The Film Daily (1924)

DAILV Thursday, September 11, 1924 What the Movies Need "Will Hays, who guides the spiritual destinies of the movies, has declared war on the lurid title. That his inherently demure cinema children should flaunt the tawdry trappings of the demi-monde, with ont, sportive eye on the cash till, js repugnant to the paternal Hays nature"; says the Minneapolis Tribune editorially. "In his contention that the deliberate mislabelling of reputable pictures is neither honest nor politic, he should find ready public sympathy. No one who has observed the summer's output of films can fail to have been impressed with the plague of sensational and tasteless titlmg which has descended upon the photoplay industry of late. But the Hays crusade, while apparently justified, is significant only as it touches upon a condition which has brought upon producers the anathema oi reformers and which has created general disinterest in the cinema on the part of those who are numbered among the patrons of the higher forms of spoken drama. This condition, deep-rooted in the box office, is responsible for such pathological specimens of photodrama as 'The Perfect Flapper,' 'Unguarded Women,' 'Manhandled,' and a score of similar pictures which have shrieked at us during the summer season. It is responsible for the atrocious legerdema/in whereby Barrie's 'The Admirable Crichton* becomes 'Male and Female' in its celluloid version. It is responsible for the plethora of photoplays which err not so much in vulgarity, in viciousness, or in bald sex appeal as in sheer stupidity and in undistinguished, childlike production methods. "There is no denying that the spectre of the box office sits at board meetings, shouts raucously through the director's megaphone, and frequently rattles the keys of the scenaiiist's typewriter. But to condemn ♦he motion picture industry for adjusting and readjusting its product tp satisfy whims and caprices of its clientele is as futile as it is shortsighted. We do not condemn the jewelry industry for catering to a fickle trade with a diverse output which ranges from mere baubles and trinkets to articles of exquisite workmanship, nor do we condemn any other legitimate manufacturer for regulating the quality or quantity of his product according to his market. But let the qinema adapt itself to conditions which demand 'Perfect Flappers' of paste and 'Anna Christies' of platinum, and there is an immediate and persistent outcry against the producing companies. To heap abuse upon the movies for heeding the vagaries of the box office is to vilify the dog's tail for surreptitiously wagging the dog. The picture industry could — and most assuredly would — confine its efforts to films of the better class if films of the better class unfailingly brought financial returns in proportion to their merit. "The screen, more than the legitimate attraction, is keenly sensitive to snap judgment. A shallow superficial pre-judgment, based on tit'e, star, or the original source of the scenario, very frequently decides the amount of patronage the film will rcr ceive. A worth while pictiu-e, released simultaneously in several score picture, of equally undetermined merit, takes its place. Sensational titles and concentrated exploitation of a grossly exaggerated nature are often employed, therefore, to overcome the lack of momentum which might have been gained by a reputation justly established. "A legitimate attraction comes to Minneapolis with a. reputation earned, perhaps, from a sucessful Broadway run. Something of its character and worth is known, consequently, before its advent here. A photoplay, on the other hand, may be released at the same time in I^ew York, Chicago, Minneapolis and a hundred other cities from coast to coast, and its reputation, of necessity, is based almost entirely on propaganda issued by the producing company. What appeal the picture lacks through established reputation must often be gained by sensational exploitation methods which do not fairly represent the him. they advertise. If the picture does not lend Itself readily to this type of exploitation' — and the better grade ot photoplays generally do not — the nlm is less lixely to take rank as a "box othce smash.' It takes a •l''laming Youth,' dropped in our midst with all the nne subtlety of a gas bomb, to send the crowds theaterward wnere an excellent light comedy like 'The Marriage Circle' may languish in comparative obscurity. "Evidence that the public does not always discriminate in favor of the better class ot paper may be found in the columns oi any exmbitors' journal, where reports ot tnc Dox otnce success or Jailure ot any number ot tilms are given. "In a recent number, an Indiana exhibitor reports thus on "Anna Christie,' one ot the most enlightened photoplays of the year: "It's great — tor your competitors. 1 wish mine pad it * • * J\ot onen Uirst ISational gives you a stinging, but they stire misseu ore here, t'oor business three days. fuUea •t otf the fourth.' "And concerning 'Flaming Y'outh,' the same exhibitor advises ; 'Huy it and step on It. tour days to good business m xero weather.' ••A Michigan exhibitor writes of 'Wild Oranges' (.one of tne best nrst-run piotures shown locally tor three montnsj : "1 only hope that the balance of the Cfoldwyn pictures are better than this one. I had 13 people the second night, so draw your own conclusions.' "A IVeoraska exhibitor with a penchant for frankness, reports tnus on "Ihe Woman ot i'aris,' an excellent production directed uy Cliarles Lliapiiu : urew one ol tiie largest crowds oi the season owing to the lact that J. advertised it as not suitable tor cniidren.' "Ihe screen is advancing. To deny that it wiH some day take rank with the spoken drama among the arts seems to us as veninresome as to deny tne possiDility ot perlect pbotograpns transmitted by radio because ot present impcriect results. Just cow fast tne suent drama will progress in tne face ot present conditions is proolematical. Various suggestions tor speeding ttus progress nave been made — suggestion* which range from the little theater movement appued to the screen to a drastic decrease m production quantity, with resultant concentration on quality. We might even visualize in the luture a producer pledged to artistic and intelligent nlms and Kuaranteed against nnancial loss by the tnousands oi interested picture-goers who demand a consistently superior entextamment tare. "for tne present, at least, it behooves aU such to patronize and encourage the sincere and Honest products ol tne screen. IntelliKcnt discrunination tipon tbe part ot tne moving picture public wiU do more to raise tne Btaudard oj tne cinema than will all tne restrictions, Jimitauons, nostrums and Kcneral cure-alls yet conceived tor Uio WCU ueing ot tne mduatry." Incorporations Albany — VViliran JrToaucuig Corp., New iork Capital $5U,UUU. Incorporators, D. Starr, W, Uugan and F. Morea. Attorney, E. Petigor, iNlew Vork. Austin, Tex. — Tri-State Amusement Co., Tulsa. Capital $1U,ULKJ. Incorporators, B. Cox and M. A. Cox. Dover, Del. — Film City Enterprise W/ll/ you wiU lik£ ' our vampire pictui*^'* Such Styles and Stars you never saw Such Dynamo Drama you never felt Such Rosy Romance is rare— but well done Such Thrills never before tingled your spine Such a Fire no Film Company ever had And our Vampire — nearly got us both a divorce! See Samuel Goldwyns . ^^ picture of our picture InHoUvwd '^''^Pof ash""'' Perlmntter from the Broadway Sta^e Success, BUSINESS BEFORE PLEASURE By Montague Glass and Jules Eckeif Goodman uik ^ Alexander CaiT.. George Sidney Vera GordonandBefty Blyfhe 'Directed iiy Al.Green . Jidapted Jbr the screen hy FRANCES MARION THE COMEDY DRAMA That breaks the Non-Sfop,Coasf-to-Coast Morn-to -Midni^t LAUGH RECOm)