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

The Motion Picture and /,;' ' ''Jx>N The ramily > MARCH 15, 1936 ' "" Another Child Star Wins High Juvenile Laurels Totally different from Shirley Temple, but a prime favorite, also, is Jane Withers, here pictured as she appears in "Little Miss Nobody." A Bulletin for All who are Interested in Better Motion Pictures Vol. 2 Analyze Film Problems In A Club Panel Censorship, from the "to be or not to be" angle, the problems of authenticating motion picture productions, the means by which motion picture manuscripts are obtained and a commentary on audience reaction to pictures, characterized a motion picture symposium held Wednesday, February 5, at the Queens Lyceum under the auspices of the Woman's Club of Queens Village, Inc. (Long Island, N. Y.). Mrs. James F. Looram, chairman of the Motion Picture Bureau of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae, who discussed the censorship issue., said that long experience in the motion picture field had taught her that "regulation from within and not censorship from without was the solution of the problem." Hollywood producers, she said, when properly approached, had given 100 per cent (Continued on Page 2) Church Initiates Picture Campaign The initiative in a campaign for high class movies in Maryville, Missouri, has been taken by the Winmore class of the First Methodist Episcopal church. This religious group is sponsoring a study guide which gives information to adults, young people and children, as to pictures especially worth seeing. The guides are posted in the entrance of First M.E. Church and also on the Y. M. C. A. bulletin board at State Teachers' College. Testimony to the merit of the programs of Maryville's two theatres, the Missouri and the Tivoli, is afforded by a study of compilations resulting from the first eleven weeks of" reviewing. During that period the _ guide listed 39 pic(Continued on Page 3) Films Reviewed In Current Issue Reviewed in this issue are the following pictures: Boulder Dam, The Country Doctor, Follow the Fleet, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Rhodes, the Diamond Master, Timothy's Quest, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, The Voice of Bugle Ann. Four Thousand Children See Film In Blizzard Elizabeth (New Jersey), where the photoplay appreciation movement is exceedingly active, has established what is believed to be a record for the attendance of school children at a motion picture based on a literary classic. In two days, 4,000 Elizabeth school children saw Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's A Tale of Two Cities, and this, in spite of the fact that the film was playing during a frightful blizzard which lasted for practically that entire period of time. Chairman Evolves Motion picture chairmen in the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs have been provided with a catechism to submit to their members. The author of the document in question is Mrs. Willis P. Miner, who is in charge of motion picture activities for the city-wide group. The purpose behind it is to educate the rank and file club member, who has regarded the motion picture primarily as entertainment, as to the social values of films as well as to an apprecia Movies PopularizeClassics For Adults As For Young According to a recent bulletin of the American Library Association, the movies have made David Copperfield, The Count of Monte Cristo and Little Women popular with children. Nor do the good effects of motion pictures as a stimulus to literary taste stop with 'teen age youngsters. According to the same reliable source, Les Miserables, Anna Karenina and other novels of equal caliber are being read by parents to a greater extent than for many years. Movie Catechism tion of the artistry involved in the production of motion pictures of high type. Some of the typical questions clubwomen will be asked to reply to are these: "What factor determines the success of a picture to the exhibitor?" "Which of the following types of programs do you prefer and why? — (a) Double feature, (b) Combination of feature, comedy and shorts." "Name five actors and five actresses of foreign (Continued on Page 8) Comment on Current Films by Teachers, Educators, Community Leaders No. 7 Series Shows Evolution Of Cinema Art Numbered among the most interesting of recent educational film enterprises in metropolitan New York are the series of showings of films of the early days which have been initiated by the Museum of Modern Art Film Library. This library, a comparatively new project and thus just beginning to make its influence felt outside metropolitan borders, has been established for the purpose of collecting and preserving outstanding motion pictures of all types and making them available to colleges and museums. In this fashion it makes possible for the first time a visual study of the evolution of the film art. ! The valuable collection of films which is now housed in the Museum's film library ranges from the crude comedies of the custard pie throwing era through the early Griffith classics and up to some of the history-making pictures of recent years which have dealt with social problems, with international (Continued on Page 3) Promotes Picture By Voting Contest The Motion Picture Council of Toledo. Ohio, employed an interesting new device to stimulate attendance at the motion picture, Magnificent Obsession (Universal), which had the Council's hearty endorsement. A voting contest was introduced to determine the favorite club in Toledo, the award which went to the winning club being an autographed copy of The Magnificent Obsession. (Continued on Page 2) Visual Education Pamphlet Now Has Become Book A pamphlet on Motion Pictures in Education in the United States, prepared by Dr. Cline M. Koon and others and issued by the United States Office of Education, has proven so popular that the mimeographed version of it has been exhausted. It may now be purchased in book form for $1 from the University of Chicago Press, 5750 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, 111.