The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1935)

August, 1935 The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER Seven \\ Thirty Dollars'' Longworth |HEY call him "Pappy," "Thirty Dollars" and plenty of other things. No matter what they call him, Bert "Buddy" Longworth, one of the veteran still men of Hollywood, always manages to shoot some of the most unique and striking stills to come out of the studios. In the motion picture business since 1921, Longworth was one of the first to create different angles and show originality in the making of publicity stills and portraits. Connected with Warner Brothers studio since 1929, he is still coming through with new ideas and craftsmanship that keeps him among the leaders of his field. Lights, more than anything else, are the secret of making successful pictures in his opinion. All the mechanics of lenses and timing are secondary. "Only by the correct usage of lights can photography be raised to the standard of a fine art," he says. Longworth entered the field of photography in 1910 when he opened a portrait gallery in Detroit. Among those he photographed was Henry Ford. Soon afterward he established the first post card photo service in America. The pictures, which sold at three for a quarter, were made in ten minutes. Going into another avenue, he became a news cameraman for the Chicago Tribune and covered some of the biggest newsbreaks of the time, including the famous Eastland disaster. His first job in motion picture work was with Universal in 1921. Among the pictures he shot the stills on were, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and "The Phantom of the Opera." After three years, he transferred to M. G. M. Studio where he was the first man to take portraits of Greta Garbo and covered her two early hits, "Flesh and the Devil" and "The Temptress." In 1929 he went to Warner Brothers' studio where he has been ever since. He specializes now in poster art, publicity stills and unusual composites. His famous expression, "Thirty Dollars," dates from the dear departed days of the bull market of '29. He was working on By Leonard Neubauer the Paramount lot at the time and everybody from office boys and stenographers to stars were dabbling in the market. One particular stock in which everyone was interested remained stagnant at thirty dollars for several weeks. Longworth was appointed unofficial emissary to the electricians on top who could not get news since they were marooned near the ceiling of the stage most of the day. Each day, his doleful announcement "Thirty Dollars!" in shouting the stock's lack of progress was greeted with groans. Since that time the name stuck. Now he uses the expression as a standard of comparison for his work. Anything that is mildly good rates "Thirty Dollars" after it is taken. Something sensational calls for "Forty Dollars" while the fifty mark is reached only rarely. When he moans, "Twenty Dollars," well — that's something else again. Nephew of the famous Nicholas Longworth, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, he has photographed all the presidents from Roosevelt to Roosevelt, most of the movie stars in Hollywood, and celebrities from coast to coast. Although he has shot upwards of half a million pictures in his career, he stil! retains the same zest in his job as the day he started. Never stationary, Mr. Longworth is always experimenting with something new. At the moment he is attempting to take portraits in almost total darkness. And if pictures can be shot in total darkness, Buddy Longworth will shoot 'em. "TITLE-CRAFT JUNIOR" It is announced by Bell & Howell Company that a new line of Title-Craft titles is available for movie makers — new, improved typewritten titles with a minimum price considerably below that of Title-Craft's widely-known hand-set printers' type series. These new low priced titles are called "Title-Craft Junior" and are particularly attractive and legible. They have the following distinct advantages: A choice of many beautiful and appropriate all-over backgrounds at the same price as for backgrounds; careful arrangement of type matter for artistic appearance and legibility; many pictorial backgrounds available at only ten cents more than the minimum price; fine technical quality in filming. Specimen "Junior" titles or a complete set of the many available backgrounds may be seen at most photographic dealers'; also a demonstration film composed of eight or ten titles. The hand-set Title-Craft titles have been extremely popular, and this new series v/ill undoubtedly meet with equal favor in the lower price field. The wild ride to the Gypsy Tavern is one of the most masterfully handled scenes in cinema history. The way the idea of MURDER is put across and its consummation in the act of killing the old father, is one of the best examples of developing a sequence by insistence on a thematic idea that I know of. See this picture, now or any time you get the chance. I mentioned that I had three favorites for this decade. KARAMAZOV was one of them, and now a second comes up to be run on the seventeenth of August — TABU. This will be shown following THREE SONGS ABOUT LONDON, shown on August third, and ZWEI MENSCHEN, a film starring Gustav Frohlich, famed for his playing of Rotwag in "Metropolis," shown on August tenth. TABU is the loveliest of all South Seas pictures. Murnau, its director, was most alert in this place he liked best, and under the influence of his sentiment, poured his greatest genius into the work. The subscription price of THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER is $2.00 per year. Subscribe now if you want to get in on this reduced rate. DeBRIE at SACRIFICE!! New Type SUPER PARVO DEBRIE Ultra Silent Camera Has built-in motor, automatic dissolve, pilot pins and antibuckling device. Four 1000 ft. magazines — 40 mm., 50 mm., and 75 mm. lenses — Debrie friction tripoil and new type Debrie finder. Leather covered carrying trunk and tripod cover. It's the latest type equipment — like new! MOTION PICTURE CAMERA SUPPLY, Inc. 723 Seventh Avenue New York City Cable: "Cinecamera" Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.