Motion Picture Reviews (1934)

Motion Picture Reviews Five In the field of drama, Children’s Theatres of the Junior Leagues of America are already functioning in about 125 centers. Their ideal is to “counte'ract the shoddiness of the commercialized entertainment supplied to numberless children,” and to develop artistic appreciation and discrimination. Their plays, and puppet and marionette shows are exquisite in imagination and fantasy, and no other group has ever expended such continuous effort to present children’s plays with greater care or expe^tness. In detail, costumes, setting, acting, they meet the demand for beauty and good taste. Their plays are now available only to privileged children. The expense connected with the productions is very great, and while the advertising in their programs covers the greatest part, thei'r performances must have a large enough admittance price to raise money for their selected child charity. This is right and just. But my suggestion is that after these first performances, they carry their plays (settings and all) to neighborhood halls and nearby towns with small charges to cover the expenses of moving about. Then these lovely productions can be offered to other children who never otherwise would have the opportunity to see them. The commercial theatre long ago abandoned efforts to present plays for children alone. But here are groups — the only centrally organized ones we know — who have the ideals, the experience, and the ability to carry on. There are other local groups such as the “Nine o’Clock Players” of the Assistance League of Los Angeles and some schools, settlement houses and branches of the Girl Scouts and the Y.W.C.A. who can be called in too, and no community should be at a loss to provide stage drama of this imaginative type. Some of the best symphony orchestras in larger cities offer concerts to children which are crowded to the last available seat through the cooperation of public and private schools and music teachers. Some of them are remarkably successful in reaching the taste of children but all should be, and good music should be available to all children. Today the music lover is not necessarily a performer. Too much good music is to be had by simply turning a radio button or putting a record on a phonograph, for us to have the same interest which our parents had in an indifferent performance. Schools are now offering courses in musical appreciation in order that listeners may get more out of what they may so easily hear. There was never so much need for the individual to add musical appreciation to his equipment to enjoy all that life offers him. Children are now taught music from a new angle. Their creative ability is utilized to make instruments to simulate the sounds of fine instruments. This activity creates in them the desire to hear real instruments and to appreciate the harmony of the combined sound. Their interest in symhpony concerts is to identify the instruments and a wise director stimulates this curiosity in any illustrated talks he may give before each selection is played. The modern music pupil does not struggle agonizingly for months or years over scales or difficult classical selections before he has a tuneful “piece.” He learns to read music and to use his hands on simple folk songs and lovely melodies and can play something almost at once. The rich musical treasures of many lands are given him and he easily appreciates the rhythms, movements, humor and color of the folk dances and the songs of other peoples. All children will not want to learn to play but all should be given an opportunity to learn to enjoy music with real discrimination, and most communities have some musical group which could be utilized in such a program. As long as the motion picture producers feel that there is no money in children’s pictures, we shall probably not have them. But I believe it possible to offer an occasional program from the material at hand. In Los Angeles last winter, a group sponsored the “Children’s Cinema.” The programs were planned for children of six to ten years; were one hour in length, and were made up of the Walt Disney Silly Symphonies, Mickey Mouse films, selected comedies, microscopic films, Ditmar animal films, travelogues, etc. For older children Douglas Fairbanks’ silent film of “Robinhood” was revived. We learned a lot in selecting our programs. The Disney products were “sure fire,” but we did not want the entire program of this type — however suitable. And we found a dearth