The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 134 The Educational Screen a department store circuit will probably be realized some day, because it persists. In January, 1938, the magazine House Beautiful was reported to be producing a film on housewares for department store exhibition, and I have no doubt that other projects of the sort are in embryo at this very moment. Store circuits which have develoi)ed more noticeably have been in show r(3onis of the automobile dealers chains. In the first place, the automotive field is richly supplied with reels explaining the parts and advantages of the various leading makes; in the second, they depend for promotional ideas and exploitation devices on the trained advertising men who work- up the interrelated forms and send them forth from the manufacturers' own head- quarters. The Ford, General Motors and Chrysler organizations all are heavy providers of such films. In the lesser communities tlie preferred auto sales ap- paratus is slide-film; but there is no lack of appreciation of the more elaborate setup. The local manager works earnestly, and usually with success, to have the available motion picture reels projected as educational items in the neighborhood theatres. Birth of the Ampro The shop window circuit once bade fair to flourish especially m the years beginning about 1925. The credit for that must go primarily to the Capitol Continuous Projector, originated by William C. Raedeker and associates, which, by an ingenious and efficient operating principle, ran its film end- lessly with a minimum of wear and tear and a high assurance of safety. The film, fed back into the middle of the reel, was 16mni, all housed in a cabinet or case, a small screen being attached and set in a shadow box for visibility in sunlight. Full capacity (rarely approached )provided sufficient of the narrow film to meet concentrated spectator attention for nearly an hour. But the sponsors here also had to learn special techniques. Crowds stopping to view one of these window shows im- peded traffic, blocked the window, and frequently obstructed the entrance to the shop. Spectators in such situations, therefore, should not be held too long; certain experimenters hold that one minute is the advisable limit. But many of the advertisers who booked in on the Capitol circuit owned in- dustrial reels which had been circu- lated successfully for them by the Y.M.C.A. Motion Picture Bureau, per- haps, and the}- could not see why these same subjects should not be just as eflfective here without compres- sion. Reference to the Capitol calls for some intercalary text because out of the experience earned in producing and developing that projector arose the Ampro, one of the most highly es- teemed machines in non-theatrical use today. Walter E. Greene, an early as- sociate of Hiram Abrams at Para- mount and founder of American Re- leasing Corporation, had become interested In 1925 the U.S. Government purchased a number of Capitol Projectors. Here is the then Secretary of the Navy, Lyman H. Wilbur, examining a specimen machine just acquired by the Department of Agriculture. in the Capitol to the extent of invest- ing upwards of $100,000 in its promo- tion. -As the market response proved unsatisfactory to him, he decided to withdraw, and James Gausman, the Treasurer, arranged for additional fi- nances for the corporation from new people. L. R. Wasey of the Erwin Wasey .Advertising Agency, who saw the possibilities of this method in pro- moting advertising, was one of the new investors, and lie placed a sizeable order for the machines to develop the pro- posed field. Thus is said to have been returned to Greene a large part of his investment. However, this method of advertising was new and the adver- tising agencies were cautious in recom- mending to their clienteles the benefits and advantages, and finally the Capitol company liquidated and abandoned the enterprise in 1927. From 1924 to 1927 the Capitol was manufactured by the Universal Stamp- ing and Manufacturing Company, a large factory in Chicago operated by .Axel .A. Monson. He had his own ideas about non-theatrical opportuni- ties and with this latest setback to the Capitol, he decided not to lose the benefits of experience already gained So in 1927 he, together with his chief engineer. -A. Shapiro, began working on a machine which was to become known as the .Ampro. Between them they ironed out the problems in the design for practical production and after costly and extensive tests, it was reported ready late in 1929. From 1930 to 1934 experiments were conducted to provide a sound repro- ducing model and this presently ap- peared under the name "Amprosound." The .Ampro Corporation remained organized as a subsidiary selling com- pany until 1940 in which year the Uni- versal Stamping and Manufacturing Company itself assumed the name. The .Ampro projector was introduced to the public through its own sales de- partment under the guidance and su- pervision of Harry Monson, son of the founder. Since that time distributors and dealers have been cstablislied all over the United .States and in some forty foreign countries. In charge of the N'ew York territory is Frank Rogers, especi- ally well known to the theatrical field for his admirable service as an Erpi man- ager when Western Electric sound pic- tures arrived. .A commercial film distribution plan which seems to have had constructive pos- sibilities was announced from the New York headquarters of the National .As- sociation of Manufacturers June 24, 1923. With reasonable cooperation on the part of member industrialists it might have succeeded. The only serious drawback discernible to me was that it aimed in large measure to duplicate service already rendered by the Y.M.C.A. , the Bureau of Commercial Economics, and smaller, regional distributors of "free" films. It is more than likely that many owners of industrial pictures |)referred not to dis- turb their arrangements currently and .satisfactorily in force with these agencies. Something to do with their reluctance may have been a fear of stirring dis- content among workers in one line by having tliem see pictures of more at- tractive labor conditions in another. Trade associations commonly have little power in themselves, save in periods of defense, when the full strength of membership is thrown behind them. In peaceful intervals the executive officers are frequently hard put to keep going. But the situation is different when the assoc- iation holds property of some sort in wliicli all members have a community in- terest. It may take the form of a trade school, possibly, or an intlustrial found- ation, or revenue-bearing investments. It does not seem to matter especially what