Educational film magazine; (19-)

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO MAKE "BETTER MOVIES" A REALITY Defendem Motion Picture League of America, Inc., Capitalized at $5,000,000, to Produce and Distribute the Kind of Films the World is Waiting For By Mrs. C. A. Britton National Organizer of the League FOR years the subject of better motion pictures of the clean, wholesome type has been discussed and many plans have been formulated to bring about improvement of picture conditions as they exist today. This has been and is a [vital subject and one that has been the source of a great deal of deep thought. What to do and how to do it has been the problem. Ever since the feature photoplay became the thing of the moment Sand with the progress of the motion picture industry, producers l^became bolder in their endeavors to attract to the box office and a result the majority of pictures shown in the last few years ave been those dealing with sex problems, exploiting crime, and lin general of a tendency to tear down the ideals and morals of the eople of America. What to do and how to do it has apparently been solved by the _ )efendem Motion Picture League of America, Inc. After a great deal of investigation and thought the Defendem League was f founded and has set out with a definite, concrete plan to bring about a betterment of pictures. Representative club women, ministers of various denominations and teachers are back of this movement. Proof that the public is ' alive to the menace is shown by the censor boards which were ap- pointed at the insistence of the better element of the public. This has helped somewhat but does not reach the root of the trouble, wliich is the producing end, whose one idea is to "get by" the censors. The Defendem Motion Picture League of America will pro- duce the highest type of photo productions. Clean, wholesome stories selected from the pens of well-known writers will be inter- preted into clean, wholesome photoplays. The weekly program will be complete with a variety of appropriate short stories in- cluding travelogs, educational, and historical subjects and other material of public interest, but there will be nothing made that will offend the most discriminating. True Americanism will be the watchword, non-sectarian and non-propagandic, but every opportunity for inspiring loyalty and instilling the Golden Rule will be taken advantage of. The plans of the league are extensive. All pictures made by them will be controlled through their own distributing channels which will embrace centers all over the United States to make it possible for those living in the most remote district to see these pictures which will be exhibited by churches, schools, community houses, and such other mediums of exhibition that are available, but they will not be shown through the medium of motion picture i theaters as they exist today. Those who are supporting this movement are firm in their con- victions that if the proper kind of pictures are made they will bring back the ideals on which America was founded and in that way coordinate the things that are good and eliminate the things that are bad. It would also help to educate the child through the visual, and be the means of making better Americans of the foreign element who come to this country. How many men and women have ever stopped to consider what many of the present-day type of motion pictures are doing to destroy American womanhood? There is hardly a photoplay presented that does not go to the extreme in presenting woman in a light in which she would under no circumstances permit jyf RS. C. A. BRITTON, national organizer and chairman of the board of directors of the Defendem Motion Picture League of America, Inc., has been for many years a leading spirit in club work in this country. She is closely identified with the Daugh- ters of America, Guardians of Liberty, and a number of mothers' clubs. In the league movement slie has associated with her a ntmi- ber of prominent ministers, social workers, and representative club women. herself to appear in the privacy of her home. How many times have you read in the daily press of some young boy or girl who has committed a misdeed who claimed that his or her reason for doing so was inspired by what "they saw in the movies?" No better words can be expressed than diose of the Honorable J. Hampton Moore, Mayor of Philadelphia, who proclaimed Sunday, November 27, in Philadelphia, "Better Citizens' Day" and urged that all citizens gather at their places of worship on that day "to discourage those things in our public and private lives that are debasing, and to uphold those things that tend to exalt and elevate us in self-respect and citizenship." That this subject is a vital one is beyond question of a doubt and the people of America are alive to the menace of many of the pictures produced and released for public view. To carry on this work it must be done by an American-spirited cooperative body and stories made under their direction into picture plays will ap- peal to and entertain not only the average American but the foreigner who lands on these shores, and will drive home a proper education, Americanism, and what the Book of God really means. Headquarters of the league have been opened at 903 Canadian- Pacific Building, 342 Madison Avenue, New York City, where I shall be pleased to receive in person those who may be interested in this important movement or communicate with those who are non-residents of New York. FILM USES INCREASED IN SOUTHERN SCHOOLS DEPORTS from the South state that many schools in that section *■ are installing portable motion picture projectors, especially in rural communities. These machines are being used in the classroom as well as for entertainment purposes once a week in the assembly halls. Funds thus obtained help to maintain the visual education pro- grams. In many instances electric current is provided by a portable generator attached to a Ford automobile.. In other cases a small stationary light plant has been installed and the movie projector soon earns enough to pay for the complete installation. Some recent projector purchases were: High School, Lucedale, Miss.; High School, Tunica, Miss.; Girls' Normal School, Washington School, McDonogh School No. 3, Samuel J. Peters School, E. T. Mer- rick School, McDonogh School No. 16, Delgado Trade School, Tulane University, Straight College, New Orleans University, Corpus Christi School, Jewish Orphans' Home, Kingsley House and Home for In- curables—all of New Orleans, La. Machines and films are supplied to the New Orleans school board by the Harcol Film Company of that C. M. Tingle, visual instruction supervisor for the Mississippi Agri- cultural and Mechanical College, reports an increasing use of films in the schools of that state. He thinks it will not be long before Fir.M OF "UNKNOWN'S" BURIAL FOR WAR DEPARTMENT 'pHE Path^ News record of the burial of ,\raerica"s unknown soldier ■■■ will be preserved in the archives of the War Department as the official pictures of the nation's great tribute to the men who made the supreme sacrifice in France. It is in two reels, depicting th • entire story of the unknown hero beginning with his selection in France and ending with the sounding of taps over his grave at Arlington,Va. This was done under a contract made with the Path^ News by Thomas H. Martell, manager of the United States Army Motion Picture Service, on behalf of the War Department. 9