The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1937)

Twenty-tzco The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER January, 1937 Early Steps in the History of Motion Picture Industry By G. W. (Billy) Bitzer Any yarn about D. W. Griffith or "The Birth of a Nation" or "Intolerance" must of necessity be news ■ — for it never grows old. Now here are excerpts from a letter written some time ago to the editor from G. W. (Billy) Bitzer, chief cinematographer of Griffith's early works, those great land-marks of the progress of the Motion Picture Industry — the early records of its history. The first part of Billy's letter was, of course, devoted to personal matters and chatter about fellowcameramen in both New York and Hollywood, but soon Billy cut loose about "D. W." and "D. W.'s" pictures in his own inimitable style and it went something like that which follows: The Magic Carpel — "Of all motion pictures ever produced, none were more beset with difficulties than 'The Birth of a Nation' and only the belief and indomintable spirit of David Wark Griffith could have carried it to a successful conclusion. Yet it is the one picture that made money whenever and wherever it was shown. What followed in its trail reads like pages from a fairy tale. "No other theatrical attraction has ever grossed an amount anywhere near it. It is impossible to arrive at the gross earnings for the theatres, but at any rate it is known to be over eighteen million dollars. Every man who handled the picture made not only money, but a big reputation. It started Louis B. Mayer on a money-making career, William H. Clune and many others. The cameraman was treated unusually well — I know he had two hundred and forty thousand before the smoke cleared away, and while it was still clearing away from those sand bag trenches and Sherman's March to the Sea, evacuation scenes, etc. Now, do you believe I once had a gold fountain pen. Mr. Griffith made over a million dollars. The author, Thomas L. Dixon, who wanted $25,000 and something to say about the direction, got $25,000, no direction say and a promise of earning percentage. What he really received was ONE MILLION DOLLARS— the highest price ever paid for any scenario. "Everybody that had anything to do with the picture was made happy. It was the great mortgagelifter for many theatres. Even today 'twenty years after' when the radio is turned on in the evening for Amos 'n' Andy, the music you hear for their opening was written especially for Mr. Griffith, by Joseph Carl Breil, as the love theme number for Lillian Gish. We called it 'Love's Sweetest Story.' It was a beautiful thing when played by our orchestra. Whenever I hear it now, no matter where I may be, a feeling of great joy comes over me and thrills run up and down my spine, even though it is not played as well as it was in the good old days. Do you like that number? Yeah, it's pretty nice. I never mention why — that's water under the bridge. Still there must be something to it, when it's still played every day after twenty years. "The picture was road-showed and each show carried its own complete orchestra, its own operators, sound effects, sheet, in fact everything except the sour milk which they used to whiten the sheet. If the theatre happened to have its own projection machines, they were taken out and the first time in pictures TWO PROJECTORS were used (our own), to eliminate the Wait One Moment, Please' while the reel was changed which had been in vogue up to that time. This also eliminated unsteadiness, breakdown, undue flicker, etc. I always think it was the first $2.00 picture, although of this I am not sure. Many of the new blood would 'pooh! pooh!' these facts set forth, because it's an old-school picture, but they are true, nevertheless. ' 'The Birth of a Nation' practically was made in our studio backyard, Reliance-Majestic, corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, excepting the battle scenes which were taken on the old Universal Field, and a couple of cotton field scenes, made at Calexico. The fir tree scenes were made at Big Bear — and nothing anywhere else. Don't forget, we were making lOf1 pictures for Reliance-Majestic and were working on 'The Birth of a Nation' when the New York office wired, 'Finish picture at once. We will never get our money back at ten cents.' That's the difficulty of making a picture with no dough. The getting of this money is a tale in itself, but happily everyone that put faith and money in this picture were repaid many, many times over. Goldstein, a Los Angeles costumer, furnished the uniforms for an interest. Bill Clune, the theatre owner, put in S. O. S. to have first run. Actors and extras were paid, however, and this picture made most of them famous — Wally Walthour, the little colonel, Mae Marsh, Wally Reid, and many others Of course, that isn't so unusual today, but these were a lot of little people of whom no one had ever heard. One of the difficulties was that the picture was a departure from the given path in its treatment. It ran the whole gamut of emotions — Love, Battle, Run to the Rescue; no matter what you liked in a picture it was there. And when D. W. Griffith put it there IT MOVED! "I started writing with the Magic Carpet in mind, a carpet in the old Alexandria Hotel lobby upon which, if one had any thirty thousand dollar picture schemes, they would step away from the cheap talk at the adjoining bar and on to this carpet. It's a story in itself, how so many of these dreams they didn't believe themselves became actualities. Yet, Charlie Chaplin, mooching drinks when Lloyd Winnie Sheehan, Chuck Reisner, or anyone else would buy, already had his first $1,000,000 film contract. The first payment was to be $670,000, but he wouldn't go ahead until he received a wire from the Chicago bank that the dough was deposited to his account. This is just one of the true Magic Carpet tales. But to get back, up to this time, on these little schemes, much over $30,000 never was talked of. When the fabulous earnings of 'The Birth of a