Motion Picture Classic (Jul-Dec 1930)

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Tell Us All About It $20.00 LETTER War On Trailers New York, N. Y. One would think the movies didn't already have enough bad habits, the way the movie moguls think up new ones. The latest annoyance the screen has acquired is the showing of Trailers to advertise forthcoming productions. The purpose of these Trailers is to get you interested in the coming attractions so that you will be anxious to see the film when it is featured. However, this is what really happens. The Trailer shows you all the high lights and exciting scenes of the film and, true enough, the scenes shown in the Trailer are excellent. They are so good that you do come back to see the picture it advertises, but to your disappointment, you find that the Trailer has been more than generous. It gave you all the important scenes of the picture. As a matter of fact, the only big scenes in the whole film are the ones you saw in the Trailer. The result is that after this happens to you two or three times, you don't go back to see the film, you avoid it instead, feeling you've already seen all that's worth seeing of that particular film. I must be a bear for punishment, for I've been foolish enough to fall for this Trailer business more than once, but the last one cured me. It was the Trailer which heralded the coming of the Lupe \"elez picture, " Hell Harbor." The scenes shown in the Trailer were excellent, but there was nothing worth while left of the picture after deducting the scenes I already saw. In fact, this particular instance is better explained in this way — the Trailer showed the "Hell" raised in the picture and the rest of the film showed only some picturesque scenes of the " Harbor." Now I ask you, Mr. Reid, don't you think the filmoguls are doing us a great injustice? Do you think they'll catch wise one of these days. Let's offer up our prayers. Edward Mills $10.00 LETTER Ao Kirk At All Providence, R. I. It is going to be a rather difficult thing for me to write a letter inasmuch as I have no kick against the movies at all, and I ha\e noticed that most letters are more or less complaining ones. I can't for the life of me understand how the fans can find so much fault with the players and pictures. So far as I'm concerned, I'm content with the mo\ie industry as it is today and, tomorrow, when more improvements are made, I'll be happy too. And as for making this a letter of praise for any one particular picture or player, it is impossible, because I like them all. I can make that even stronger I love them all. I went to the movies when they were silent, I kept going when they began to talk and sing, and now that tlifv are colored I'm still to Ix found among those present in the movie houses. And why shouldn't I? Aren't the pictures my chief source of recreation? I ask for no more in my otherwise hum-drum daily existence than always to be able to have the time and cash (and this is important) to be able to attend at least two movie shows each week, be they talking or silent, colored, good, bad or indifferent, I enjoy them all. Now that I've read this over, I'm beginning to think you'll get the wrong impression of me. Do I sound like a Pollyanna? A . M. M orris $5.00 LETTER What A Break For the Men Akron, O. W ell, Well, Well, it is no longer low brow to see a good "Western," for they are coming into their own in such pictures as "Light of the Western Stars" and "The X'irginian." And with such handsome actors as Richard Arlen and Gary Cooper portraying the big out-door men, even the ladies are going primiti\ e. We can now leave our offices and can literally live for an hour or so in the wide open spaces where men are men and women are not the whole show. What's more real than a tremendous wild horse stampede with the very sound of hoofs in our ears? What's more thrilling than gunmen doing their stufT? Fighting — out-loud! What's more human than justice dealt out by big hearts! Skilfully directed? Artistically acted I Enjoyed by all ! And there are Richard Dix and Jack Oakie in their baseball pictures that make us think that we are in the big league ourselves. Exciting! Real! Humorous! A universal interest of the day. No matter of what period — ^On with the action ! Dr. T. C. Pennington $1.00 LETTERS Are Talkies Unromantic? San Francisco, Cal. A terrible thing has happened. The "talkies" are destroying romance! When that exquisite moment arrived for the hero to clasp the lovely heroine to his manly chest, gaze into her beautiful orbs and w hisper: " I love you," we held our breaths, while the palpitation of our hearts nearly strangled us. Now, when the hero, no longer silent, declares his love, the audience shouts with laughter. When little Annie wept real salty tears because her lover deserted her, we sniffed, blew our noses to hide our embarrassment and took Annie's grief to heart. Now her audible moans and gulping sobs fill the theater with snickers. When we see these emotions, they are pathetic; when we hear them, they are ludicrous. Apparently there is nothing wrong with our sight, but there must be something radically wrong with our hearing! What is it? Bernice Bowne Make Your Selections Greene, N. Y. On"ce in a while I hear comments by occasional movie-goers, who seem to feel that a show they have seen was not worth seeing; or perhaps that it was too gruesome for children to see; or that parts of it were objectionable. Again, I heard a friend state with regret that she did not see "Dawn" because the title gave no idea that it was a portrayal of Edith Cavell's work. After all, does a book by its title always give us an inkling of its contents? Because one book is not worth reading, do we condemn all books? If a story is too gruesome or ghostly for children, do we hand them the book just the same? Mo\-ies are stories portrayed. If we choose our books promiscuously, we read all kinds and types of stories. If we keep posted on the publications, we can make selections and choose only those which we prefer. The same is true of choosing the movies we intend to see. H. T. S. You may have S.A., but do you have S.E.? Motion Picture CLASSIC wants to know. We want you to join our free clinic. If the tests show that you have a superior kind of S. E.. you stand in line for one of three first prizes: $20 for first, $10 for second. $5 for third and $1 for every other letter published. To join the clinic all you have to do is to write a letter of, say, 200 to 250 words, about some phase of the movies, advancing an idea, an appreciation, or a criticism, without becoming ga ga or vituperative. Sign your full name and address, and mail the letter to: Laurence Reid, Editor.Motion Picture CLASSIC, Paramount Building, 1501 Broadway, New York City. No letters can be returned, and we reserve the right to print any or all that we like. Having done this much, you will perhaps be conscious, without our telling you, that you have S. E. But if you win a prize, or your letter is printed, there can be no doubt about It; you have Self Expression. And She's Ao Prude Los Angeles, California Seeing that all the world has become accustomed to the sight of legs, fat legs, thin legs, straight and crooked, I do not need to say my complaint is in any sense actuat ed by prudery, but truth to tell I'm sick of the sight of so many legs. Before a peri formance, after a performance, there come on the stage a troupe of girls, all showinj their legs. Where there is so much to admire and to enjoy I dislrke to find fault, being a very good theater fan, but I'm terribly A good clean picket be interesting as tired of legs, fence would change. Mrs. Trunian TvrreJ Action Better Than W ords Fresno, California There certainly was a great im provement made when the picture producers introduced the "Talkies" to screenland. Hut I have a plea tc make. It is for more action ! A greal deal of the expression that was pul into the silent pictures has been cul (Cotitintied on page lOf '