International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

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— 1013 — longer necessary to darken the halls for projections the chief object of criticism has disappeared. Science has furnished a new proof that her progress is of aid to us, and to day there are screens for projections in full daylight which permit of perfectly clear pictures. The above mentioned obstacle has thus been removed. A jury is as a rule composed of very mixed elements. Its members are not equally capable of following all the details of the case; their ways of considering the same crime may be exceedingly divergent; they are sometimes predisposed in the criminal's favour and not always capable of realising his ferocity and consequent guilt. The cinema will do away with these differences. To explain is good, to demonstrate is better ! The projection of the reconstruction of the scene of the crime and the place where it was committed, of the mutilated corpse, factors calculated to impress the mind and to give a clearer vision of the crime, will eventually encourage the jury to be firmer in its judgments and to pronounce more exemplary verdicts. I fully believe that human eloquence will always remain inferior to the tangible and almost documentary value of film projections. Here are some doubtless novel methods calculated to produce very satisfactory results. i) The speedy organisation of a judiciary cinematographs' in connection with all anthropometric services. 2) Detective story films. Stories of this type which are instructive, inoffensive and written in a truly adventurous spirit are exceedingly rare. All today, more especially young people, are attracted by sensational adventure films. Such films are regular hotbeds of criminal education and furnish very dangerous particulars regarding the technique of criminal action. And indeed there are numerous perpetrations of crimes in which the actors « perform » as if they were « working for the cinema ». I cannot refrain from quoting a recent case published in the weekly paper the Detective. The story is of recent date. It happened at Paris in the rue Vauvin, the number of which we will not mention out of consideration for the feelings of the concierge ! Three well dressed men, armed with photographic apparatus, formidable tripod mounts and all the elaborate machinery of cinematographic operators, approached the hali porter of the building of the rue Vauvin. « We have come to take a picture of a burglary in the apartment of our friend, M. X...., who is now out of town and had left us this authorisation. Will you take us up to his flat? ». The concierge accompanied the three men who began by forcing open the door. « Do not be alarmed, the cinema firm we represent has plenty of money and full damages have already been paid >/.