Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

January 10, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 33 f This doesn’t look like a studio set but it is. It is an old moss-covered church and cottage at Inceville, in Santa Monica canyon, used for the Goldwyn feature, “Bunty Pulls the Strings,” in which Billie Burke was starred. Concluding: The MEMOIRS of THOMAS H. INCE 9. Better Pictures Assured AS AN economic industry, the motion picture occupies a position in the life of the nation which is, at once, distinctive and powerful. There is scarcely a commercial pursuit that is not directly or indirectly affected by it. Almost every manufactured product, from hairpins and dressing table accessories, to the most priceless tapestries, is used in some phase of picture making. Many auxiliary industries have been established to fill the needs of the studios. For instance, one plant manufactures crockery of a light, porous nature that breaks easily on the head of the slapstick comedian without causing serious results. Another designs and makes footwear of every period and nationality. Others manufacture artificial food, and miniature cities which are sometimes used in long shots. In one studio the carpenters, paperhangers and electricians far outnumber the men employed in these trades in the average small towns of America. Property rooms outrival the average department store in the large cities, both from the standpoint of quantity and variety. There is nothing that cannot be found in this department, from an oil lamp to the complete drawing room furnishings of a millionaire. * * * The wardrobe departments vie with museums. In a properly appointed wardrobe there are sets of costumes which represent all ages of civilization. Gorgeous robes of the ancient Caesars and the jeweled magnificence of the days of Cleopatra, royal ermine robes of the Louises of France, the sombre garbs of the Crusaders and the Pilgrim fathers, authentic crinolines and brocades of our colonial days, the winged helmets and costumes of the Vikings, and complete sets of armor worn by knights in the days of chivalry are among the requisites of the wardrobe. All of these and more, are the property of the well equipped studio, representing assets of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A large staff of workers is maintained in the wardrobe, constantly creating new gowns and remodeling old ones. They are always ready to fill a rush order and constantly are called upon to use their inventive faculties to produce some accessory that may not be in stock. It is estimated, from carefully compiled statistics, that the motion picture industry in Los Angeles alone, where 75 per cent of production is located, gives steady employment to more than 20,000 persons. * * H: The weekly payroll is considerably more than $500,000. There are between 50 and 60 motion picture studios in Los Angeles and vicinity and more than 200 separate producing units. The annual production of motion pictures in Los Angeles is more than $150,000,000. More than 300,000.000 feet of film are used in these studios annually, about 50 per cent being positive and the other half negative. The average five-reel picture costs from $35,000 to $500,000 to produce and may have an earning capacity of from $75,000 to $20,000,000. One picture produced recently which cost approximately $400,000 to turn out, has produced already more than $20,000,000. This, then, sketching it briefly, is the history of the development of the motion picture as I have been intimately associated with it for the past fourteen years. An industry that has carried with it all the romance and glamour of the California gold rush but one that has gone even farther and has taken its place among industries of the world. It has achieved for itself a station of permanency, ever unfolding to greater and still greater achievements, which brings us to the question — What of the future of the motion picture industry? And what of its aim? Starting out merely to amuse and entertain, the silent drama has evolved to that point where it has a distinct mission to fulfill, as has painting, sculpture, music, dancing, drama or literature. We are living in an age when the white light of criticism is turned upon accepted and established standards in all phases of life. The old order of things has passed and all over the world worn out traditions and methods are toppling. We are in the grip of another renaissance, a revolution of ideals. Like the Phoenix of mythology, the new world order is rising out of the ashes of the old. Hr The picture of yesterday fulfilled its mission, giving way to newer and higher standards demanded of the picture of today. And because some of the modern productions are now reaching such a high standard, the public has learned to expect even greater triumphs. Picture goers have shown their faith in us and by that very faith they have thrown us a challenge to produce bigger and better photoplays. Are we going to accept that challenge and make the picture of (Confi'n lied on page 62)