Moving Picture World (Jan-Jun 1910)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD ranged the little drama on the stage, while Erb turned the handle of the camera, as you will see him doing in a picture elsewhere in this week's issue. So, if you please, I was cast for the nol uncongenial part of a man making love to a lady, who happened to be another man's wife. I sat down 1>> the lady's side and proceeded to business. We were getting on very nicel) in cur billings and cooings and Erb was recording it all down when the stentorian voice of Mr. Powers himself was heard! "Pat" \\a> the dam good natured friend who discovered the villain of the piece (me) making love to another man's wife! His voice was heard apprising the outraged husband of m) little game. A heav) hand was laid on my shoulder. I turned, only to see befi re me a glaring face, and the cold muzzle of a murderously deadly six-shooter. "Villain," shouted a voice. "Aha. Aha." shouted 1. 1 rose. We closed; we struggled; we swayed in the deadly combat! In a few seconds 1 was on the ground getting it pretty badly in the neck. "Sparc him. ( >h. spare him for his mother's sake," shouted somebody. I think it was Golden; 1 am not sure. So I was spared! To rise a resuscitated villain and stand with my friends, rower-, Golden and the lady and gentleman before the camera to show that, after all, it was only a play. Golden said 1 made a mighty fine villain. Were it not that my ambition had been satisfied I might feel inclined to treat with him or some other stage producer for a real job as a villain in a real picture. Well, it feels pretty good to play the villain when it is love making, or robbing a safe, or having a good time; but the other end of matters is not so plea-ant. Even though it only be playing you are apt to get some hard knock when you are discovered doing that which you ought not to be doing. I have heard that actors are so n carried away with their, parts that they inflict serious injury on one another. Cases have been known ■where in the heat Of much passion people have been killed on the stage. Still, it is nice, to my way of thinking. to be the villain of the piece. The whole machinery of the play hangs upon your villainy and its greater or less efficacy or efficiency. If there were no villains there would hardly he any stage plays, for uniform goodness on the stage is just about as cloying as it is in real life. In life, villainy which, of course, I do not seriou-ly defend, supplies the shadows of the picture as it does in the play. On tiie whole I do not think that I will play any more villain on the stage. I mean the kind of villain that is found out by Powers and Golden. Give me the kind of villain where it is all love making, champagne, rolls of notes and a good time, and you are not found out and brought into uncomfortable propinquity with an unpleasant looking pistol. G. Basil Barham, 347 Kingston road. Wimbledon. S. W., London, England, would like to have American manufacturers of electric specialties for show purposes to send him their catalogues and descriptions of their goods. The "Roosevelt in Africa" picture seem to have become a fad. for nearly every manufacturer of slides is supplying' them to dealers. The latest entree into this field is Mr. Mcintosh, who lias made up several sets of these slides to sell at a very reasonable sum, and he anticipates a heavy sale, as the slides are clear and are based on authentic pictui The Nicholas rower Company have just installed through the Actograph Company a Xo. 6 enmcragraph and adjustable inductor complete at the Lyric Theater, Oyster Bay, L. I. This combination produces such excellent results in economy of operation, reliable service and perfect pictures upon tlie screen that it is proving very popular with the exhibitors. GOOD OPERATORS. By P. H. Richardson. ■ . which you will, inn." • ! \ idenl did like 1 1 where is the manager to get these good men? In tli ire about wlin. are all. iut thai 11 picture placi 1 mly bc that then t in all I :.try iss, high cr.-h By this I nn an men who are thoroughly posted in all that to thi ssion ani idy and will that know all times! In other words t: high class man to every t> ;n job ' 0 course will object to this statement, but that does not alter the fact! Th< possess the requisite knowledge and are capable really first class work, but many of them arc too infernally lazy to do their work right, so what US None at all! They might as well not poss< Column does not design to "make operators." It couldn't if it wanted to. The column the on that there i> a need for it and The Moving Picture World i-. to my mind, truly progressive in filling such a : The trouble with the average operator i^ that he 1 altogether too easily satisfied. If his picture satisfies the "1 that 1 enough, lie. himself, 1 never dissatisfied with his own performance, hence he never progresses beyond a certain point. You seldom find him doing much 1 iiiLi. though one can study projection for years and still find plenty to learn. Hi tool kit too often consists of a screwdi paid of pliers and film -bear, all of which h< earn. in his pocket li< 1 therefore always ready for work. Fine! His library consists of — nothing. Ask him what celluloid is made of and he would wonder if you were crazy, asking him so irrelevant a question. Ask him how many pound pull the intermittent sprocket exerts on the film in starti: he would have a lit. Ask him even so simple on as 1 how he would measure a reel of film in his operating room, and four out of ii\( of him couldn't tell to neck. Probably he would suggest a yard-tick. Even ask him how many time the intermittent act to each turn of the machine crank and I'll bet a surprising number of him couldn't tell you. But ask him if he is a tir-t class operator and he'll swell up like a toy balloon and at once tell you In I tunning -ix years." That seem the standard answer — six years! A a matter of fact, the time a man has been in the business has nol half so much to d<> with in ability, as has the amount of tune he has put in really studying his pri That is what counts. I know men who really have been running machines a number of vcars who are not worth a d — n as far as ability goes. I know others wdio have only been running a comparatively short time who are excellent operator and some of them first class men. Xow please understand I'm not roasting the pood men. I'm not even i ing the ; -. but I'm simply telling them a few plain, wholesome truths. There i« a great scarcity of really good nun and this condition 1 likely to continue until man., wake up and demand better service, at the same time recognizing superior ability in the pay envelope. At present. operators' wages are too low to attract many high class men. It takes brains to run a moving picture machine — brains and real knowledge, ii the best results are to be attained, it takes exceedingly close application on the part of the operator every second the machine is running. You cannot expect to buy this kind of service for a sorter. Mr. Ma: In this old world superiority in anything must be paid for in dollars and cents! Men of real brains, knowledge and ability don't have to. and won't, work for $15 a week. On the other hand, as ins now are, managers can only secure a small number of high class men. as before stated, and that condition can only be changed by demanding: ability and recognizing; it in the pay check. Thus, gradually, better men may be . and thus only. The Pittsburg Calcium Light and Film Company. Omaha. Neb., branch has moved to 1212 Farnam street, where they have taken an entire floor. This sounds like prosperity — and it i of the exhibitor who clamors for the '"Frei