Moving Picture World (July-Dec 1910)

-M THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 1 submit that there is no reason on earth why all American-made pictures should not be properly pictorial. The foremost painters of the world at this time arc Americans. So an' the Foremost photographers, professional and pictorial. In architecture, music, the drama, literature, America is taking a foremost, if not a leading place, in the world. Nobody, therefore, can accuse me. an Englishman, of a rooted antipathy to things American, if 1 venture to sugihat a similar avenue to success lie before the American moving picture maker. His work is clever in conception, but, generally -peaking, it lacks the pictorial qualities of the French, Italian and German schools, Liven those qualities, given the qualities of pictorialism, dramatic fibre in the dramatic subjects, perfect technique in all of the subjects, technical, industrial and the like, then the Americanmade moving picture will be placed in a position of unassailable iu'e-eminence. A WEIRD SPASM OF VIRTUE. By F. H. Richardson. It i> astonishing, not to say astounding, how saintly and extremely moral those conservators of the public welfare, yclept the newspaper-, have suddenly become, concerning the matter of the exposition of the prize light picture-. Now, the writer does not care to be understood as taking sides, either for or against the showing of these picture in public. He ha noticed, however, the following fact-, for which it would seem some lucid explanation might possibly be in order. Before the light, the newspapers, practically without exception, gave the Jeffries-Johnson fight perhaps the biggest line • ■I advertising any single event of late year has received. Their pages were plastered with the most minute accounts of every action of the principals, and scarcely could Jeffries or Johnson sneeze, or scratch his head, without the fact being duly chronicled and thoroughly illustrated. At the time the fight was pulled i 'ft. immense sums were spent for special wires and every possible endeavor was made by each of the daily pres to be the first to place the record of this disgraceful (?) affair before the minds and eye of the public, whom they are now claiming will be so terribly injured by the exposition of the prize fight picture-. Nor was any offer made to keep these papers from the hands of the children who, in thousands and thousand of instances, read the account of the prize fight with even greater avidity than did their elders. It might also be noted that every effort was made to get the photographs taken at the ringside to New ^i ork and other places at the earliest possible moment, presumablj in order to degrade the morals of the readers of the public pre- bj spreading them upon their pages where both old and young, octogenarian and infant, might gaze to their heart's content upon the horrid sights in the ring at Reno. And why was all this done, may 1 ask? Methinks the question i easy of answering. It was because there was money in it, and for no other reason under the sun. But, now that the daily press has squeezed ever} possible copper from the public by thus degrading their morals (I use the word degrading because the press is so free with that term in relation to the pictures), they suddenly flop over, indulge in a bath of whitewash, and lo and behold, presto, chango, the prize fight they have so luridly exploited upon their pages, not for week-, but for months past, becomes a menace and a danger to both young and old through the exposition of the prize fight moving pictures. If this fight was to injure the children and degrade American citizenship, let us ask, why did the newspapers make the spectacle possible by allowing it Space in their page-, -nice I venture to say that had the press remained silent, there would have been no prize light, or at least it would not have amounted to anything. I notice in a current issue of a New York daily newspaper that one Alexander A. Lowanda, who called upon the Mayor with a set of resolutions against the prize fight pictures, says that he was astonished at the Mayor's bitterness and prejudice. One thing I can say, and that is. I like that man's nerve. 1 most certainly do! The man who can go upon an errand, the very genu of which is bitterness and prejudice, and then can flop over and talk about those two articles. certainly is worthy of public notice. I think it would be of interest if the daily papers could find time to explain their unique position as hereinbefore set forth. But I can imagine them tearing their coats off to thus explain that which cannot be explained. IT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE MOVING PICTURE BUSINESS. VOU • HOULD SUBSCRIBE FOR THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD. SS.OO. idem ■■I ir In answering advertisements, kindly mention the Moving Picture World. KALEM REPRESENTATIVE KEEPS IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH THE EXHIBITOR. When a manufacturer keeps a man on the road to get firs hand information as to what kind of films are most populai with the public, it is but reasonable to expect that they wil profit by their knowledge. Almost anything can be sold bj judicious advertising, even luxuries, but when a concern goes to the consumer, learns his wants and seeks to supply th< ' want, it places that commodity in the class of necessities even if it be a luxury. It is a shrewd idea and it has provec; to be a profitable one, at least as far as the sale of Kalerr films is concerned. But while it can hardly be called advertising, it is equallj expensive or more so. Mr. William Wright, of the Kalerr Company, has travelled over 14,000 miles throughout th« United States during the past three months. From coast fc] coast he has visited and talked with theater managers ant ened to the comments of the patrons of the show houses Wright has a winning personality and has no trouble in gBl ting the information he is after. He is also methodical afi] keeps a diary of his travels. We have been favored WjBI a peep into this diary and extract therefrom the following; nous about a recent trip he made to Baltimore, Washington j and vicinity: Washington. The destinies of the licensed film exchange in V ion are presided over by that king of hustlers, Tom Moore who is making a record for himself. Out of about &' licensed theaters in the city the Tom Moore Film Exchange i supplying 43. This is certainly going some. Mr. Moore! advised me that out of about 70 moving picture the in Washington only seven theater are running Independent films and the probabilities are that these so-called Ir pendents will be using licensed films shortly. Tom Mc reports business as excellent for this time of the year in going over the town I found all the theaters located the shopping district were very well patronized indeed. 1 A syndicate of strong men in Washington own the majority of the downtown theaters which are manager by Mr. A. Brylawski. Among their theaters in the center oi town are a number of really attractive buildings. The Cosmos, located on Pennsylvania avenue, cost, building and ground, $260,000. The theater -eats 900 and nS] two reels of third-run pictures and four acts of vaudeville, I'lie pictures are changed daily and the vaudeville weekBl Sunday they run picture and a concert. The price of admission is 10 and 20 cents. Mr. A. Julian Brylawski is* the local manager. The Meader Theater, owned and operated by the Meadei Amusement Company, located in the southeastern part 0). the city, cost $30,000 and seats in the neighborhood of 55c people. Admission is 10 cents. In this house picture only arc run. They use three reels of fourth run and chanBJ daily. As an added attraction this house has a very good orchestra. IT A. Wolf is the local manager. Busin. -tated to be excellent. The Colonial Theater, located on Pennsylvania avenue owned by the Colonial Theater Company, seats 350 people and runs pictures exclusively. The admission is 5 cents Two reels of third-run pictures furnish the entertainment in addition to a very fine organ that is played by an organist of marked ability. The Colonial Theater Company paid $90,000 for the building and ground. Mr. A. Julian Trylawski is the local manager. The Pickwick, on Pennsylvania avenue, is a very little house and the olde.-t standing picture theater in the city The house cost $70,000 and has a seating capacity of onl; 100. Pictures exclusively are run in this theater, where they exhibit two reels of third run having a daily change. The Palace Theater, on Ninth street, seats 240 and charges 5 cents admission. Two reels of third-run pictures afford the entire entertainment. Pictures are changed daily. The Pastime Theater, located on Pennsylvania avenue 4.-0 people and charges 5 cents admission. Two reels of fifth-run pictures furnish the entire entertainment. Vaudeville was tried in this house but proved a failure. The Metropolitan, also on Pennsylvania avenue, has a -eating capacity of 250 and charges 5 cents admission. In this theater they run two reels of fifth-run pictures and one of commercial. Pictures exclusively furnish the entertainment. The Happy land Theater, located on Seventh street. X. W., seats 250 and charges 5 cents admission. Two reels ol fourth-run pictures furnish the entire entertainment. The Casion Theater seats 159 people, charges 5 cents ad-( on and runs two reels of pictures.