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

A Bulletin for All who are Interested in Better Motion Pictures The Motion Pictij and The Family re 1936 . Comment on Current Films by Teachers, Educators, Community Leaders Vol. 2 APRIL 15, 1936 No. 8 20,000 Stills For Loan At N. Y. Library If you were to go into the New York Public Library and ask what slave cabins were like in the Civil War days, you would no doubt expect the librarian to delve into yellowed tomes to find theanswer. As a matter of fact, the process is much simpler. You would merely be directed to the Picture Collection in room 73 of the central library building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. A librarian would probably turn to her card index of motion picture stills and in a few moments a picture of a slave cabin, both interior and exterior, would be in your hands. In this way do modern motion pictures serve the public. Approximately 20,000 motion picture stills are housed in room 73 of the Central Library. They are a part of the total picture collection of 685,000 pictures. In addition, there are many thousands of stills in the theatre division of the library which are a record of the history of the industry. These, how(Continued on Page 3) Get Credits For Having Good Time Enterprising school officials in Ottawa, Kansas, saw in a local showing of A Tale of Two Cities such a fine incentive towards the study of good literature that they allowed special credit to students who saw the picture and turned in themes based upon it. Announcements of this essay contest were widely distributed. Also five hundred letters were mailed to school teachers, clubwomen and local civic leaders calling attention to the educational value of the film. A large poster was displayed in the public library and bookmarks were generously circulated. Book departments of ail the department stores and also the various lending libraries featured appropriate displays. Thus Ottawa paid tribute to a classic of literature and the screen. Films Reviewed In Current Issue Reviewed in this issue: Captain January, Charlie Chan at the Circus, The Farmer in the Dell, The Great Ziegfeld, Happy Hour, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Sky Parade. Sutter's Gold, These Three, 13 Hours By Air, Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Two In Revolt. Clubwomen Are Gratified At Shakespearian Film Pictures Join With Three R's In Cambridge Motion pictures are effecting a close alliance with the three R's in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The tie-up comes through a spelling contest which will hereafter be a feature of Saturday Junior Matinees at the University Theatre. The school committee, the theatre and the Cambridge Chronicle-Sun are cooperating. The contest is expected to foster increased interest in spelling and by indirection in reading as well. The interest of the participants will be captured through the awarding of prizes which will be well worth the juvenile efforts expended to obtain them. Superintendent of Schools M. E. Fitzgerald has given his endorsement to the plan, saying that he (Continued on Page 6) Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in the ba'cony scene from "Romeo and Juliet." By Mrs. William Dick Sporborg, Chairman, East Coast Preview Committee Abounding gratification is expressed by women's club groups at the announcement that Romeo and Juliet will be produced and avail able for the American public in the near future. While common sense opinion realizes that the (Continued on Page 6) Columbia Pioneers in Junior Programs For a long time grown-ups who are interested in the promotion of Family Night programs and Junior Matinees have been urging the advisability of making up special week-end programs for children. A new institution has this month crept into the field of juvenile motion picture entertainment by which one of the major motion picture producers, Columbia Pictures Corporation, seeks to satisfy this demand of Better Films groups. This new institution is a series of Happy Hour programs designed primarily for the delectation of children of the age of ten years or younger. Each of the individual Happy Hour programs consists of short films requiring an hour to run. Many favorites of the screen and a number of talented juvenile actors, Mickey Mouse and Scrappy among them, appear in these shorts. (Continued on Page 5) Movies Supplement Story-Telling Hour Motion pictures are today supplementing the printed page as a feature of the regular story hour in the library at Watertown, Wisconsin. When story telling time comes on Saturday morning the children who gather are entertained not only with narratives about famous characters of fiction and fairy lore, but also with films which have educational and story value. Miss Florence C. Hays, the librarian, accompanies the showing of the film with narrative. More than 200 children recently enjoyed a showing of Heidi at the regular story hour. The same film was repeated that afternoon at the Bethesda Lutheran Home with Miss Hays telling the story. Pioneer Picture School Plans Traveling Exhibit Weequahic High School, Newark, N. J., home of the first school motion picture appreciation classes in the United States, is planning a traveling exhibit of motion picture magazines to be routed to other schools interested in film study. Approximately 60 publications will be included. These will embrace the better types of magazines in the trade, technical, art and foreign fields and will provide zealous young students of films with a wealth of informative material.