Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1928)

16 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 29, 1928 Suggested Names AUDI EN — Exhibitors HeraldWorld * * * DIAF1LM — Edward Sloman * * * AUDI FILM — Ashton Stevens * * * SONOMA — Charles Collins * * * MOVIETONE — Louis B. Mayer * * * VITAPHONE — Jack L. Warner * * * DIALO — Charles Furthman PHONOFILM — J. Boyce-Smith * * * AUDIO-PICTURE — George H. Koch Gem theatre Lyndon, Kan. * * * ELECT ROPHON ICS — Wm. R. Pattie Grand theatre Frankfort, Ky. SEA-PHONIC — J. Damore Adelphia theatre Reynoldsville, Pa. * * * TALKSCENE VIEWVOKI, SOUNDSCENES VOICEVIEWS — Elliott Hard Harvey, la. will make the distinction in the case of the silent picture rather than the talking picture. People, according to him, will continue to "go to the movies" when they mean talking pictures, and when it happens to be a silent picture, then it will be designated as a silent movie. "It will be hard to keep the public from using the word, 'talkie,' " said Howard Dietz, advertising and publicity director for Metro-GoldwynMayer. "The word is a natural, it is short and appeals to the public mind, so I would not be surprised if it does not grow into common use. "But what if it does," he continued. " 'Movies' has not hurt the industry that I can see, and I don't believe talkies will hurt the new talking pictures. The name has very little to do with it. If you have the product and the quality, the public will like it no matter by what name the product is known. I'm a lot more interested in the quality of the product than the name. "The word 'audien' as suggested by the Herald-World is so obviously a manufactured word without any definite meaning. I am afraid it would fare pretty badly in becoming popular with the public." * * * A. M. Botsford, who oversees the advertising and publicity for the Puhlix theatres, has already found a problem in the designation of the talking picture but he does not see any relief in view. "I think the public will continue to call them talking pictures or movies, and I doubt if they will find any other name for them," he said. "But if public does choose some word, it will more than likely be 'talkie.' But I see no reason why that should hurt the talking picture in any way. For instance, 'The Patriot" is one of the greatest pictures produced lately, yet to the public it is still just a movie. Did that hurt the picture or keep its worth from being recognized? No, of course not. "The problem of designating the talking picture has already brought us trouble. It is a long phrase to say in an ad and to put in lights in the marquee, but that's what we are doing. We refer to them as talking-singing films in our advertising and publicity and signs. If the public should invent some short descriptive word, it would save us trouble. I do not believe that any of the trade names will ever become popular. At first we referred to them as Vitaphone Pictures, or Movietone Pictures, but we have stopped that in our theatre advertising, for the simple reason that we do not believe the public cares what it is. The public is interested in knowing whether it is a talking, singing or sound picture, and that is what we tell them. "And that is the way Mr. Katz, president of Publix, thinks about, I am sure," finished Botsford. "I can't suggest a word in a moment or in a day," declared Katz. "I would want to take a month to think it over, before I would have anything to suggest." * * * Another advertising man, none other than Charles E. McCarthy, advertising and publicity director for Paramount, fails to be bothered because the word "talkie" may come into popular use. "I can't see that 'movie' has hurt anybody, and I fail to see how 'talkie' could have any bad influence on talking pictures," is the way McCarthy looks at it. "If the public finds another name, all well and good, but it will have to be simple word before the public will adopt it. The HeraldWorld's suggestion is rather highbrow." In an address before the 700 members of the Chicago Association of Commerce at a luncheon last Wednesday at the LaSalle hotel, J. E. Otterson, president of Electrical Research Products, Inc., said: "You have Jieard them referred to as talking pictures, talking motion pictures, sound pictures, synchronized pictures, synchronized motion pictures and — talkies. Will Rogers even unkindly called them squawkies. "I have no doubt that in the end the American people in characteristic fashion will call them 'talkies* and that the English in their characteristic fashion will call them the 'audible cinema.' "