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

March 15, 1936 THE MOTION PICTURE AND THE FAMILY Series Shows Evolution of Cinema Art (Continued from Page 1) complications or the complexities of modern life. A series of five showings for students of the cinema, designed to illustrate the type of material the library has available, opened at the Dalton School on January 7 and will close May 5. The films featured in the first showing dated from 1895 and dealt with the development of the motion picture narrative. They ranged from a comedy titled Wash Day Troubles to Queen Elizabeth, with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role, which was in its day considered epochal. The second series, illustrating the rise of the American film, began with a comedy called the New York Hat, featuring Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore and directed by D. W. Griffith, and climaxed with the first of the famous vamp films which introduced Theda Bara as a new film type — A Fool There Was. David Wark Griffith's twelve-reel Intolerance constituted the whole program for the showing on March 1. The program on April 1 will deal with the German influence, films in which that influence is distinctly traceable constituting the program, and on May 1 with the evolution of the talkies, the first film to be shown being a scene from The Jazz Singer, first sound film, and the last Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie. These films and others of similar character are available for exhibition in colleges and museums. Church Initiates Picture Campaign (Continued from Page 1) tures playing at the Missouri Theatre, of which number the striking total of 24 was suited to the entire family while 16 were listed as outstanding. In a similar period, 34 pictures played at the Tivoli, of which 13 were recommended for the entire family and five were classified as outstanding. In announcing the initial copy of its guide the Winmore class pointed out this preeminent truth: "In sending or taking your children to the movies it is well to remember that if the children of today see only good pictures the discriminating audience of tomorrow is being built." Anecdotes of Animal Actors (Continued from Page 2) Studios. He studied, observed and absorbed, determined that one day he, too, would become a director. This year teacher and pupil were contenders for the Academy's directorial award — Lloyd for Mutiny on the Bounty and Hathaway for Lives of a Bengal Lancer. WHO'S WHO IN BETTER FILMS In a not far distant period the motion picture will have found its rightful place in community life and will be regarded as a twin element with the library and the civic playground as a constructive force i n moulding the lives of children. So believes Mrs. Leo B. Hedges, state motion picture chairman of the California Congress of the Parent-Teacher Association. It is this vision of the ultimate development of the motion picture as a social factor which has kept Mrs. Hedges for several years in the front ranks of those who are working both for the utilization of films as an educational factor and for the safeguarding of children and adolescents so that they may see only those films which are best adapted to their need and comprehension. A university town, nestled in the Ozark mountains in northwestern Arkansas, was the birthplace of the California Congress's energetic motion picture chairman. Her father was a country doctor. As a young girl she spent a great deal of time making his rounds with him and so at a very early stage began to develop social consciousness. When she was studying child psychology at Teachers' College she first became impressed with the great value of visual education. Her marriage to a young engineer followed shortly afterwards and she lived for five years at a power plant in the mountains remote from motion picture centers, but her enthusiastic convictions as to the social and educational value of motion pictures did not die. When, as a young mother of a child of kindergarten age, she moved to Los Angeles, motion picture capitol of the world, she promptly translated this conviction into action. She at once interested herself in Parent-Teacher work and before long found herself motion picture chairman of the Garvenza Grade School. From that chairmanship it was but a step first to the chairmanship of the Los Angeles District and then to the motion picture chairmanship of the State Congress. Mrs. Hedges' first function as the motion picture chairman in a grade school was to review the silent films which were at that time being frequently shown in school auditoriums which had 35 mm. projectors. Originally released only to the schools, the reviews became so popular that the parents asked to see copies of them, too, and they found an outlet through the Tenth District Magazine. The next step, chronologically, in Mrs. Hedges' motion picture career came when a preview service was established in Hollywood by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. This gave her an opportunity to join the preview group and to extend to members of the California Congress a much wider service. Reviewing became previewing, and the reviews hitherto published in the District Magazine were taken over by the California Parent-Teacher. The Affiliated Teachers' Organization of Los Angeles next requested that it be permitted to publish them in the Los Angeles School Journal. A weekly program was next inaugurated and then Mrs. Hedges, with other enthusiasts, united in the project for releasing the joint estimates of the west coast previewing group to public (Continued on Page 6) A CLUBWOMAN CHATS ON FILMS FOR THE FAMILY By Mrs. William Dick Sporboeg, Chairman, East Coast Preview Committee In the January issue of The Motion Picture and the Family I expressed a doubt as to whether public relations groups, when they expressed themselves as to the film tastes of their various communities, could really be sure that they did represent the reaction of the whole of their communities. I was honestly uncertain as to whether they were voicing the views of the community or their own personal views under the possibly mistaken impression that all their fellow citizens saw eye to eye with them. I announced at that time that the East Coast Preview Committee proposed to undertake a campaign of self -education on this subject. Its members had already devoted much time and attention to the study of motion pictures as a social factor so that they might themselves reach sound conclusions as to the merits or the defects of current pictures. So the plan was evolved to visit personally metropolitan and suburban theatres of the New York area, talk to the managers and exhibitors, who were best qualified to tell what the public really supported, and so get a factual picture. Since that date, under the energetic chairmanship of Mrs. Willis (Continued on Page 6) Scrappy Shows Educators How To Use Cartoons Scrappy, Columbia Pictures' famous animated cartoon character, proved a focus which drew hundreds of guests to the Bermuda Festival held at the British Empire Exposition in Radio City in New York City during the month of February to have demonstrated to them the educational uses of the cartoon. The serious objective of the program was to interest public school groups in having children make cartoons as a substitute for other types of handiwork and there were demonstrations of how they might be used to enliven the teaching of geography, science, literature and a half dozen other subjects. A feature on each program was the exhibition of a cartoon showing Columbia's Scrappy en route to Bermuda or else enjoying himself in the Island Paradise. To give educators, who were the people primarily interested, an opportunity to attend, the Scrappy programs were arranged on Saturday mornings throughout February. Invitations were extended to 1,600 teachers of Arts and Crafts in the New York schools. Cartoonists Draw Illustrations Well known New York cartoonists illustrated each of the Saturday morning lectures with sketches and every lecture slanted towards the use of cartoons in the schools. These were the speakers: Lester Gaba, famous soap sculptor, "At My Bench"; Samuel Goldberg of the Bureau of Child Guidance of the Board of Education of New York City, "The Psychological Value of Cartooning"; Dr. Forrest Grant, Director of Art of the Board of Education, "The Educational Value of Cartooning"; Roger Albright, assistant to the director of the Community Service Department of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, "Cultural Overtones in Present Day Motion Pictures"; Samuel Wallach, instructor in Social Science at the Alexander Hamilton High School, "The Value of Cartoons, Pedagogically" ; Lawrence J. Young, supervisor of Workshop Bureau of Vocational Activities of the Board of Education, "The Creative Shop in School and Home." Is addition, the following wellknown cartoonists appeared on the program: Richard W. Thomas, Walter Galli and Sam Warr of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle; Ed Harrington of the Brooklyn Citizen; Jack Romer of the Daily News, assisted by Mrs. E. W. Carpenter, who presented cartoons of Scrappy; and Walter Blythe of the Brooklyn Times Union, who collaborated with Remo Bufano, famous creator of masks and of the 40-foot Spangle Dream Clown of Jumbo, in "A Story of Puppets." In addition, the General Electric Company gave a demonstration of the electric work shop.