The Motion Picture and the Family (Oct 1934 - May 1937)

4 THE MOTION PICTURE AND THE FAMILY February 15, 1936 Motion Picture Shelves Stimulate Classics Reading In Brookline Displays of stills from current films and shelves of the books from which these films drew their inspiration create avid young readers in the Brookline High School. FILMS FOR THE PUPIL AND TEACHER By Sarah McLean Mullen Head of English Department and Co-ordinator of Visual Education, Abraham Lincoln High School, Los Angeles; Author of "How to Judge a Picture." School Movie Club Sees Films In Production It is not every day that a high school motion picture appreciation club has an opportunity to see professional pictures in the process of production. That stimulating experience came to members of the club in the Lower Merion Junior High School of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, recently. The time was middle January, the place the Warner Brothers Vitaphone Studio in Brooklyn, New York. The project was aided by Mrs. Edward Atlee, vice-chairman of the Motion Picture Division of the Federation of Women's Clubs of Montgomery County and by kind parents wno lent their automobiles for transportation. Sixteen pupils made the trip, the faculty advisor, Mr. Alex Fleming, accompanying them. When the youthful guests arrived, the studio was filming a musical short, The Inquisitive Reporter, directed by Roy Mack and starring Vera Van and Lester Cole and the Texas Rangers. Needless to say the four scenes which were subsequently immortalized in celluloid were eagerly watched, every motion of director, cameraman, scenic expert or other technician being closely scrutinized. The pupils were especially impressed with the quantity of makeup used by the screen actors, the maze of electric light cords, the number of lights and the close coordination of many busy people working in what to an unskilled eye might have seemed confusion, but which always, in the last analysis, reached a high decree of systemization. The one scene for which the young motion picture critics are watching most intently when the film is released is that in which Mr. Lester Cole punched George Dobbs, the reporter, since this had to be practiced many times before the actual grinding of the cameras. Now Lousiana Has State Picture Council Louisiana has been added to the roster of states which have statewide motion picture organizations. The Louisiana Cooperative Motion Picture Council, of which Mrs. J. M. White is president, has launched an ambitious program, which includes promoting the production and presentation of everincreasingly high type films; promotion of the use of visual aids in Louisiana schools; furtherance of the introduction of a teacher-training course in the use of materials and equipment for visual education ; the formation of a Motion Picture study group in each community in the state and encouragement of the organization of amateur cinema clubs. The council is non-sectarian and its membership embraces civic, educational, patriotic, cultural and church groups. EVALUATING A PICTURE The general public looks at a picture chiefly from the point of entertainment and of social values. Naturally schools are thinking more analytically — in somewhat the following lines: 1. The Theme and the Story. What is the underlying idea? By what action is the theme developed? (There can be a thousand stories, all on the same theme.) Is it significant? 2. The Type of Picture. Farce, comedy, social drama, mystery, etc. Is the type adapted to the theme? 3. Direction. Has the director made a consistent, balanced and unified dramatic pictorial production? 4. Characterization. Are the players well chosen? Are they sincere? Consistent? 5. Technical Treatment. Discuss photography, lighting*, sound effects and their relation to the total impression. 6. Values. Does the picture hold interest? Is it wholesome? Would you invite your friends? What are the best scenes? Are there outstanding features? 7. What other arts are used as contributing factors to the picture? (Music, dance, architecture.) MODERN TIMES (United Artists) A picture by Charlie Chaplin is always an event. As usual, Mr. Chaplin is responsible for the entire production: story, direction, acting, editing, music and synchronization. The little, beloved clown, is the center of all events. He (Continued on Page 6) St. Cloud Has Book Week Films (Continued from Page 1) Peter Pan, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Chang, The Conquerors, Little Women, Smoky and Sequoia. Children from public and parochial schools, the St. Cloud State Teachers' College and the St. Cloud Orphanage have been included in attendance and also in recent years children from two small adjacent towns. Attendance has mounted as high as four thousand children in a single day. Through the fine spirit of cooperation which has been developed, parents, Service Clubs and friends of the schools provide transportation for children who need it. Policemen take excellent care of the large groups of boys and girls coming from and going to the movie. Firemen inspect the building before the show is given and extra members of the fire squad are on hand all day to take care of any emergency which may arise. One of the factors in the success of the project has undoubtedly been the extremely small admission charged. Children from kindergarten through grade six pay five cents, children above the sixth grade pay ten cents and generous adults provide tickets for children who cannot afford to buy them. The one hard problem to cope with is to find a motion picture suitable for children from kindergarten through high school, but thus far that has been successfully done. The three great gains from the project, according to Miss Martha Van Brussel, Elementary Grade Supervisor, who has been interested in it from the beginning, are: 1. That wholesome entertainment is provided for many children who ordinarily have few opportunities to attend pictures. 2. That many people are made conscious of the importance of providing worthwhile entertainment for children. 3. That it brings all the schools into a closer fellowship to work together towards the solution of a common problem. Brookline Does Effective Library 'Film Promotion Under the twin captions Books in the Movies and Movies About Famous People, the Brookline, Massachusetts, high school library publishes regularly in its reading list, Windows on Books, lists of films which should inspire correlated reading. This is one of many practical phases of library service designed to further appreciation of the finer type of pictures. On the Motion Picture shelves is kept a special tray containing cards, alphabetically arranged, which list alphabetically books which have been filmed and also the names of famous people about whom pictures have been written. The library also features weekly the motion pictures which are being given in Boston and Brookline. Mrs. Caroline R. Siebens is the librarian in charge.