The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 104 The Educational Screen MOTION PICTURES— NOT FOR THEATRES By ARTHUR EDWIN EROWS Part Thirty-five — A chronicle of Chronicles. More previously untold pages concerning Big Business ef- forts to show "visual educators" how. IN the spring of 1920 the survey was deemed sufficient for a preliminary esti- mate of costs. It tentatively called for five sequences, of eight units each, cov- ering the history of America from Co- lumbus to Woodrow Wilson, inclusive. For purposes of figuring, players and settings required were indicated in round numbers, and there were other useful clues provided for a statistical depart- ment. Of course, we hoped ultimately for production on a revolving fund basis, gaining money from release of early productions which might then be in- vested in later ones, and there was offered a plan for the repeated turnover of only $20,000; but, for the present, it was ob- viously necessary to regard the entire series as an accumulating out-of-pocket expense. Famous Players-Lasky kindly and apologetically gave a verbal esti- mate of around a million dollars, but asked for specific scenarios upon which to base a more reasonable charge, sure that such a quotation would frighten off any customer, especially a newcomer to the field. Profits Begin at Home WirAT it actually did was to persuade Glasgow that the undertaking would be too large and too profitable to be sub- let, and he decided that if anybody was going to do the job, he would do it him- self. While he was ruminating over this, I proceeded by instruction to write the first scenarios. Of course, it was not intended that I should write them all, merely that I should establish the precedents. As far as possible we wanted the plan to unfold chronologically, so "Columbus" became the opening sub- ject. This was followed by "Jamestown," the story of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. During this work, Glasgow revised his first in- tention of making the pictures dramati- zations of the books. He decided that there was so much original work in pre- paring the film versions, picturizing not his own published texts but the very source documents of history, that they should be regarded as distinct accom- plishments, with the scenario writer to be accredited with full author,ship. The scripts certainly were unique in form, made so to accommodate the pe- culiar demands of the situation. They were typed on long, foolscap sheets to care for elaborate footnotes on each page, which gave historical justification and amplification of every major point. In the first two scripts alone, the supporting notes totalled more than 50,000 words. Information as to physical appearances, including costumes; how houses and for- tifications were constructed; ages, heights, weights and mannerisms of the respective characters; full descriptions of properties—all were to be found there, convenient to the hand of any and every person who might have to do with edi- torial supervision or production. There was even talk of printing these scenarios for the guidance of teachers who might use the completed pictures in class. I was very glad indeed that the scripts were just that way when, June 6, 1921, I was summoned to read the first two to an assembled body of educators at Yale University, who wanted to pass on their fitness to receive the University Press endorsement. It was a lovely summer morning when I went with Glas- To none is credit more richly due than to Robert E. MacAlarney for realized merits of the school films known as the Chronicles of America. gow to New Haven, and sat with him in the board room of the University for this ordeal, although, naturally, I wasn't especially interested in the weather just then. Among those present were Allen Johnson, chairman of the Department of History at Yale, general editor of the published Chronicles of America and la- ter to become editor-in-chief of the National Cyclopaedia of American Biog- raphy; George Parmly Day, treasurer of Yale University Corporation and president of the Press; Charles M. An- drews, authority on the history of New England; Max Farrand, professor of American history and brother of Liv- ingston Farrand; Nathaniel Wright Stephenson, of the University of South Carolina; Charles Seymour, who today is no less than the president of Yale itself; C. H. Haring, professor of Eur- opean history; Anson Phelps Stokes, and Ralph M. Gabriel, assistant to .Allen Johnson. When the reading was at an end, these specialists, most of them authors of books in the Chronicles series, bom- barded me with questions concerning this statement of fact and that; and how thankful I was that I had all the his- torical citations in the footnotes, ready to read off in answer to objections. But finally all the listeners commented favor- ably and the manuscripts were delivered for further action by the Council's Com- mittee on Publications of Yale University. There, September 26, 1921, after the pages had been read critically by experts, a resolution was adopted generally en- dorsing the picture project. To act for the Com.niittee Dr. Max Farrand was appointed general editor, and he chose as his associate. Dr. Frank Ellsworth Spaulding, Sterling Professor of School Administration and head of the Depart- ment of Education in Yale. As their ex- ecutive on the ground, watchdog of pro- duction, so to speak, was Nathaniel Step- henson. Glasgow's plan now was to organize a separate concern to handle the pic- ture making. My own, tentative schedule which was authorized in editorial con- ference at New Haven April 29, 1922, and copies of which were sent for com- ment to about thirty selected principals and teachers of elementary schools, called for some thirty-six units of two reels each. Considering the heavy staff requirements of a large concern, to- gether with the fact that these gentle- men around me were depending on my guidance for every phase of film prac- tice, including writing, production, dis- tribution and even to some degree of sales, I doubted my physical ability to manage it alone. Glasgow finally agreed on the expediency of having another man to direct the business organization while I gave my preferred attention to writing and supervising the preparation of scripts, and, to my great pleasure, persuaded Robert MacAlarney to join us in this capacity. Until then a desk in the general open office, with occasional secretarial help from Glasgow's personal staff, had suf- ficed, as most of my work was done at home or in the public library. Mac- Alarney required an office, of course. Moreover, obviously, still more room would soon be needed, so he requested also a proper office accommodation for all reasonable early expansion of the project. A modest space was therefore taken across the hall from the suite of the U. S. Publishers Association, at 522 Fifth Avenue, corner of 44th Street, the Guaranty Trust Building. I was