Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

362 MOVING PICTURE WORLD January 29, 1927 Motion Picture Bills Flooding Legislatures AS forecast some weeks ago, the sittings of the various legislative bodies have brought out the usual grist of bilis dealing with motion pictures. As nearly as can be ascertained, the following bills have been drafted. Presumably most of them will be presented to the various bodies. Alabama: — Censorship. Ten per cent, admission tax. Sunday closing. Prohibiting the attendance of children under sixteen unless attended by parent or guardian. Arkansas Two tax bills. Colorado : — Censorship. Children 19 years of age, unless accompanied. Connecticut : — Repeal of 10 per cent, per reel tax. Indiana : — Censorship. Iowa : — Board of Censors to prohibit appearance in films of notorious characters, Etc. Kansas : — Local option on Sunday shows. Repeal of present censorship law. Michigan: — Censorship. Ten per cent, admission tax. Minnesota : — Repeal of Free Show Law, which has protected regular exhibitors from non-theatrical competition. To limit number of tickets sold to number of seats available. Reel tax. Missouri: — Ten per cent, admission tax. Montana : — Censorship. Children under sixteen without escort. Nebraska : — Sunday closing. New York: — Censorship repeal. Three theatre regulatory measures. North Dakota : — Sunday opening. Censorship. Ten per cent, admission tax. Oklahoma : — Censorship. An act to prohibit midnight previews. Oregon : — Censorship. South Carolina : — Repeal of ten per cent, admission tax. Tennessee: — Censorship. Ten per cent, admission tax. Sunday closing. Unescorted children. Utah : — Sunday closing bill to regulate Ward houses using motion pictures. The only novelty in this legislation is the Oklahoma bill against the midmghi matinee. Most of the solons stick to the old “sure fires” of censorship, Sunday closing, admission tax and unescorted minors. Press Agent Pulchritude (Continued from page 328) that feminine publicity experts would be equally as important to the till. They made no mistake. There is no wail to the effect that women are usurping the places of men. They have as much right in the world of work as the men — perhaps more. Most of us would rather loaf. But just the same, many an old-timer twists a dead cigar to the other corner of his toothless mouth and growls : “Sure I’m done. I can’t compete with these dolls. I used to be able to sell an editor by telling him one he’d never heard before, or buying him a drink. But his office is below the freezing point to me now. All the warmth is reserved for the sweet little thing from Springfield who’s making her way in the world.” Perhaps there are some of the fair ones who deny that sex appeal is their weapon. Maybe they think they could wear plain Completes Big Picture Dimitri Buchowetzki, director with M.-G.-M., who just completed “Valencia,” starring Mae Murray. clothing, cut out the cosmetics and cover the feminine angles from the gaze of editorial eyes, and still do their stuff on the basis of efficiency. Should this come to the notice of any such, a reply would be appreciated. E'Ut it must be understood that the “defense” limit itself in each case to a reasonable length of argument. Otherwise, go as far as you like girls, but you certainly need “it” to get by. Leni Learns The Lingo (Continued from page 326) of the players. As these rays of lights were nearly perpendicular, they did not interfere with the shadow effects. Working under Leni, with Robert F. Hill aiding him in an advisory capacity, the players are one happy family. Paul Gulick asserts that never before has he seen such concord and team work in a studio. Tully Marshall, Laura La Plante, Gertrude Astor, Martha Maddox, Forrest Stanley, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Flora Finch — all of them swear by Leni. Incidentally, Gulick predicts that Gertrude Astor will be a sensation as a comedienne in this picture. Leni is an excitable director but at all times reasonable. He has a system all his own. Fastened to his right wrist by a thong is a Chinese gong. After rehearsing the players — Leni insists on many rehearsals to save re-takes — -he strikes the gong a bang for the entrance of a player, a bang for his discovery of another character, and so forth. When the action is rapid, he bangs furiously on the gong. This little incident will perhaps best illustrate the humanness of Universal’s brilliant acquisition. Everybody knows how difficult it is for foreigners to grasp the meaning of American slang phrases. And what man in a strange country wouldn’t be touchy or suspicious A Cameraman Runs Into Great Adventure (Continued from page 327) did ‘shots’ during the action. Our fleet opened fire shortly before 5 a. m., and half an hour later Admiral Dewey ordered the fleet out to sea, to breakfast, and back again to finish the job. It was a very businesslike, very thorough matter. Every little detail was properly attended to. ‘Patsy’ Holligan, flag officer for the Admiral, gave us a lot of splendid details afterwards, regarding incidents on the flagship, and I hurriedly developed my negatives to show the officers of the fleet, before rushing them back to New York. These pictures were shown later in Huber’s Museum in New York City. “ ‘Bleck’ and I had to ‘pass up’ that exciting trip of the Oregon, down around theHorn to join our boys in Cuban water, in order to ‘clean up’ the Manila ‘shots.’ “Our trip took us through the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic,, back home, photographing as we went.” And that is how the first round-the-world movie cameraman, and his literary companion, entertained (with a lot of detail missing) and were entertained by the Mikado, and how they likewise stumbled across a perfectly good war, with a ripping naval engagement to top it off. What better luck could a cameraman ask for? when somebody laughed at something he did ? Leni, as we said, is an excitable director. Sometimes people laugh while he is directing. When that happens, Leni turns to “Bob” Hill, his co-worker, asks for an explanation of what caused the laughter, and then smilingly retorts in American slang that perfectly fits the situation. Leni’sfriendly comebacks are famous, and the Universal family love him for them. Perhaps he isn’t a student of all that goes on around him ! Conrad Veidt has just arrived in this country. Leni’s next picture for Universal will feature him. It will be “The Chinese Parrot.” So here’s a foreign director of whom Universal— and that means a multitude of “U” workers — can’t say anything but good things. He’s made a picture that, take it from Paul Gulick, will sweep the country, and he’s a gentleman and a scholar. Remember the “III Song”? Read about the old-timers. A story by a reformed illustrated singer is one of the chatty stories in the Twentieth Anniversary Issue of Moving Picture World. Out March 26., Would you buy a picture that cost only $1,000? But David Griffith shocked the film world with his first $1,000 picture. Read about it in the Twentieth Anniversary Issue of Moving Picture World1. Out March 26.