Motion Picture News (Apr-Jul 1915)

60 MOTION PICTURE NEWS Vol. 11. No. 24. Los Angeles Censors Are Given More Power MICHIGAN FIRE MARSHAL WARNS AGAINST AISLE CROWDING In his report for May the state fire marshal of Michigan makes the following comment relative to motion picture theatres : "This office has recently received numerous complaints from different sections of the state, calling attention to the fact that certain owners of motion picture theatres were violating the laws in that they were allowing aisles and passageways during the performances to be crowded with patrons. "Several of these complaints have been investigated by inspectors from the department with the result that a number of arrests were made and the owners fined. Under the fire law every chief is a deputy state marshal and as such he is required to assist in the enforcement of. the law. "The practice of allowing patrons to stand in the aisles and passageways is not only a violation of the law but is in itself •very dangerous, and there can be no possible excuse for such violation, as every theatre owner is well aware of all the provisions of the law. CHAD WICK RESIGNS AS CENSOR FOR ALBERTA R. B. Chadwick has tendered his resignation to the attorney general of Alberta as the first film' censor of the province. He was appointed in September, 1913. Although Mr. Chadwick gives as his reason for resigning the fact that he finds his work as superintendent of the department of neglected children too arduous to continue censoring films, it is generally believed that the action of the attorney general and Lieut. Governor Bulyea in permitting the exhibition of the Welsh-Ritchie fight films about two months ago is the real reason for Mr. Chadwick abandoning his post as censor of films. The attorney general issued an order allowing the exhibition of the films and the lieutenant governor signed an order in council approving fight films generally. Chadwick has persistently opposed fight films and refused to make an exception in the case of the Welsh-Ritchie pictures. His resignation is the ultimate result. F. B. Cole, chief assistant censor of the province, will probably succeed Mr. Chadwick. 1,000 ACTORS APPEAR IN VITAGRAPH FIRE SCENE Nearly one thousand actors were used in a fire scene in the seventh chapter of "The Goddess," the Vitagraph "serial beautiful," which is now being released each week. Ralph W. Ince, who is producing the picture, used one of the largest factories in Brooklyn for the scene, and practically all of the employees took part in the scene, which showed them escaping from the burning building. Anita Stewart, in her character of "The Goddesss," was. swept from the building in the midst of the throng of men and women, but declared she enjoyed the experience. ADDITIONAL power is given the Los Angeles board of motion picture censors by an ordinance prepared by members of the board, approved by the public welfare committee of the council, and passed at the regular session of aldermen on Tuesday, May 25. This ordinance provides police power for the suppression of pictures that are not approved by the board of censors, giving the board power to have the film confiscated by the police department, and turned over to them, in the event the film has not been submitted for inspection. The new ordinance provides that films shown within the city must first be submitted to the board, and if found suitable, permit will be issued for its showing. In case a film is confiscated, it may be held by the board until the owner gives bond for $1,000 to assure the board that all future subjects will be submitted. Heretofore the board has been without power other than to pass or reject sub PRODUCERS of "The Birth of a Nation" won their long fight on Saturday, June 5, for the right to have the picture exhibited in Chicago theatres when Judge Cooper issued an injunction enjoining the city from interfering with its production. The court order over-ruled the action of Mayor Thompson in refusing a permit. Judge Cooper, in making his decision, gave praise to the negro race and went into a discussion of the objections brought forward by those who oppose the exhibition. The battle over "The Birth of a Nation" began many weeks ago when the first intimation of the things it portrays reached Chicago from Los Angeles, where it was produced. The chief objection to it was based on the ground that it would stir racial hatred. piiiiiiiijjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiip^ | THE WEDDING CEREMONY IN "PEGGY | LYNN, BURGLAR" (American) ^QHi u 1 1 1 uu i m 1 1 1 1 j i ■ 1 1 1 o i uuif i u u i i 1 1 1 1 ii < i u i-oli i luj 1 1 ■ ■ ■ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ii^ uj j i£i im <>i itu iiitfuiiiitiiiititiiiiuiiiiidu tut i jects. In case of the latter, the members could recommend prosecution to the district attorney of exhibitors showing the subject. The board could not compel owners of films to present their subjects for inspection, nor did they have the power to fix any punishment of exhibitors who showed rejected subjects. The board is purely a "charitable" organization inasmuch as the members aside from the secretary do not receive compensation for their work. Hereafter it will be necessary for them to grant at least 750 permits each month, which will mean almost continuous viewing of subjects. Judge A. P. Tugwell, president of the Los Angeles Exhibitors League is also president of the Board of Censors. When the new ordinance came up for hearing, neither exhibitors or exchange men appeared to make protest against it, and it is generally believed none knew the matter would come before the council at this time. Leading Chicago negroes severely condemned not only the photoplay, but also Thomas Dixon's novel, "The Clansman," on which it is founded. The film seeks to justify the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, the "invisible empire" of the reconstruction period in the South. The court found also that the moment a fee for a permit is accepted in good faith, a property right is vested in the applicant with which neither the Mayor nor chief of police or any other city official may interfere without good cause. Assistant Corporation Counsel Reker appealed the decision for the city. The enjoining order is not interlocutory, and the production of the film is not to be stopped pending the decision of the higher court. "HYPOCRITES" BREAKS RECORDS IN ARIZONA The "tempest in the tea pot" raised over the showing of "Hypocrites" for the "censor league" in Arizona subsided into a strong commendation from the pen of Maitland Davies, critic of the Phoenix, Ariz., "Daily Republican." Mr. Davies, who is a brother of Acton Davies, for many years critic of the New York "Sun," praised the picture as a lesson. It set a new house record at the Paramount theatre in point of attendance. NEILAN MAKES WAY FOR NEW DIRECTOR— AT HOME Special to Motion Picture News Los Angeles, June 7. Marshall Neilan, Selig "Bloom Center" comedies director, has received the advice from Mrs. Neilan, now in New York City, that he is the father of a ten-pound son, born May 26. The heir has already demonstrated his temperamental characteristics and inherent ability, and is now leading man and director of the household. Chicago Court Says "Birth of a Nation" May Go On