Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

26 EXHIBITORS HERALD March 14, 1925 “The Faults of Professional Criticism,” by DeMille Producer Says That Personal Likes and Dislikes Should Not Enter Into One’s Appraisal of Motion Pictures PARTICULAR significance with respect to the antiquated practice of reviewing motion pictures marks Cecil B. DeMille’s article, substantially an endorsement of the HERALD'S policy in discontinuing its review department. Mr. DeMille has suffered less than perhaps any other producer at the hands of the reviewers. Each new picture of his has been a signal for polysyllabic applause. He grinds no axe in his comments ; he hews to a definite, important line and his arguments stand up. — T. O. SERVICE. UNDER the title, “The Faults of Professional Criticism,” Mr. De Mille writes ; “Because motion pictures will always be mass amusement, there is but one standard by which to intelligently criticize and value a picture. They should be judged, not on isolated personal likes and dislikes but on the basis of their percentage of appeal to the theatregoing public as a whole. “None of us, therefore, have the right to say ‘that is a poor picture’ or that is ‘a good picture’ if the yardstick is merely that of our own surroundings, education, background or prejudices. More of us, I feel, should view pictures on the broad basis of their general appeal. If we took this attitude our judgment would be correct more often than it is at present. For in the end the public at large makes its desires known in definite and firm form no matter what the initial and individual criticisms may have been. ♦ * * “Time and again pictures have met with scant favor at their start only to roll up amazing gross receipts. And of course, that sister of the screen, the stage, has the most remarkable example of all in ‘Abie’s Irish Rose,’ a play universally ‘panned’ on its debut but which is now playing in its third year to packed houses. “There is no doubt, successful production can be increased and speeded up if criticism could be universally geared as a guide rather than a goad. We don’t all have the same tastes. There are, however, certain fundamental likes and dislikes which appeal to every one in greater or lesser degree. It is quite easy to imagine one person only mildly amused at a bit of comedy which would cause another to laugh uproariously. The question of the entertainment value of that offering should not be based on either extreme but an effort should be made to strike a mean average where the greatest number of people are entertained to the greatest extent. “This is the viewpoint I think we should all hold when turning our attention to judgment of motion pictures. Personally I always try to crowd out any individual thoughts and to view the offering not as one but as 100 people, all in different walks of life. Try this idea sometime. You will be surprised to find out how it will broaden your vision and alter your opinion as to the worth of a specific bit of entertainment. “Most certainly we who make motion pictures have erred in our ‘projection room’ judgments. Time after time I have seen pictures which everyone classed as ‘failures’ in a cold projection room, go out and make a marvelous success. One specific instance is a picture which appeared about five years ago over the protest of ninety per cent of the officials of the company that released it. This picture has grossed to date over $1,500,000. ♦ >|£ * “There is only one real judge of pictures, the public. There is no one who can always guess accurately what that strange public is going to do, but we can get closer to their thought if we make our own judgment more general and less personally prejudicial. “We hear of ‘art’ in motion pictures. What is art? Certainly it is an attainment of a destiny by some special force. And the destiny of motion pictures can never be an isolated or individual thing. The destiny of the motion picture is to provide cheap, easily understood entertainment not only to those who are able to be entertained by the more limited opportunities of the novel and stage, but to hundreds of thousands more who would be denied any realization of art were it not for the great invention of the cinema. “The motion picture, therefore, provides mass entertainment and the artistic picture is, in my opinion, the picture which has the ability to please and entertain the greatest possible number of people. 15 Companies Form One Week — But 6 the Next (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ALBANY, N. Y., March 3. — Incorporation of motion picture companies has been up and down during the past two weeks. Until seven days ago the record showed more formed in one week (15), than any week previous for the past year. A fall straightway resulted this week with but six companies being formed. The corporate names and capitalization follow: These companies included the following: Rochel Properties, Inc., capitalized at $500; Stratton Amusement Corporation, $10,000; Walbrook Theatrical Enterprises, $20,000; Delbert Productions, $10,000; Ginsburg Distributing Corporation, $25,000; Kays Productions, Inc., $20,000; S. and T. Productions, $10,000; Riegelwein Amusement Co., Inc., $10,000; all of New York city; Michaels High Street Corporation, $5,000, of Buffalo, the following companies not stating the amount^ of capitalization: Landing Amusement Corporation, Fair Enterprises, Inc.; Manj, Inc.; Dwght Deere Wiman, Inc. of New York. Cumberland Trading Corporation, capitalized at $1,000; B. and H. Enterprises, the Forties Corporation, these two not stating their capitalization; Russhill Productions, Inc., $20,000; B. M. Film Exchange, $20,000; Terry Trading Corporation, $100,000. Holley Bureau Seeks Congressional Charter (Washington Bureau^ Exhibitors Herald) WASHINGTON, March 3.— Legislation granting a congressional charter to the bureau of commercial economics, founded some twelve years ago by the late Francis Holley, has been introduced in congress by Senator Owens of Oklahoma. Owing to the end of the session no action will be taken on the measure, which will meet the same fate as a similar bill introduced at the end of the last congress. This bureau, which distributes American scientific, scenic and educational films abroad and circulates foreign film in this country, is now conducted by Anita Maris Boggs, who assisted Dr. Holley in founding the bureau, and her brother, Rondalph M. Boggs. What an Exhibitor Should Know About Prod uction — Rowland (Continued from page 22) books are costly, but they justify their cost many times over. The exhibitor should keep in personal touch with press and exploitation departments, which are completely at his service. He should, moreover, make fullest use of the press books and exploitation suggestions which, I am glad to say, are being made more and more comprehensive. But the exhibitor should supplement these aids of the producer by his own ingenuity, based on his knowledge of the local situation. * * * In addition to the press departments of each producing unit. First National recently created a special department for the devising of exploitation suggestions. We have found this department to be of incalculable value. It follows the various First National productions through all the various steps of their filming, with a view to creating suggestions for exploitation stunts and tieups. Even the personal column of your town’s neswpaper can be put to use. Let us say for instance that the exhibitor, in perusing this column, reads that Mr. and Mrs. Soand-So have just returned from a visit to New York. Now, it is natural to assume that they visited the theatres during their stay. The exhibitor might get in touch with them and learn which plays they saw, and which of them they most enjoyed and believed would make the best motion pictures. If that play had been made into a picture I would tell them so, and when it was going to play at my theatre I would let them know. If they permitted, I would get their opinion of the play and use it in my advertising. Here would be a case of tying local interest to a picture which otherwise might have no especial local interest. There is no need to comment on the value of an advertisement or a special lobby three-sheet worded along these lines: “When Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So were in New York they saw the stage play, ‘My Son.’ They told us on their return that it would make an excellent motion picture. ‘My Son’ has since been adapted to the screen. On the strength of their suggestion we have booked the picture to show here commencing Monday night.” There are numerous ways of creating local interest in a picture when you set yourself to thinking. I have tried to suggest a few, as an example, of what I would do. The small town exhibitor has not the money to put into exploitation that a big exhibitor has. But if he seeks a local angle to each picture he books, a search will find it somewhere. Banner Buys Novel; 6 Pictures This Season (Special to Exhibitors Herald) NEW YORK, March 3. — It has been announced that rights to “The Checkered Flag,” by John Mersereau, have been purchased for motion pictures by George H. Davis and Sam J. Briskin of Banner Productions, Inc., who add that six pictures will be produced the coming season ; some at the Whitman Bennett studios and others at Hollywood. The story ran in the Top Notch Magazine. The four pictures made by Ben Verschleiser have been sold to Jack Grauman of Celebrated Players Film company for the Wisconsin territory.