Moving Picture World (Aug 1920)

August 7, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 731 Increased Exhibitor Service Only Difference in Selznicks 1921 Policy THE 1921 Selznick policy is the 1920 Selznick policy with a few additions built on to accommodate increased business. The central fact of that policy is the slogan which President Lewis J. Selznick has adopted : “I consider myself a failure unless the exhibitor is a success.” So while the structure has additional stories and wings, the old foundation stands as the solid basis of operations. The principal additions have to do with carrying out the principle of the closest possible contact with exhibitors. To accomplish this the various units of the Selznick enterprises have been consolidated, so that each territory is served across a single counter. While in the larger territories there are specializations in the sales forces, all subjects, from the short features to the big specials, are handled in one office under one manager. This eliminates all lost motion and simplifies booking for the exhibitor. Bigger Territories Subdivided. Carrying out this principle still further, some of the larger territories have been subdivided and new offices have been opened. These include Portland, Me., Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Charlotte, N. C., and New Jersey. This facilitates shipments and saves a great deal of time and expense. But while everything is being done to establish close contact with exhibitors in this direction, there is one form of contact that is being scrupulously avoided, and that is competition. “I do not own and do not want to own a single moving picture theatre” is President Selznick’s assurance to exhibitors. In these days when big producing organizations are allying themselves with pow erful financial interests to buy up the controlling interest in large first run houses the temptation to become a producer-exhibitor is very great. But Mr. Selznick believes that the greatest permanent success is to be reached by providing service and avoiding competition with customers, and he has definitely and finally adopted this policy. On the other hand, many of the most important exhibitors have expressed a strong desire to ally themselves with a producing concern in order that they may be assured of an unfailing supply of productions. To satisfy this demand, Mr. Selznick organized National Picture Theatres, Inc., which enables exhibitors to shape production policy and share in the profits. The growth of this unit of the Selznick Enterprises is proof of exhibitors’ appreciation of the opportunity that has been offered them. Viewpoint of Showmen Forms Basis of Selznicks Production Policy AFTER going to considerable pains to feel the pulse of the public during the last year so as to correctly gauge its taste, Selznick Enterprises is now in a position, according to Myron Selznick, president of Selznick Pictures and general production manager of all the Selznick enterprises, to announce an elaborate program for the coming season that will be of far-reaching importance to exhibitors all over the country. “Production policy,” says Mr. Selznick, “has been determined by the attitude of the exhibitors, who reflect the demand of the public.” After careful consideration it has been decided to produce and release during the season of 1920-21 six Star Series pictures, directed by men who have proved their ability; twelve Super-Specials, directed by Ralph Ince and Hobart Henley; six pictures for National Theatres, in which Conway Tearle will be starred, and ten others for National with all-star casts. Short Subjects to Be Released. The short subjects will be the Prizma Natural Color Pictures, the Herbert Kaufmann productions, with their messages to humanity, and the Selznick News Reel. In the Star Series, among the pictures in which Olive Thomas will appear are “Nobody,” from the pen of John Lynch, scenario director for Selznick; “Keeping Him Guessing,” by Idyll Shepard Way; “The Girl with the Faun Ears,” by Phyllis Duganne; “The Magdalene of Mudville,” by John Lynch, and “The Fib,” by George D. Hodenpyl, Jr. William Faversham will appear in a number of specials, and among the first is “The Sin That Was His,” written by Frank Packard and directed by Hobart Henley. Ince to Appear in Specials. Ralph Ince will appear in a number of specials, which he will also direct. Among the earlier releases are “Red Foam,” by William H. Hamby, which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, and “Out of the Snows,” by E. Lloyd Corbett. Mr. Ince plays the lead in both of these specials, and they with the rest will be known as Ralph lice Productions. For Elaine Hammerstein, Myron Selznick has in view a series particularly adaptable to the star. Among the stories in which she will appear are “The Daughter Pays,” from the book by Mrs. Baillie Reynolds, a novel that took England by storm; “Idle Hands,” by John Lynch; “Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby,” by Kathleen Norris, and “The Proof of the Pudding,” by Meredith Nicholson. Conway Tearle is a National Pictures star and will be seen in six pictures, among which are “Marooned Hearts,” by Lewis Allen Browne. In this picture Mr. Tearle will be supported by Zena Keefe. Another early release for Mr. Tearle is “The Road of Ambition,” by Elaine Sterne. Comedy Roles for Moore. Comedy roles have been selected for Owen Moore and among the pictures he will appear in are “Love Is an Awful Thing,” by J. Shakespeare Sapp, the Swiss author; “Chivalrous Charlie,” by May Tully, writer for the stage and screen, and “Love Among the Chickens,” by P. G. Wodehouse, whose Saturday Evening Post stories have attracted considerable attention. Eugene O’Brien’s releases are to be somewhat different from those he has been seen in in the past. They include “The Wonderful Chance,” by H. H. Van Loan; “Mysterious Moments,” by Izola Forrester and Manna Page; “A Man’s Word,” by Lewis Allen Browne, and “The Fighter,” by Albert Payson Terhune. Among the specials announced for release besides those mentioned are “The Wilderness Fear,” by Michael Morton; “The Alibi,” by Eugene Walter from the story by Leigh Gordon Gilman; “The Dangerous Paradise,” by Edmund Goulding; “Bucking the Tiger,” by May Tully and Achmed Abdullah; “The Law Bringers,” by C. B. Lancaster; “The Honor of the House,” a Hobart Henley production; “The Man Tamer,” by John Barton Oxford; “There Is No Death,” by Captain Mumford, and “The Man of Iron,” by John Lynch. Stories in Prospect. Other National Theatre pictures will also include “The Palace of Darkened Win dows,” by Mary Hastings Bradley; “Who Am I?” by Max Brand, and “Yesterday’s Wife,” by Evelyn Campbell. Stories in prospect which will be allotted among the stars and Ince and Henley specials will be “The Girl from Nowhere,” by Burton King; “The Prophet’s Paradise,” by C. S. Montayne; “Hold Your Husband,” by John Lynch; “Keep Him Guessing,” by Idyll Shepard Way; “Jenny,” by Roy Horniman; “Heart of Flame,” by Robert Louis; “Straight Down the Crooked Lane,” by Bertha Runkle; “The Gilded Butterfly,” by Earl H. Miller; “False Pride,” by Elizabeth Redfield; “The Smile Around the Corner,” by Louise Winter; “Wreath of Pines,” by Charles Belmont Davis; “Red Pepper,” by Merle Johnson; “The Breaking Point,” by Leighton Osmun; “The Bad Girl from Broadway,” by Edward Montagne; “Nobody’s Fool,” by Louise Winter, and “Why Announce Your Marriage?”, which was written by Lewis Allen Browne, completes the list. Where Sick and Disabled Films Become Rejuvenated WHAT might be aptly called a “hospital” is the film renovating department of Selznick Enterprises. Into this department under T. F. Harding comes the film that becomes mutilated or scratched through carelessness. The intricate processes of film renovating are many and varied. The renovating department adds new life to what is at times a hopeless mess of junk unfit for public showing. “The renovating of film,” said Mr. Harding, “may be compared with a decayed tooth. When a person goes to a dentist to be relieved of pain, the chances are that the good dentist will not extract the tooth, but fill it and make it serviceable for a good many years. It is the same process we employ in the renovation of film. “Our duty is to revive film which at first glance looks hopeless, and which has during the course of its existence gone through an adventure that sometimes would rival the tale which it purposes to tell.”