Year book of motion pictures (1925)

Terry Ramsaye with the Eastman Company ;irl\ "The Romantic History of the Motion Pictures" (Those who have followed the Film Year Book will appreciate that the number of installments that have appeared in several preceding issues contain but a trifling portion of a most interesting document now appearing in "Photoplay." It is to be regretted for a number of reasons that the excerpts presented must be so brief.) Terry Ramsay began the January installment by relating of the secret code which Jeremiah J. Kennedy used in connection with the General Film Co. How the General Film Co. swallowed all competition until it ran up against William Fox, who was operating The Greater New York Film Renting Company is graphically told. Fox was willing to sell hut, according to Ramsaye, he and Kennedy could not get together on the price and this resulted in long and hitter litigation. Ramsaye points out that George Kleine received over $346,000 for his four American and one Canadian Exchange, and Rowland and Clarke of Pittsburgh, who had exchanges in five other cities, secured over $250,000 from General Film. Ramsaye says that at this time (aliout November 1, 1910) there were 9.480 motion pictures in this country of which the Patents Company held "dominion over 5.281 and the Independents served 4,199." In July, 1912, Ramsaye discovers, there were 12,869 theaters. The interesting analysis of the old O'Malley & Smith Advertising Co. which preceded the American Film Mfg. Co. appears in this installment. In February, he tells of how Jules E. Brulatour became identified n 1911. How Tom Cochrane secured Mary Pickford from Laemmle's "Imp" concern called the Majestic "at the amazing figure of $275 per week" appears and how a borrowed diamond ring carried Thomas Ince into a directorial job with Charles Kessell is delightfully related. Kessel and Bauman, their experiences with the 101 Ranch show and the beginning of "Equity Production" into the field, is related by Ramsaye, inasmuch as this established a new price of 15 cents a foot as against the old price of 10 cents. The developments of the Keystone comedies by Kessel and Bauman which carried Mack Sennett's name to fame comes with this installment, and Ramsaye points out how in 1911, James Cruze, who had hcen in vaudeville, started work as an actor in Pathe's New Jersey Studio. "Several years elapsed before Cruze was heard from aaain * * * he turned up in a modest way, playing bits in Los Angeles studios at $5 a day." Juliet Shelby, known as Mary Miles Minter, made her appearance in January, 1912, in "The Nurse,' and Ramsaye relates how the Paramount trade mark first appeared about this time. The advent of Lewis J. Selznick. a former Sixth Avenue jeweler, into the picture business is a most interesting part of the March installment. Selznick was a friend of Mark Dintenfass and the latter desired to sell his stock to the Universal, either to P. A. Powers or Carl Laemmle. The result of Selznick s effort to sell this stock resulted in his securing a desk job in Universal without definite title, which he quickly changed however, appointing himself General Manager. Some of the details of the memorable battle between Powers and Laemmle are related ; most amazingly one incident which relates of "Bill" Oldknow finding record books of the corporation at his feet after they had been hurled through the window of the office at 1600 Broadway. Oldknow promptly took possession of the records. According to Ramsaye, Powers in May, 1920 "sold to the Laemmle-Cochrane interests and the reports of the price run from one to two millions." How the old Mutual company went along, how Robert Lieber refused the presidency and how Kuhn, Loeb & Co. placed Felix Kahn on the Board of directors, is told in this issue There is an interesting incident related of "Pop" Lubin looking over one of the productions of his old company He noticed that General Grant appeared in the picture life like, that is with whiskers, but he snorted, "I'll tell you something. General Grant can't wear his whiskers in my pictures — nobody can, I don't care if it would be even Napoleon" The advent of the Gish girls into the industry by calling upon Mary Pickford and later meeting D. W, Griffith is interestingly related, particularly in that at that time Ramsaye says that they could not be distinguished excepting that Dorothy wore a pink ribbon and Lillian a blue ribbon to identify them in the studio. Ramsaye relates how Adolph Zukor, "an obscure little man of no special importance," tried to meet officials of the Patents Company and waited on a bench over three hours to tell them of his idea of famous players in famous plays — and they didn't want to hear it. In discussing Zukor at this early period, Ramsaye says, "Morgan means money, Gary means steel. Lever means soap, Rockefeller means oil. Ford means motor cars and Zukor means motion pictures Twelve years did that for the man on the bench." Following. Ramsaye relates of Zukor arriving in America from Hungary and "prospering" in the fur business in 1903; of coming to New York td salvage a loan of $3,000. which a relative had sunk in a penny arcade. "Out of this Zukor had evolved into a tidy success in the amusement business." He became president of the Marcus Loew Enterprises, "which had absorbed most of his (Zukor's) amusement interests Zukor had nothing to do which led him to purchase the famous Sarah Bernhardt picture 'Queen Elizabeth'." After relating at length Zukor's moves at this time, Ramsaye tells of Al Lichtman's appearance in pictures, and Lichtman's eventual job as salesman for "Queen Elizabeth" in the State Rights market. "The picture sold for a total of approximately $80,000, which made it handsomely profitable." Ramsaye relates of the advent of the American Kinemacolor Co. and of Frank E. Woods of the Dramatic Mirror going to the Coast as scenario editor for Kinemacolor. At this time appears the production of "Quo Yadis" imported by George Kleine from Italy. " 'Quo Vadis' was too big a subject for the motion picture theaters of the day." It played 22 weeks on Broadway at $1 top. The profits were tremendous. ' The success of this production led to theatrical managers of importance becoming interested in motion picture production. Klaw and Erlanger approached D. W. Griffith and J. J. Kennedy told ('r™ , „e t,"Tle has come for ,ne Production of big $50,000 pictures." Famous-Plavers, seeking Griffith, offered him a salary of $50,000 a year to direct for that company. "Daniel Frohman was now certain that his associate had lost his reason. The Famous-Players concern did not have fifty thousand dollars in sight. The company was not worth that much." But Griffith relieved the situation by rejecting the offer. 40