The Film Renter and Moving Picture News (Apr-Jun 1922)

April 22, 1922. THE FILM RENTER & MOVING PICTURE NEWS. ra TEN-YEAR-OLD PICTURE THAT HAS CAUGHT ON ANEW. The Remarkable Success of “From Manger to Cross.” Many people doubted the wisdom of re-xshowing ‘‘ From Manger to Cross,” a film which created a great furore in 1912. During the intervening ten years the art of production has advanced by leaps and bounds, and it is interesting to the trade that this picture viewed in the light of to-day is as attractive and therefore likely to prove as big a public success as when it was first issued, This raises the question whether there are not other great pictures of a past era that would equally well bear reissue, HE successful presentation of the ten-year-old film ** From T Manger to Crose,"’ at Queen’s Hall, London—the second largest in the Metropolis—on the two worst afternoons of the year from the entertainment point of view—Thursday before Good Friday and the Saturday following—establishes two facts. One is that given a first-class picture the public will always go to sce it, no matter how old it is; the second is that good showmanship which includes the right sort of advertising will put film and public on equal terms. Here was a picture, last scen in London in 1912, shown to half a million people at the Albert Hall. Since that date the British Board of Film Censors has been established and a rule made that no picture in which the figure of Christ appears should be given any certificate. The London County Council, which has placed a very wide interpretation upon the Cinematograph Act of 1909, now imposes a condition that really amounts tu a threat to withhold a licence if an uncensored film is shown. Barred by County Council and Censor. ‘* From Manger to Cross "’ then, was not only a ten-year-old film, but was barred by custom of the Council and rule of the eensor. But it was shown at the Queen's Hall, and with the approval of the London County Ccuncil, and, incidentally, of the censoring authority, who did not, however, issue a certificate. ** The story as to how the film came to be shown at all would make very interesting reading indeed,”’ the Fina RENTER was told by W. G. Faulkner, who, acting with Sir H. Trustram Eve and Captain Henderson Bland, who plays the Christus in the film, *‘ put it over’? at Queen's Hall with a success hardly expected. ‘ But I cannot tell it now,’ he said, ‘‘ and if I did the film trade weuld hardly believe it. It is enough to sav that the m st strenuous efforts were made by certain parties to prevent this film from being exhibited to the public, ecclesiastical authoritics and licensing authoritics being appealed to to step in and stop it. ‘* My experience leads me to warn the film industry to watch very carefully, and to act—not stand still and do nothing—if they are to prevent self-appointed censors from endangering their liberties. Remarkable Success. “The belief of Sir Trustram Eve, and those of us acting with him, that London did want to see this film, that it would meet with the approval of the ecclesiastical authorities, and that it was capable of doing an enormous amount of good not Google only to the public, but to the film industry, has been fully justified not only by the scores of appreciative articles in all the leading daily papers, the Sunday papers, the weeklies and the illustrated, most of which have published ‘ stills’ from the picture, but by the public generally. “ But above all—without any reqnest from us—the Bishop of London made some extraordinary appreciative references to the film at his great meeting at the London Pavilion on Good Friday and also in his sermon at St. Paul's Cathedral on Easter Sunday night. “The clergy are besieging us to show the film. Organisers of Boy Seouts, Girl Guides, and similar organisations are clamouring for the film. They are talking about films, and every time films are talked about it is good for the whole industry. “And more than that, Iam getting letters from provincial exhibitors asking for first runs in their towns. The fame of this beautiful picture has spread [ke lightning over the whole country. What the Screen Shows. ‘TIT remember Mary Pickford telling me last autumn that she believed that whatever one truly thought and felt at the tnoment of the ‘take’ became enshrined in the film, and wave out again those thoughts and feelings to the people who saw the picture on the screen. But I didn't intend to talk about that side of the picture. I only wanted to point out that, given ‘ the goods,’ the public would accept them if they were told about them in the right wav, even if apparently insurincuntable obstacles stood in the road, as they did in our case ‘*Tt has meant ceaseless work, almost day and night for a fortnight, and as the most experienced of entertainers told me yesterday that in London one must take three weeks at least to put over a proposition like this, we are delighted that in a fortnizht we achieved the great success we did. “Now we are looking out for a place in which to show it for u season, despite the coming of summer, daylight saving, and economic difficulties, before we start the picture on its provincial tour. “Our success is proof that it can be done, that films can be put over if only everyone in the film trade will put on their showmen's caps, and get hold of the big stick, and make 6 noise loud enough to be heard. “And it can bea pleasant noise, too; one that will add dignity to the business,”