Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Four Motion Picture Reviews life are patterned by too frequent indulgence in this form of entertainment. We are not condemning movies for anyone. They are too important a part of our leisure time. But we are saying that pictures should be carefully selected for children and young people, that they should be shown under ideal hygienic conditions, not too frequently, and that programs should be of a specified length of time. To quote Dr. Mario Bernabei, Assistant Professor, Chair of Pedagogy at University of Rome, “Evil has never been anything else but a degeneration of good; the abuse of the most healthy things may prove as harmful as a use of dangerous things.” During the past year or so, definite plans have been offered as solutions of this problem. Blind booking and block booking are suggested as being the greatest handicap with which communities contend in any attempt to regulate programs. Certainly the custom of double billing is one which gives parents unconscionable trouble. An immediate plan of the Motion Picture Research Council is a campaign to end block booking, and if the many councils scattered over the country approve this move, undoubtedly their approval and backing will carry weight in the movement. But another very significant step is being taken which we believe will be even more important because it will mould public opinion for the future, create a nicely judicious audience in the next generation and assure the world of parents who will be critical of what their children see in the movies. Motion picture appreciation is to become a regular part of school instruction and is endorsed by national and state heads of instruction. To quote Mrs. Sarah Mullen of Lincoln High School, Los Angeles, who is in charge of a series of these projects throughout the West, “Under the direction of George Frederick Zook, National Commissioner of Education, five state superintendents are endeavoring to determine whether motion picture appreciation, taught on the same basis as the established courses in music and art appreciation can bring a more discriminating taste on the part of students.” California is fortunate in having Superintendent Vierling Kersey approve the plan, and the State Board of Public Instruction has established demonstration centers in various schools and teachers’ colleges for instruction on the subject. It is already being given in Whittier, Pasadena, Glendale, Fullerton, Orosi, Tracy, Oakland, Berkeley, Sacramento and Los Angeles. Three teachers’ colleges at San Jose, Santa Barbara and the extension division of the University of California are offering classes to train instructors. Portland, Seattle and Butte are other western cities in which high schools and junior high schools are offering courses to the students. Those who are interested in this work report amazing interest and cooperation from the students; they tell of the keen analytical judgment which these young persons give to the pictures they are asked to review, and of the noticeable growth of taste in their voluntary selections as the classes progress. Dr. Edgar Dale of Ohio State University, in his connection with the Motion Picture Research Council is author of the one text book on the market, “How to Appreciate Motion Pictures." It is a manual for high school students and will interest adults equally. We recommend it for anyone interested in this subject. It is not to be supposed that these young students are given carte blanche in what they are to review in these classes. The instructors select special current releases and prepare the subject as in any other class work. Mrs. Mullen’s manual for “Alice in IVonderland" and Mary Allen Abbott’s on “Little IVomen" are examples of brilliant outlines for the class work approved by the National Council of Teachers of English. It is in this connection that it has been suggested to us that our bulletin may be of special service. It is impossible for anyone to see the great monthly output of the studios in order to make selections of worthwhile films. Our bulletin reviews from thirty to forty new releases monthly. The reports appear bi-monthly and are as up to date as it is possible for us to make them. Sixty trained women are constantly at work and the reports are the opinion — not of one person — but the consensus of five or more. Dr. Edgar Dale writes us: “Motion Picture Appreciation classes are being encouraged throughout the country and an accurate source of information for such classes about motion pictures is very desirable. The bulletin will help to fill that need.” We suggest also that you who are subscribers to our magazine help to place this bulletin on the high school reading tables (with, of course, the consent of the high school principal) as this will spread information on current releases and encourage selective attendance. We find that many young people are now turning to our bulletin voluntarily because they, too, wish to see only the best and avoid the boredom of the others. No work of this kind has value if it is limited to a few readers. Only through the spread of information on pictures, through intelligent box office support of the better films can any definite influence be brought to bear on the output of the studios. Constant organized effort is needed, and everyone can help constructively if he will lend a hand.