giving a total of sixty-eight Mutual exchanges for the service ot tbe exhibitors of the United States and Canada. District man- agcsneirt has been abollslie'l and every branch has been made dlrctiy responsible to the home office of the corporation In New York. . A corps of ef- oleney men has been put Into the field to keep v.!> constantly the close relation we have established between tbe home office and tbe exhibitors through tbe branches. A system has been Installed oy Which confidential reports on films, attendance, and all -detailed theatre statistics <ome to me from representative houses la all parts of the country, thus giving a direct "Indicator reading" od our pic- tures and service, and enabling us to contlnua'l/ shape them to tbst which Is proven successful In the final test of the box office report. These activities of the Mutual are representative of the forward steps -ot the industry which are «lv1ng the exhibitor so much more than mere film. We can look only a llttie way back Into the film imst to recall a period when an exchange was a Slace -where an exhibitor got so many reels of Im, pot them xmder his arm, took them to his theatre, hung up a sign that said: "Admission five cents,"-and proceeded to run off a "show." All he got from' the exchange was the film, snd on sunny days w^eu the management was in good hamor, maybe a few kind words. Kow the distributor of films Is finding it to a vast advantage "to his business, to his exhibitors and to tbe public, to give the exhibitor every pos- sible aid In the*presentaticn of real entertainment. The Mutual e^lbltor is not only supplied with better films, but, as well, with the methods and means of exploiting them, eall kinds of publicity helps, posters, banners, lobby displays, poblld^ cuts, pro&A matter, ad. sheets, billboard and news- paper co-operation, ond the service of a weekly magaElne written especially for him. Another important step this year has been tSie formation ot the Motion Picture Board of Trade and plans for a concerted effort to free the motion picture froon the shackles of censorship. This Ik not -the place for my views of censorship, but I InalBt on saying that it is tm-American, absurd eod demmed to final t>estructlon, We can recog- and doomed to final destruction. We can recog- nize only one censorship and that is the opinion of the wholesome minded and tntellgent public. The European war. which has t>een so much o( a factor In tbe fortunes of many of our great American industries, bas given no pause to th" moUan picture ^udness. The film tax Ievie<< by Great Britain as a war measure Is making New York the world's film market; and is giving us here the position tbat L«ndou has occupied la. the world trade in fltm playa So. looking ahead, we can promise greater film prosperity, better plays, better tbeata^es, better ser- vlc to exnibltors and to the pabllc The motion pic- ture atmosphere Is being dasslfled. The buslncss la calninc In .standardizatioo. He unfit are being tatmtnated. The future is bright and Olmdom can Icok with expectancy, on