Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1919)

EXHIBITORS HERALD REAL COMEDIES ARE NO LONGER "FILLERS" Laugh Producers Are Gaining the Same Recognition Given Dramas in Theatres By MACK SENNETT ITH the coming of the year 1920, dawns a new era for the motion picture comedy, an era which we firmly believe will bring the comedy production up to the same standard as a multiple reel dramatic feature. Worthy comedies will receive the same billing as dramatic features have in the past, exclusively received, and at the same time will constitute the body of the program. In the early days of motion pictures, comedies were used as fillers. Drama? were the big tiling and while they were giving entertainment value, the public wanted a little change. Instead of having their emotions continually pulled and hauled over the fiery coals, they wanted to laugh — they wanted to see the numerous side of life. We predicted then that the time would come when a comedy production of high quality would take its place as a feature regardless cf its length. It was a new profession^ this making of motion pictures. W e were all feeling our way in those days, but I felt certain that the comedy of human interest, of the natural and un-forced laugh, had its place on the screen as on the stage, for in life laughter is mixed with heartthrobs, and is not the stage and the screen the mirror of life? "Oh, anything will do for a comedy," was the distributor's valuation of a real gold nugget idea, in the early days, if he had only known it. And thus was born a false, arbitrary idea, the filler valution for comedies which we are glad to say is now being rapidly demolished. * * * Then the war came along in 1914, the most serious fact the world has ever experienced. Conservative distributors and exhibitors agreed that something was needed to off-set the gloom, and the comedy films were waiting for the job which was at hand. Exhibitors began to pre-view comedies with careful consideration. But even before the war the demands from exhibitors for comedy productions had slowly grown to such proportions that producers were kept busy grinding them out. For instance, at our Los Angeles studio, which covers thirty acres, we had as many as twenty companies at work at one time and we literally made swarms of comedies. We have out-door stages, a great indoor >tudio, where twenty companies can work ai one time, revolving stages, acres of open land where we can stage everything from the burning of San Francisco to a street scene in Chinatown. With all these facilities at hand and the demand from exhibitors growing, we felt that the time had come to turn out not mere comedies but comedy productions. We have gradually reduced the number of our companies until we have but six at work. Instead of making a picture every two weeks we now take months, and we spend more time and money, and we use every possible studio PROHIBITION FROM A HUMOROUS ANGLE The climax in "The Speak-Easy," a Paramount-Mack Sennett comedy, which is to reach the screen soon. 109 MACK SEXXETT Producer of the Paramount-Seniiett Comedies, who has successfully waged a campaign to take comedies out of the "filler" class. facility in making the comedy feature, than is utilized on many multiple reel dramatic films. * * * We usually take on an average of twenty thousand feet of most expensively produced film for each picture, although no limit is set. Then by working it over in the projection room, we finally have as a finished product to send out to the exhibitor, two thousand feet of human interest, packed full of action. That this new type, of what we might call two-reel comedy productions are being appreciated is shown by the manner in which exhibitors have, during the past eight months, quickly recognized the new product and have featured and are more and more featuring as the principal picture of their program, two-reel comedy productions such as "Uncle Tom Without the Cabin.'" "East Lynne with Variations," "Salome vs. Shenandoah," over and above longer, multiple reel pictures, with record breaking box office results. Thus the comedy film has at iast come into its own. Exhibitors are learning that quality not quantity is the standard by which pictures are to be judged, and they are learning that there may be as much thought and expense crowded into a two-reel comedy as in a five-reel dramatic picture. The future will undoubtedly bring a great development of comedy production due to the coming of the open market, the healthy condition of the industry, longer runs, and the demand of the exhibitor for fewer and better productions.