Motion Picture News (Oct 1913 - Jan 1914)

THE MOTION PICTURE NEWS 23 I believe that giving credit to authors on posters will assist in stopping plagiarism, and it will be an inducement to the better class of writers to enter the field." This letter is interesting, coming as it does from no editor-in-chief, but one of a staff of men who frequently decide whether or not a script is meritorious enough to merit the attention of the editorin-chief. In commenting thereon, we assert that there is entirely too much "star exploiting" on the motion picture screen. This evil has been carried from stageland to filmville. Stories are written in certain studios purposely to exploit and pamper some high-priced lead who howls to high heaven if a good, consistent plot is submitted in which he fails to have the lion's share of business. Many star writers of yesterday are not star writers of to-day. The work of several is noticeably hackneyed. The -course of natural events makes it so. The "free lance" writer of to-day may be the staff writer of to-morrow, and the evils of the "leading man" system we hope to see overcome sooner or later, although in justice, it must be stated that Edison and several other companies do not countenance the evil which mitigates very often against the true worth of output. Short Story Writing A Milwaukee, Wis., correspondent writes: "Your advice has proved very valuable to me, and now I am going to take another step forward. I am going to try my hand as a short story writer. It will not be my first effort, as I have been writing stories for practice for over a year, but now I would like to write for publication. What form do you use in writing the short story? Do you place a synopsis before the story proper? What books would you advise me to read, and where would you advise me to secure a lot of competent publications in the field? I am fighting shy of 'schools,' and want to get started in the business right, just as you started me a year ago in the script-writing profession, in which I have achieved some •success, thanks to your departments." There is a great demand for good short stories up to about 5,000 words. Any magazine editor is glad to read original work that shows talent. Many script writers are turning to the short story field, just as fiction writers are entering the photoplaywriting pro fession. Because one has achieved some success as a script writer is no argument that he may win in fiction. The work is not similar only that in both you must be familiar with the writer's tools and trade, and know how to put pen on paper. Many are versatile in both fields of endeavor, the latest and most notable instance being Maibelle Heikes Justice, who devotes one month to fiction work and another to motion picture plays. We have utilized several rejected photoplay plots for short story plots with success. We have also, with permission from kindly magazine editors, utilized our magazine stories for motion picture plays. In fact, the first photoplay we ever sold was taken from a magazine story we had previously sold to a magazine. However, in such instances the permission of the editor in question must first be gained, and this permission had become difficult the past year. Dr. Esenwein's "Short Story Writing" and Phillips' "The Plot of the Short Story" are recommended to those ambitious to succeed in the field of fiction. A subscription to "The Writers' Magazine" is also money that is well spent. What Her Diary Told American IN this one-reel picture the American Film Mfg. Co. is releasing another good subject played by their second company. They are to be commended for the inside scenes, which are nicely finished and furnished. The exteriors also are of the kind that are evident in so many American pictures and noted because of their beauty and picturesque background effects. Miss Winifred Greenwood and Edward Coxen in the leading roles carry their parts well. The photography is of the kind for which the American Film Mfg. Co. is famous. It is cleancut, shows splendid detail, and is always well in focus. The picture is well constructed and has an interesting story running through it. Although Janet Warren is in love with Harold King, her desire for wealth and position has taken deep root and leads her to marry John Wilbur, a young man of high social standing. Janet, like many other impressionable young ladies, keeps a diary, and on the night of her marriage confides the story of her love for Harold to her little book. As the weeks pass John is puzzled by her indifference, never dreaming that she had married him for his wealth and position. One evening, as John chances into her boudoir, he finds her diary on the dressing-table and reads it. He comes across the paragraph relating her love for Harold King. He is stunned and heart-broken and decides to leave her immediately and make it possible for her to marry the man she loves. Through his attorneys he arranges for a monthly allowance of two thousand dollars to be given her and all his wealth at his death. He then leaves for the mountains, where he becomes a prospector. His absence causes Janet to awaken to the love she bore him. Her efforts to trace him, however, prove futile, and her pining for him makes her ill. On the advice of her physician she goes into {Continued on page 26)