Moving Picture World (Sep-Oct 1925)

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460 MOVING PICTURE WORLD October 10, 1925 “American Film Finest Says Canadian on Return from Europe NL. NATHANSON, managing director of Famous Players Canadian # Corp., Limited, Toronto, has some very important views regarding the International aspects of the moving picture business since he returned from a lengthy visit in Great Britain and on the Continent. These views were forthcoming a few days ago in a recent interview. Referring to a statement by Lord Newton that “American films in England are trash or worse,” Mr. Nathanson declared : “Partly inspired by the British producers but not altogether wrong and in no way different from the case here. We get poor pictures here — and we get most of the best. The best American film is the finest in the world. The poorest is no worse than the poorest of any other country; technically not quite so bad. What Lord Newton meant I suppose was that any nation has a right to make its own bad pictures and to sell them to itself.’” “How are British facilities for production?” he was asked. “Not so good as they should be. The industry needs organization. In fact, it needs a subsidy.’” “Protection against American films. the interviewer suggested. “I don’t say that. Till producers over there can turn out more good pictures judged from every angle, using the stage talent of which they have no end, as freely as the American producer does— well, of course, doesn't it after all come down to money, most of which is paid in salaries? And what British company can pay salaries such as stars get in Hollywood and New York? Why, there isn t a firm in Britain that could afford to spend half a million dollars on a picture unless they were sure of getting it all back from the market. American film companies can do it and take a chance because they have such an enormous home market before they touch a five-reel film for export. “How do British exhibitors compare with American?” “No comparison. We in Canada are decades ahead of the British exhibitor in showmanship. Even a fine film isn’t given a decent setting over there. The British exhibitor does not understand the game of building up a show. Y es, I hope to, bring over some good British films here. I d like to have more of them to balance up the American. But the prospects now are not rosy. A great deal will have to be done to buck up the industry.” Federal Inquiry Several Indianans who lost large 1 sums of money in the Consolidated 1 Realty and Theatre Corporation deal a 1 few years ago, investments which totaled millions, have been subpoenaed to appear before the United States federal grand jury at Chicago, which is investigating charges that officials of the concern had used the mails in a scheme I to defraud. The company operated a | number of motion picture theatres in several Indiana cities. “After a vacation have you any fresh ideas about American film production?” “Yes, I think too many pictures are produced without enough regard for the story, the drama, the life. Personally, I believe in building up picture interest, theatre interest, show interest. You cannot do that with hokum pictures or promiscuous sex film and slam-bang music. The claim of the moving picture must be established in its fidelity to life and its inter-relation to good music. That’s why the Hippodrome (Toronto) spends more on music than on pictures. And it is time States producers paid more attention to subjects from other countries. There’s a big life in Canada, for instance, that the film only touches now and again. That life ought to be featured, not only for this market and Britain, but for the American home life. The country is a link between the rest of the Empire and the United States. Moving pictures should be a part of the link. Not merely propaganda, but life. Let these people understand one another better and come together.” After a brief discussion of the legitimate stage, the interviewer asked : “So you do not evidently agree with those who say that the screen is strangling the drama?” Nathanson replied : “Obviously not. Why, you can’t kill drama. It’s as old as the human imagination. The screen is only a juvenile to the stage. And the stage cannot hurt the screen either. Each helps the other, so long as the best in each is busy at the game. Mind you, the screen has killed off cheap melodrama for good and it has given the knockout to the high priced, machine-made stage comedy and a few other things. But it cannot kill drama and it would be a bad day for the screen if it could — -because the motion picture has to depend for its future big development on people who know how to write for the stage and people who know how to act on it.” 9,577,243 Feet of Film Exported by U ♦ S. in August Preliminary figures just issued by the Department of Commerce sho'w that exports of motion picture films, sensitized but not exposed, from the United States to all countries reached, in August 1925, a total of 9,577,243 linear feet valued at $175,816. This is nearly 13,000,000 linear feet under the unprecedented total of 22,000,000 linear feet of raw film exported in July 1925, but it tops by slightly over 3,000,000 feet the amount of raw film exported in August 1924. Exports of negatives for August 1925 amounted to 1,760,117 linear feet, valued at $260,475 as against 671,765 linear feet valued at $106,559 in July and 1,188,238’ feet valued at $244,339 in August 1924. Exports of positives also showed a slight increase for August 1925 over the two previous periods, the figures reading, 20,368,923 linear feet valued at $572,782 for August 1925, as against 17,589,806 linear feet valued at $552,633 in July and 19,636,791 linear feet valued at $685,140 in August 1924. iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Personals iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin John H. hunsky, Detroit showman, left last week for an extended trip through Europe, accompanied by several friends. He will be gone about two months. W. S. Butterfield and Edward C. Beatty, of the Bijou Theatrical Enterprises, Michigan, returned last week after spending two weeks in the northern part of the state duck hunting. A. J. Kleist, head of the Kleist Enterprises at Pontiac, Mich., has returned from an extensive motor trip through Northern Michigan. While in Marquette for a week he was the guest of “Doe” Gallup, Marquette chain theatre operator. A. W. Smith, Jr., assistant to E. A. Eschmann in the distribution department of First National Pictures, left last week on a three week’s trip to the company’s branch offices in the Mid-West and the Central districts. He will cover most of the territory in the Middle Western states in the interest of Eirst National distribution before he returns to the home office. Cleve Adams, Central Western Division Manager for Film Booking Offices is in New’ York for a few days conferring with the home office executives of P. B. O. Walter Woods, production editor of the Janies Cruze unit at the Lasky studio, is en route to New York City. J. Leo Meehan, the son-in-law of Gene Stratton-Porter, director of the famous author’s “The Keeper of the Bees” which P. B. O. is distributing, is listing New York with Mrs. Meehan. E. Bruce Johnson, foreign manager for First National, has sailed for the Continent where he will attend the opening of a number of new exchanges, the results of his work the past year in the augmentation of First National’s branches abroad. J. L. Schnitzer, first vice-president of Film Booking Offices, in charge of production, returned to New York after a five weeks’ stay at the Coast studios where with General Manager B. P. Fiueman, he lined up an unusually imposing array of material for the coming programs. Paula Gould, general press representative in the East, came back to her New lork desk recently after a busy session with the West Coast publicity staff. East Coast scenario editor John Brownell has just concluded a five weeks* sojourn at the Coast, and is again busy in New York. N. J ♦ Exhibitors Hold Directors’ Meeting at A sbury The Moftion Picture Theatre Owners of New Jersey recently held a directors’ meeting at Asbury Park. Among those present were President Joseph M. Seider, Vice-Presidents Charles Hildinger, Peter Adams and Louis Rosenthal, Secretary Leon Rosenblatt, Treasurer Wiliam Keegan and Directors Sidney E. Samuelson, Benjamin Schindler. I. M. Hirshblond, Jacob Fox, J. J. Unger, Leo Newbury, E. Thornton Kelly. Louis Gold. The reduction in power rate has been brought to a head and the data that was collected for the past year has been put in shape for presentation to the Public Utility Commission. A campaign has been inaugurated in the City of Newark, comparing the amusements of that city with other cities of its size, in an effort to get the theatre-going public to patronize the local theatres.